...or at least the United Nations, chances are good world priorities will change. The process for choosing a new U.N. Secretary General has started, and it's time a woman is put in charge. (Needless to say, there has never been a woman.) Some outstanding candidates are Madeleine Albright, U.S. Ambassador to the UN (also a good candidate for U.S. Secretary of State), Gro Harlem Brundtland, who resigned as Norway's Prime Minister last month, and Sadako Ogata, a U.N. high commissioner for refugees. Send letters of support for your pick to Joseph Dickie, Ofc. of Program and Policy Coordination, State Dept. Rm. 4334 A, Washington, D.C. 20520; 202-647-7142; fax 202-647-9722.

The Center for Women's Global Leadership is spearheading 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Nov. 25 - Dec. 10 to fight gender violence worldwide. November 25 is International Day Against Violence Against Women, declared in 1981 to commemorate the Mirabel sister, slain by the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic in 1960. CWGL (908-932-8782, E-mail [email protected]) has a number of suggested activities to give women the opportunity to join together in demanding accountability from their governments on this issue. One important activity for the U.S. would be the ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) treaty. The U.S. is the only industrialized country that has not ratified CEDAW. For info on how you can push for ratification, contact Women in the Law Project at 202-232-8500; fax 202-232-3761, E-mail [email protected]

The rivalry between Army and Navy has leapt from the gridiron into the sexual harassment arena. Although Navy bulled its way to an early lead with the Tailhook formation, Army has roared back with its Aberdeen Proving Grounds and Ft. Leonard Wood stalwarts. If Navy threatens again, Army can send in its Ft. Bliss team. That's where the Army has ignored an equally offensive situation for years. When women there complained of being asked for oral sex, pressured and intimidated, they were called "crybabies" and "troublemakers." Several women have filed a complaint with the EEOC, and plan to pursue a lawsuit, but the Army has not conducted its own investigation or disciplined a single person at the base. (They did try to take action against one of the women for hitting a male co-worker who was hounding her). Tell the Army to launch a full scale investigation at Bliss by contacting the Army's hotline at 800-903-4241. (Watch for scandals from the Air Force, which has shown it can compete in this league; in the last annual report on sexual harassment its 463 reports were just behind the Army's 512, and over twice the Navy's 200.

Cabinet members are departing wholesale, and many lower-level but still influential administration employees are also leaving. President Clinton has a good record on female appointments, and it is important that the ranks of women be increased in his second administration. Washington women's groups are working hard to provide names and resumes of qualified women (WFF 11/1) for every department. The President needs to hear from the grass roots that the women who elected him care about women's appointments. Make your voice heard at the White House: 202-456-1111; fax 202-456-2461; E-mail [email protected] (say, WFF thinks it's time for a woman Secretary of Defense - such as Mary Good or Pat Shroeder! See item above).

Women produced the biggest presidential gender gap in history on Tuesday, telling pollsters they want an activist government. Congress is still in the hands of the anti-woman R's, but women gained a little ground in Congressional membership:

Senate: No net gain of female seats. Maine elected its second woman senator, Susan Collins (R). One good trade-off for women -- Senator Nancy "I do what the boys tell me" Kassebaum (R-KS) retired, and progressive Mary Landreau (D-LA) was elected.

House: The new House will have a total of 49 women, one more than the last Congress. Many incumbent women friends were re-elected, like Connie Morella (R-MD), Patsy Mink (D-HI) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY).

Best news: In a cliff-hanger - Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) was reelected even though she had to run in a new district because the Supremes declared her old one unconstitutional.

She-wolves we're stuck with: Helen "Bring on the militia boys" Chenowith (R-ID), Sue "Suffragists are ugly" Myrick (R-NC).

Stepford wives we won't miss: Enid "I can't do the math" Greene (R-PA), Andrea "Newtie 'r Us & damn the environment" Seastrand (R-CA).

WFF has received numerous faxes and phone calls since President Bill was declared the winner at 9 PM Tuesday. Sentiments range from "Hope y'all are out there at 1600 Pennsylvania with a battering ram," to "Let's do a Martin Luther and tack our demand to the White House door," also "Madeleine Albright for Secretary of State," and "We need a pre-emptive strike to save Janet Reno's job [rumor has it she'll be forced out]." The words may differ, but the message from all is the same: Women elected this president, and women's concerns should be primary in the next administration -- from appointments to policy to legislation. The Council of Presidents of National Women's Organizations will meet next week to formulate an agenda and priorities for working with the second Clinton administration and the new Congress. If you want your voice to be heard in this discussion, fax your own priorities to the Council at 202-331-7406; e-mail [email protected]

...should go half the presidential appointments. Barring a catastrophic eruption (of, as candidate Dole would say, "whatever") President Clinton is going to win the election on Tuesday, thanks to the women's vote. Many non-partisan groups have worked hard to get the women's vote out for the most pro-women candidates -- including the President and others who believe in choice, fair pay, family leave, and living wages. Now it's time to get in gear to get women appointed in record numbers in the new administration. The message is that all women (not just the fabled "soccer moms" - who are only 8% of the electorate) will deliver more than half the votes to get the President elected, and women should be rewarded with half the appointments. The Coalition for Women's Appointments is working on a roster of superwomen from all over the country who are qualified to fill posts up and down the line. The Coalition includes women's groups from legal, labor, civil rights, science, transportation, and other fields. This effort takes money. Help put a woman in a high place by sending a contribution today to the Coalition in care of the National Women's Political Caucus (Coalition Chair), 1211 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 425, Washington, D.C. 20036. Info: 202-785-1100; fax 202-785-3605.

Thanks to a wave of activism started by WFF readers that grew into an "outrage of the month" on the Internet ( Feminist.com -- check it out), the U.S. State Department and the Clinton administration have backed off supporting the anti-woman Taliban government in Afghanistan. According to the New York Times, "the decision reflects the...Administration's desire to distance itself -- particularly during the presidential campaign -- from a movement that has barred women from working and girls from going to school." In a complete turnaround from its earlier stance, the State Department said "the last thing we wanted to do was fuel this total misperception that we were...embracing the Taliban." Chalk up another victory for activism, and encourage Secretary of State Warren Christopher (202-647-5291; fax 202-647-1533) and the President (202-456-1111; fax 456-2461; e-mail [email protected]) to continue this stance after the election, until Afghan women are free from oppression.