The week from March 20th to March 25th, the Student Government Board, in association with the Pitt Program Council, Female Empowerment Movement and many other campus organizations, presented the first Women’s Empowerment Week. Their goal was to incite conversations around the campus about ways to help empower women and create equality for both genders.
The week started on a high-note with Pitt Tonight’s “Women Empowerment” episode on Sunday, March 19th. Three influential women on campus, Dr. Geri Allen, Sidney Cannon-Bailey and Sydney Harper, were interviewed by Pitt Tonight’s host, Jesse Irwin.
On Monday, March 20th, the week-long Art Gallery opened at the Connie M. Kimbo Art Gallery. The art focused on topics such as intersectionality, empowerment, feminism and what gender means to the artist.
On Tuesday, March 21st, Leslie Jones, actress and comedian, performed stand-up comedy and interacted with the audience in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room. I had the wonderful opportunity to be the photographer for the event. The energy and optimism in the room from her rhetoric truly uplifted me.
On Wednesday, March 22nd, the film “Girl Rising,” directed by Richard E. Robbins, was shown at the O’Hara Student Center. The film focuses on the lives of nine girls from Haiti, Ethiopia, Nepal, Egypt, India, Sierra Leone, Peru, Afghanistan and Cambodia and the obstacles they must overcome to receive an education.
On Thursday, March 23rd, the GAL-A took place in the University Club, where members of the community discussed issues relating to women and ways to solve them. Additionally, women were recognized for their excellent work for empowering women in Pittsburgh.
Finally, on Friday, March 24th to Saturday, March 25th, the second “Pitt Women’s Leadership Experience” retreat brought together more than 70 young women leaders for a weekend of discussing a wide range of topics, doing activities and networking.
It is necessary to focus on different ways to empower women. With the evident inequality worldwide and its detrimental effects on women, especially on girls and young women, it is important to remind ourselves of our worth and capacity for success. I look forward to more Women’s Empowerment weeks in the future, and as Eleanor Roosevelt eloquently once said, “Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes.”