On Feb. 9, Pomona College’s Women in Global Security (WIGS) Fellowship speaker series invited Melissa Boteach — vice president for Income Security and Child Care/Early Learning at the National Women’s Law Center — to speak to 5C students and faculty. Centered on gender justice and the care economy, Boteach’s talk offered insights into economic security and her experiences advocating for improving income security and childcare.
During her talk, Boteach spoke about what economic security entails and the historical and social contexts for the systemic inequality issues related to the childcare industry. Specifically, she highlighted how these issues act as obstacles for women — especially women of color — who work in professional industries.
While emphasizing the disparities related to income security and childcare, Boteach highlighted how she works to confront these issues. Hanah Park PO ’25, one of this year’s WIGS fellows, expressed her appreciation for this portion of the talk.
“I particularly valued her insights into addressing the disparities in childcare quality between rural and urban areas, as well as her professional journey through the public policy and nonprofit sectors,” Park said in an email to TSL.
Boteach’s extensive experience in advocacy also allowed her to share advice for students interested in pursuing careers in policy.
“My main takeaways were that change is in no way immediate nor visible a lot of the time,” Madyson Chung-Lee SC ’27 said in a correspondence with TSL. “Justice and equity take time, stubbornness and a lot of persistence. Her talk opened my eyes and ways of thinking about women in the global and domestic economy, especially marginalized women and how they are expected to bear the weight of raising the future generation without proper compensation.”
The talk was organized as part of the WIGS program, which is currently run by Tom Le, associate professor of politics at Pomona. The program offers research and networking opportunities to two fellows each year.
“I wanted to create a program to support young scholars and would-be practitioners early in their careers by helping them get published and connecting them with professionals who have learned to navigate life’s obstacles that are unique to women,” Le said in an email to TSL. “The Women in Global Security (WIGS) program is designed with this in mind and hopes to cultivate a new culture in security.”
The fellowship serves as a key part of the WIGS program. Park and Ceci Wade PO ’25 — this year’s fellows — shared with TSL their thoughts on Boteach’s talk.
“The talk on Friday perfectly addressed my curiosities about what economic security entails, who needs it most and what working towards it looks like as a profession,” Wade said in an email to TSL. “Many people interpret [global security] as security through military force or diplomacy and while those aspects are certainly important, I wanted to look at worldwide economic security, mainly because it gives individuals the most choice in their daily lives.”
As part of the fellowship, Wade and Park work with Le to sharpen their writing and explore research topics in global security.
“I’ve learned quite a lot about writing for the public eye and I think my critical thinking skills have also been sharpened from doing this style of writing,” Wade said. “It helped me realize that none of us are very separated from those who write articles for the news and that we all have the power to speak up through writing and broadcast it to readers.”
Similarly, Park noted that the fellowship provided her with the opportunity to write op-eds and receive feedback from Le. She emphasized the program’s devotion to navigating barriers and connecting students to networks that promote representation and inclusivity.
“I’ve also spoken with female security professionals, who have engaged in candid discussions about their work and experiences navigating the industry,” Park said. “The opportunity to build networks between students interested in global security and professionals passionate about promoting representation and inclusivity within the field is one of the qualities that I find the most meaningful about this program.”
Under the guidance of Le, Wade and Park believe that the fellowship has offered them better access to the fields of politics and international relations.
“As for opportunities, most of them have come up in the form of what Professor Le finds and sends to us, which is pretty important since he has decades of experience in the field and therefore a pretty good sense of which ones are legitimate and which ones would provide the most professional development for us,” Wade said. “The guest talks are influential in themselves and you hear a lot from perspectives not normally included in politics.”
Boteach’s work at the National Women’s Law Center aligned with the program’s mission. Her expertise brought insight into the policies that serve as barriers to women working in professional roles.
“We’re in a leadership program together and she’s one of the most impressive and passionate people I know,” Le said. “Her work at the National Women’s Law Center is exactly on the systemic inequality issues that are primary obstacles women face in the professional world.”
Wade said she believed that Boteach’s talk effectively addressed her interests in economic security and what a career would look like within the field.
“Women, especially women of color, are extremely underrepresented in the political world and yet many of the professions they work in (usually originating from sexist and racist norms) are historically undervalued,” Wade said. “However, a solution is possible, if only the people in power will listen. And until then, the fight has to continue.”
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