Women’s Empowerment Club Grows in Memberhip and Mission

By Lara Chebotarev, ELHS ’23

The Women Empowerment Club at ELHS has grown rapidly since it began, but most significantly this school year. A club dedicated to raising awareness about women’s issues and providing a safe space for students to voice their concerns and connect with one another, it began with 8 people in 2019 and grew to over 50 members this school year. 

In the beginning of the year, President Julia Boucher, and members Eliza Iacobucci and Ashley Kahi, gave updates about the status of the club, its expansion, and what to expect for current and potential members.

The club has changed massively since it began with only 8 members in 2019. 

“When there were only 8 of us, we just had fun conversations to loosen up and enjoyed a fun space to empower each other and understand women issues on a smaller scale,” Boucher recalled. “Fun and activism go together.” 

Julia further explained that the club has currently, while still focusing on the enjoyment, has taken a more serious approach and widened their goals. With a much larger number of members, they’ve changed their organization and approach and widened their reach to increase impact on the school and the community.

“I usually introduce any news, fundraisers, events, etc., that need to be addressed first. When we’re not in just one big group, I get all the women together in groups to come up with ideas, sort of like focus groups.”

She said they have different groups for different purposes such as fundraising, members, social media presence, and media/speaker groups. 

“We often actively address issues that are both local an global and share our thoughts, something we recently discusses was the Texas abortion laws.”

Eliza Ioccobucci, co-chair of the community outreach group, explained that certain focus groups are conducted within the big meeting. 

“In the beginning, we had an initial get together and mingle, and this year in-person it’s been incredibly interactive,” Iocobucci said. “We have special groups such as community outreach, speaker outreach, period projects, etc. People sign up for the groups they specifically want to focus on and collaborate, it all flourishes inside an environment where everyone enjoys the topics.”

Some of the current school wide issues the community outreach group is discussing include reaching out to businesses, specifically women-run and fundraisers.

Ashley Kahi is involved in the social-media related parts of the club. She says she will be expanding the social media presence to apps such as TikTok. Ashley says social media is a critical part of expanding their message to those who attend the school and reaching a farther audience.

Iocobucci also emphasized how the group discusses broader issues, including the worldwide issues women face, stereotypes, and stigmas. The group is a safe space to discuss as well as focus on action plans. 

“Something that’s definitely common in our group is societal issues. People will come in and one day we’ll definitely talk about something they would like to speak to the group about or something that happened to them. This gets the group thinking this is an issue stemming from this.  It’s a huge conversation about huge things that are happening in the world, just all over the world anything a female may be thinking about or relating to, even if they don’t go to the high school or are a student or close relation to us, they’re still discussed. We talk about society as a whole and its relation to our school, definitely a safe space.”

The club welcomes everyone, regardless of gender.

“I encourage them,” Kahi said, “because it’s important for us, as women, to hear other people’s perspectives and for others to know what’s happening with women and be aware of them and share their own personal stories, and also to avoid rebuttals.”

The Women Empowerment Club at ELHS plays a significant role in making school a more supportive, safe, and educational place outside and in the classroom. The WEC is overseen by Mrs. Goggin and meets every Monday after school in room 220.

The club is definitely co-curricular with members learning from each other.

“I’m still learning new things everyday, listening, and realizing things,” Boucher said. “I think it’s a huge educational experience for anybody who wants to listen in. Even if you might not understand it, or not know terms or experiences, I think every part of the way is education.”