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Panel Serves As Go-Between By JUDY ALLEN Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — When President Jimmy Carter fired Bella Abzug, the first chairman of his Advisory Committee for Women, in January, 1979, some observers thought the panel — and Carter's commitment to women's issues — were doomed. But the committee, 15 months later, has a hard-working new boss, a new low profile and renewed allegiances to equality for women. In the aftermath of Mrs. Abzug's dismissal, more than half the committee's 40 members resigned in protest and national feminist organizations were furious. Now, chairman Lynda Bird Johnson Robb (daughter of the late President Lyndon B. Johnson) has restructured the committee and regained the support of every major women’s group except the most powerful, the National Organization for Women. Despite its split with NOW over the Carter administration's efforts to gain ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, committee members and outsiders agree that the Advisory Committee for Women serves as a useful conduit between American women and the White House. The committee's mandate expires at the end of this year and the panel is currently holding hearings outside Washington and preparing its final report. There is some talk that it should try to become a permanent federal agency. Marjorie Bell Chambers, former president of the American Association of University Women, was an original committee member, served as acting chair for five months after Mrs. Ab zug’s departure, and is now vice chair. She is perhaps most qualified to discuss the panel's changes and status. The committee, Mrs. Chambers remembers, was only six months old and in its “‘infancy’’ when Mrs. Abzug left. Suddenly, its members were forced to reorganize and re-think their priorities. The 40 members were trimmed to 30, a con .ex task force system abandoned in favor of committees focusing on education, employment, health and welfare; and the committee accepted the basic premise that its first responsibility was to advise the president on women’s issues. Mrs. Abzug's flamboyance and independence are assets to feminists says Mrs. Chambers, but Mrs. Robb’s qualities make her better suited to head the committee. “Lynda is considerate of the president, has political savvy and connections, and she's been able to open doors that I never could have opened,”’ said Mrs. Chambers. Charles Guerrier, a Cleveland, Ohio, women’s law fund director, is one of three men on the committee. He says most of the women’s groups he deals with are enthusiastic about the committee. Like other panel members, Guerrier has no complaints about access to the president, an issue which fueled Mrs. Abzug's dissatisfaction. Roberta Weiner, the committee public information officer, said at year's end, the committee will propose that it be in stitutionalized by statute. This would increase both its $225,000 budget and its visibility. There are currently 10 fulltime staffers, four of whom are detailed from other federal departments, and six interns. ‘We need continuity,” said Miss Weiner, noting that President John F. Kennedy formed the first women’s committee in 1961 with Eleanor Roosevelt at its helm. “We've been saying the same things for 20 years and we need to say them louder and oftener. Congressional Women’s Caucus executive director Betty Dooley offers another suggestion for the future existence of the committee. Although the current Advisory Committee is doing “a creditable job’ of maintaining communication, she says it needs power. Miss Dooley favors establishment of a Cabinet-level position for women’s issues
Newspaper Details
Fayetteville Northwest Arkansas Times
Fayetteville, Arkansas, US
Wed, Apr 16, 1980
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Tracy T.
USA 11 Jun 2026
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