Domination and competition are the organizing principles of society: top-down hierarchical structures determine the management of corporations, schools, prisons, hospitals, universities, churches, and of course, government. Dominance sets a pattern for unequal power relationships between men and women, people of different colors, rich and poor. humans and nature.

We must replace dominance and control (the patriarchal system) with partnership and cooperation. Present stereotypes of masculinity and femininity are not an adequate characterization of what it is to be human. We must respect feelings as well as rationality in our approach to life, consider means as well as goals, and appreciate the contemplative part of life as much as the active. We strive for a society based on trust, not fear; nurturing, not controlling others; open communications, not manipulation; empathy with others, not violence against others; respect for nature, not conquest of nature.

Because women are not, and have not been, involved as equal partners in the leadership levels of decision-making, we commit ourselves to achieving gender balance in private and public leadership positions.

We need to strengthen, increase the funding of, and expand the capacity of the Hawai'i Civil Rights Commission, which presently struggles under a huge backlog of gender and race discrimination cases.

We support programs such as parental leave, childcare and elder care both inside and outside the home (see Section F). We will work vigorously to protect women and children from violence within the family. We are pro-choice (see Section I1).