Val Vilott, Outreach Associate

Val Vilott, Outreach Associate

Val Vilott is the Outreach Associate for Family Economic Security, Education and Employment. Prior to joining the Center, Ms. Vilott worked as a National Campus Organizer at the Feminist Majority Foundation and held internships with the Center for Health and Gender Equity and the Institute for Women's Policy Research. She graduated with honors from the George Washington University in 2008, where she studied International Affairs and Women's Studies. Outside of the office, Ms. Vilott enjoys photography, baking, and sharing factoids about her home state of Oklahoma (home of the shopping cart and parking meter).

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My Take

[FLOWCHART] Should You Care About the Wage Gap? A Simple Guide

Posted by Val Vilott, Outreach Associate | Posted on: April 17, 2012 at 01:46 pm

Over the last two years, I’ve written an awful lot about the wage gap and fair pay. This year, in honor of Blog for Equal Pay Day I decided to change it up. Behold the results below the jump. Should You Care About the Wage Gap? A Simple Guide!

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Tags: Equal Pay, Wage Gap, Equal Pay, Employment | Add new comment

An Ode to Title IX, on the Occasion of National Girls and Women and Sports Day

Posted by Val Vilott, Outreach Associate | Posted on: February 01, 2012 at 11:52 am

There once was a February day

to honor girls and women who play

Athletics and sports

on fields and on courts

Title IX having paved their way.

 

Sports builds tough bodies that fight

reaching for even greater heights,

Shaping girls with sharp minds

and hearts that are kind –

Confident leaders who know what is right.

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Tags: National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Title IX, Athletics, Education & Title IX | 1 comment

We want YOU: To Celebrate the 26th Annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day!

Posted by Val Vilott, Outreach Associate | Posted on: January 27, 2012 at 12:21 pm

What are YOU doing next Wednesday? No plans?

Well, we’re about to change that. February 1st is National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a day to celebrate and promote girls’ and women’s participation and excellence in sports. NGWSD is marked annually with events around the country and on Capitol Hill to commemorate the achievements of girls and women in athletics, and we’ve got some big things in the works that you can participate in!

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Tags: Athletics, National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Title IX, Athletics, Education & Title IX | Add new comment

Reflections on Roe: A Handful of Reasons I am Pro-Choice

Posted by Val Vilott, Outreach Associate | Posted on: January 22, 2012 at 12:40 pm

My name is Val, and I am pro-choice:

Because for years, abstinence-only sex education in my school told me ineffective lies and I didn't know to question them.

Because I believe that all people – and all women – are valuable.

Because I know that my body is more than just the sum of its pieces – and especially more than just my reproductive organs.

Because I believe that hatred and control are at the root of the anti-choice movement.

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Tags: Abortion, Roe v. Wade, Trust Women Week, Barriers to Reproductive Care, Pregnancy Rights, Health Care & Reproductive Rights | Add new comment

Are Women Schooling the System? More Education Doesn't Always Guarantee Success

Posted by Val Vilott, Outreach Associate | Posted on: December 29, 2011 at 03:56 pm

I graduated from college in May of 2008 and was very fortunate to have gotten a job straight out of college. But not everyone was so lucky. I watched droves of friends and acquaintances struggle to find (and keep) jobs. Some settled for stop-gap measures in fields wildly different from their interests, some wound up unemployed for a large stretch of time, and some ventured back to school.

So, especially amid all the recent chatter about job creation in America, the article "Instead of Work, Younger Women Head to School" in the New York Times caught my eye. According to the Times, the volatile and sparse labor market is pushing more women — particularly young women — to head back to school.

And there's an interesting economic hypothesis: as the recovery continues, once these women with more advanced education leave school and re-enter the workforce, they'll be better off than their male counterparts. Great news, right?

Not so fast.

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Tags: Equal Pay, Career & Technical Education, Education & Title IX, Employment | 1 comment