I am pleased to report that Proposition One – the New York State Equal Rights Amendment – passed in last month’s election and is now part of the New York State Constitution.  It was long past time that our state constitution provided equal protection for women and prohibited discrimination based on a person’s ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex — including their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes. So that is good news.

On a related note, I went to see the Broadway musical “Suffs” the week after the election with the NYWBA Foundation.   It was an amazing show and I recommend it to you all if you can see it before it closes on January 5, 2025.  The show reminded me of the long fight that women engaged in just to secure the right to vote.  We must be mindful of that fact, and always exercise our right to vote.

We have many exciting programs and CLEs coming up in December and the new year fast approaching.  Please check the NYWBA calendar for the upcoming events.  I also want to remind everyone that our Judiciary Reception is being held on March 10, 2025 at the Yale Club.  We hope to see many of you there as we honor our newly elected, re-elected, and appointed judges.

And again, the NYWBA membership year began on June 1, 2024.  I encourage all members to renew now if they haven’t already.

Jocelyn Jacobson