The American Association of University Women (AAUW) at Oakland University is an organization that advocates for the growth of women. President of the organization Lakaysha Mitchell says AAUW is a place to promote equality and promotion for everyone.

“It is about starting conversations about inequalities we see, and trying to do something about them,” she said.

AAUW meets at least once a month and collaborates with other groups on campus in addition to hosting its own events.

“We worked with OUSC to put on a Title IV event, we did a campaign with OU Rec Well for National Eating Disorder Awareness Week, and we worked with several groups to help put on the Black Women Rock event,” Mitchell said. “We have also hosted a salary negotiation event, which we are bringing back this year to draw attention to the wage gap and try to correct that. We try to do a few events each semester.”

The organization has also hosted a three-part intersectionality series that talks about the different challenges women face on the grounds of race, being LGBTQIA+ and being in a lower socioeconomic bracket.

“The most exciting part is being able to see the change that we’re trying to make,” Mitchell said. “We hosted an event and people were talking about how it impacted them days later. We are connecting with people and together we’re making a difference.”

For students thinking about joining AAUW Mitchell says they don’t have to know about feminism or social justice

“You just have to have an interest in promoting true equality for everyone,” Mitchell said. “We would love to have you.”

For more information, visit the American Association of University Women’s Grizz Org’s page.