Information from The Women’s Fund:

This Sunday is about more than football, it’s also an opportunity to raise your voice for equality. And now, there’s a new app that will allow the audience to call out sexist adds. Super Bowl commercials reflect some of the world’s biggest consumer brands vying for the attention of a captive audience at the price of roughly $4 million for 30 seconds. With such a steep price-tag comes power. Unfortunately many use their power to highlight sexism and inappropriate stereotypes.

Despite almost as many women as men now watching football’s championship game, brands and their advertising agencies can’t resist appealing to the lowest common denominator, portraying women as barely-sentient objects attached to breasts.

Now in time for this Sunday’s face-off comes an iPhone app from gender equality campaigners The Representation Project aimed at combating outdated, sexist portrayals of women, starting with the Super Bowl’s notorious ads.

The newly-released Not Buying It app will allow users to catalog and share sexist advertising by companies and brands, whether that comes in the form of a television spot, a magazine spread or a billboard.

Read more about the new app here,  

This year has so many outstanding initiatives!  Not sure how to contribute to them all, but at least I can help spread the word.

We are excited to announce the launch of our WWW: Women Weave the Web Campaign! Join World Pulse in supporting women who are using the Internet to transform the world. From the streets of Nairobi to the plazas of Buenos Aires, women are logging on and sparking change. Now is the time to break down the digital divide. Participate in our campaign to make sure that every woman can access the tools that will empower her! Join the Campaign »

Seems there is a rule for publishing something around the new year about resolutions and changes that are planned.  I’m sure it’s not really a rule, but there are so many headlines about changes for 2014 that I feel compelled to add one of my own.  I’m looking at 2014 as a year for me to grow.  Part of the growth will be in figuring out how I want to use this blog to empower girls and women.

I have the space to post information and hope that I can start to generate some conversation around topics, but I want to grow beyond just a conversation and a place to inform and move into action.  I do believe that change can happen with one person or a few passionate individuals and I hope to be a part of it.

Here is an example of an area that I hope to grow in understanding over 2014 that I think has implications for empowering girls and women – the Maker movement.  I’m seeing articles and web posts about how groups are forming that are making simple items out of everyday materials or more sophisticated parts, but with the idea of innovation and creativity being a part of the process.

The Columbus Idea Foundry is a Makerspace and this is how they describe what they do:

We’re a community workshop space, also called a hackerspace or makerspace. We have a simple mission: teach people who want to learn and provide tool and technology access to people who want to make. We have over 100 members and at least a third represent independent, local small businesses.

We offer tools from conventional woodshop, metal- working, welding, and blacksmithing stations to leading technology such as CNC ShopBot, laser cutter and engraver, and 3D prototyping printers. We also have fine-art stations: jewelry-smithing, screen printing, warm glass shop, and a privately operated dark room.

We can also design and build things directly for consumers and businesses—such as meeting small business retail needs, signage, and commissioned merchandise.

Anyone else want to join in this growth opportunity and see where we grow?