Ellen Bravo is a long-time activist for working women. She began working for 9to5, National Association of Working Women in 1982, when she helped found the Milwaukee chapter, and served until 2004 as its national director. Now Ellen teaches Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, including masters level classes on Family-Friendly Workplaces and on Sexual Harassment, and serves as a consultant to 9to5. She coordinates the Multi-State Working Families Consortium, a network of state coalitions working for family-flexible policies. In addition to Taking on the Big Boys, Ellen co-authored (with Ellen Cassedy) The 9to5 Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and wrote The Job/Family Challenge: A 9to5 Guide (Not for Women Only. She’s also written numerous articles and reports, including “Quality Part-Time Options in Wisconsin,” funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and an article in the March 2007 special issue of the American Prospect. Ellen is frequently interviewed by the media and is a leading spokeswoman on working women’s issues. A business editor once described her talks as “moving, witty and sometimes bawdy.”
Ellen has served on several state and federal commissions, including the bi-partisan Commission on Leave appointed by Congress to study the impact of the Family and Medical Leave Act. She co-chaired the Economic Sufficiency Task Force of the Wisconsin Women = Prosperity project led by Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton and serves as treasurer for the campaign of Congresswoman Gwendolynne Moore. She is a member of several boards and committees, including the Working for Good Jobs in America Fund, the Work-Life Law Advisory Committee, the Ms. Foundation for Women Advisory Committee, and the Grants Advisory Committee of the Milwaukee Women’s Fund. Among her commendations is a Woman of Vision award from the Ms. Foundation. Ellen lives in Milwaukee with her husband; they have two adult sons.
Sponsored by Higgins Labor Studies Program Annual McBride Lecture Series funded by the Steelworkers
Co-sponsored by Gender Studies Program