For Immediate Release

Asian Pacific American Women Leaders Hold Majority of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

 “A Conversation with AAPI Women of the 113th Congress” Featuring

 Representatives Tulsi Gabbard & Grace Meng

 Sponsored by AARP

WASHINGTON— The 113th Congress is historic with 97 representatives from multicultural communities and 100 female members. In particular, for Asian American and Pacific Islander women, this is the first time the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus is composed of a majority of women. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) an Iraq War veteran, is the first Hindu elected to Congress. Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) is the first Asian American to represent the state of New York.

Reps. Gabbard and Meng shared their experiences as new members of Congress on a panel discussion titled “A Conversation with AAPI Women of the 113th Congress” on Wednesday, March 13 at 6 p.m. Organized by the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) and sponsored by AARP, Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA.), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and Board Member of APAICS opened the discussion and Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president of AARP’s State and National Group moderated the panel. 

A lively and engaging conversation took place as Reps. Gabbard and Meng discussed their experiences of rising to leadership roles and spoke on broad range of issues affecting the 50+ from work-life balance to financial security.

“AARP is honored to join Congresswoman Chu and APAICS in hosting this conversation that recognizes the remarkable journey, accomplishments and contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islander Women,” said Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, AARP’s Executive Vice President for Multicultural Markets & Engagement.  “We congratulate Reps. Gabbard and Meng on their recent victories, which increases representation of women from multicultural and multilingual communities, and we look forward to working with them and their colleagues on issues affecting multicultural communities in the coming months.”

“As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it’s important to acknowledge the tremendous progress that women have made,” said Judy Chu. “The 113th Congress is the most diverse in history, with more women and people of color than ever before. I want to thank APAICS and AARP for hosting such a great event to hear from Congresswomen Grace Meng and Tulsi Gabbard, two pioneers in the Asian Pacific American community who serve as role models for young women everywhere.”