Sen. Dossett to address national gathering of female policy makers

OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Jo Anna Dossett, D-Tulsa, was recently named a speaker at the prestigious 50th Anniversary of Women in Public Life Symposium at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

Taking place on November 14, the symposium will convene female policy makers such as former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, for keynote addresses and breakout sessions on the topics of female political representation, paid family medical leave, childcare, and contraceptive access. Dossett’s portion of the program, “Contraception Crossroads: Building Bipartisan Bridges,” will occur on stage at the Lady Bird Johnson Auditorium on the university campus. She will deliver remarks about the recent passage of Senate Bill 176, expanding access to extended supplies of contraceptive pills in Oklahoma.

“I’m humbled to share the story of SB 176, especially in the presence of so many women who have worked from both sides of the aisle to improve the status of women in public life,” Dossett said. “And, of course, that wouldn’t be without due credit to every member of the Oklahoma Legislature, female and male, Democrat and Republican, who found it within themselves to help the bill become law,” she continued.

The symposium on November 14 marks 50 years since the late first lady of the U.S., Lady Bird Johnson, convened 2,000 attendees from around the world for the first Women in Public Life Conference in 1975. With this year’s theme of “A Bipartisan Path Forward,” organizers hope to inspire attendees from across the nation to return to their home states with renewed energy to reach across the aisle for help with policy that benefits us all.

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For more information, contact:  Sen. Jo Anna Dossett: (405) 521-5624 or JoAnna.Dossett@oksenate.gov