Women comprise the majority of U.S. citizens living in poverty, and multiple barriers restrict their ability to escape poverty.
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The Center for the Education of Women will host a three-day conference next month to identify and combat these barriers to economic security and mobility.
“Women and Economic Security: Changing Policy and Practice” is scheduled for May 14-16, featuring national experts and U-M faculty to share their insights on the issues. The conference will be at the Rackham Graduate School, 915 E. Washington St.
Sheryl WuDunn, the first Asian-American reporter to win a Pulitzer Prize, and a business executive and best-selling author, will give the keynote by offering a global perspective on opportunities for women at 7 p.m., May 14.
WuDunn spearheaded the “Half the Sky” movement, created to end the oppression of women and girls worldwide. She and her husband, Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times, co-authored a book of the same name.
The interdisciplinary conference will feature breakout sessions allowing attendees to delve into one particular topic area, reviewing barriers to exiting the cycle of poverty, discussing best practices, and developing policy recommendations.
The final conference day will focus on a collective agenda for action discussing the path from policy planning to political action from Michigan legislators and government staffers.
Women & Economic Security is a joint conference presented by CEW, U-M and Re:Gender (formerly the National Council for Research on Women).
U-M faculty, staff and students may attend the conference for free. WuDunn’s keynote is free and open to the public. Students from other universities may attend for $25. For all others, the conference fee is $150.
The conference is one of CEW’s 50th anniversary events. It also is one of the Michigan Meetings, a series of annual interdisciplinary meetings on topics of national and international significance sponsored by the Rackham Graduate School.
Supporting the Conference, in addition to Rackham Graduate School are TIAA-CREF, the Ford Motor Co. Fund, and Morgan Stanley.
