Center for Women and Gender Equity

55¢: The Value of Latinidad featuring Marisol Rosado-Perez: Latina workers earn 55 cents for every dollar earned by white non-Latine men, the largest income gap in the nation. Working Latinas are currently overrepresented in essential low-wage jobs and underrepresented in high-wage jobs— but the wage gap persists across the board. Latinas would have to work 33 more years to earn the same amount as white, non-Latine men would over a 40-yr career. This rampant pay discrimination disproportionately harms Latine women and puts them and their families in danger of long-term economic insecurity. This combined with the impact of COVID-19 pandemic has predisposed Latinas to be among the most hurt by the pandemic. Equal pay for Latina workers is long overdue! This interactive kick off to the Center for Women & Gender Equity EqualiTea Speaker Series and the Dowdy Multicultural Center Latinx American Heritage Month Celebration supports Latinas to stand in their power while examining the disproportionate harms faced by Latina workers. This conversation centers the economic, health, and social conditions faced by Latina workers and uplifts researched considerations for rebuilding a more just and equitable economy through advocacy and engagement. This event was hosted by West Chester University's Center for Women & Gender Equity and the Dowdy Multicultural Center.

Antirape Activism at the Crossroads of Gender & Racial Justice with Dr. Catherine Jacquet: Dr. Catherine Jacquet (Louisiana State University), historian and author of The Injustices of Rape: How Activists Responded to Sexual Violence, 1950-1980, joined us in a conversation with WCU students about the history of antirape activism in the US, the complicated intersections of racial and gender justice, and how the lessons from the past can inform our activism today.

"Big D Stands for Big Demeanor": The Link Between Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Kamala Harris, and Meg Thee Stallion with Dr. Emerald Christopher-Byrd: Monolithic depictions of Black and Latinx women have resulted in increased levels of misogyny, cultural backlash, and violence. This session explored the complexities of Black and Latinx womanhood and the ways women are resisting racialized gender restrictions.

Between the Streets and the Ballot Box, featuring Jamilah Lemieux: This discussion was about the complicated relationship between Black Americans and suffrage, how protest movements and electoral politics intersect, and just what it means to give someone your vote.

Votes for Women - Brandywine River Museum of Art: In this lively presentation, curator Dr. Amanda Burdan gave behind the scenes details about the monumental exhibition: Votes for Women: A Visual History now at the Brandywine River Museum of Art through June 7, 2020. Participants were inspired and reflected on the 100 year anniversary of the 19th amendment! This event was sponsored by the Center for Women & Gender Equity and the History Department.

EqualiTea Speaker Series- The Affirmation Queen: Resisting Their Expectations of the Black Woman in the Academy featuring Dr. Tiffany Lane: Members of the WCU community were invited to explore gender justice issues, navigate pathways to success, and build community. In this session, Dr. Lane shared findings from their research about the experiences of Black women navigating employment in higher education.

EqualiTea Speaker Series- A PhD Is Not Enough featuring Dr. Chandra Chomicki
Members of the WCU community were invited to explore gender justice issues, navigate pathways to success, and build community. In this session, Dr. Chomicki shared insights and recommendations about developing a career path during massive disruptions such as economic crises and a global pandemic.

2021 Gender Justice Conference

In 2021, the First Annual Gender Justice Conference was thematically organized around the groundbreaking research published in Sexual Citizens by Dr. Jennifer S. Hirsch and Dr. Shamus Khan, which examined the ways that identity and power influenced the sexual lives and vulnerabilities to harm of college students.  WCU students, faculty, staff, and members of the community are invited to participate in a conference experience dedicated to exploring knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to engage in social change work with a specific focus on disrupting gender oppression. Participants will critically examine social justice issues through an intersectional lens and be encouraged to apply what they learn into their day to day lives and in their communities.

To access the recordings of the 2021 event, please visit the Conference Support Hub.

2022 Gender Justice Conference Keynote Speaker Ericka Hart

Ericka Hart, M.Ed., pronouns: she/they, is a black queer femme activist, writer, highly acclaimed speaker and award-winning sexuality educator with a Master’s of Education in Human Sexuality from Widener University. Her work broke ground when she went topless showing her double mastectomy scars in public in 2016. Since then, she has been in demand at colleges and universities across the country, featured in countless digital and print publications including Buzzfeed, Washington Post, Allure, Huffington Post, BBC News, Cosmopolitan, LA Weekly, Vanity Fair, W Magazine, Glamour, Elle, Essence, Fader, Refinery 29, and is the face of three running PSAs on the television channel VICELAND. Ericka’s voice is rooted in leading edge thought around human sexual expression as inextricable to overall human health and its intersections with race, gender, chronic illness and disability. Both radical and relatable, she continues to push well beyond the threshold of sex positivity. Ericka co-hosts Hoodrat to Headwrap: A Decolonized Podcast and misses Whitney more than you. Additional information and registration can be found on RamConnect at this link. For more information contact cwge@wcupa.edu. Sponsored by various campus partners, Center for Women & Gender Equity, 2021 It's On Us PA Grant and the 150th Anniversary Diversity Speaker Series.

Take Back the Night includes a march and speakout for survivors. It is an event to show support to those who have experienced harm while also raising awareness about available resources. This event is hosted by CW&GE and campus partners to express our desire for a safer campus community for us all.

Imagine this: You are going about your day and your period comes unexpectedly. You can go home, shower, and get the supplies you need. Now imagine getting your period while experiencing homelessness. You may not be able to do laundry or shower consistently or afford a box of tampons or pads. Contribute unopened tampons and pads for menstruating people in our community. Drop off available in Center for Women and Gender Equity and other locations on campus. For more information or to get involved contact cwge@wcupa.edu. Sponsored by the Center for Women & Gender Equity.

Stand in solidarity with survivors of interpersonal violence (sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, stalking). This living arts display was created by members of our community impacted by interpersonal violence since the 1990s. Walk through the display and/or leave a message to honor and support survivors and their loved ones.

Fall 2020

• • Purple Thursday
  • Purple Ribbon Campaign with DVCCC

 

2020 Virtual Toast to Tenacity

I'm Not Okay, and It's Fine: Breaking Up with “Strong Black Womanhood”: Jamilah Lemieux will address the importance of all people, Black women in particular, feeling empowered to seek mental health services as needed, as well as the power of taking off one's superwoman cape and allowing herself the space to say “I'm not okay” without feeling that she will let others down by tending to herself. For more information contact cwge@wcupa.edu. Sponsored by the Center for Women and Gender Equity and the Dowdy Multicultural Center

Lighting the Fires of Freedom: African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement featuring Dr. Janet Bell: During the Civil Rights Movement, African American women did not stand on ceremony; they simply did the work that needed to be done. Yet despite their significant contributions at all levels of the movement, they remain mostly invisible to the larger public. Beyond Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King, most Americans would be hard-pressed to name other leaders at the community, local, and national levels. In this important keynote lecture, Dr. Janet D. Bell will shine a light on women's all-too-often overlooked achievements in the Movement. Question & Answer and opportunity to connect with Dr. Bell immediately following the event. For more information contact fdouglass@wcupa.edu. Sponsored by the Center for Women & Gender Equity and the Frederick Douglas Institute.

Making Social Media Work for your Job & Internship Search: Participants joined the Twardowski Career Development Center and the Center for Women & Gender Equity to explore how mature students can leverage social media to their benefit in the job and internship search. While much of the session will focus on LinkedIn, other forms of social media and do's and don'ts will be covered as well.

Working Toward Justice Through Body-Map Storytelling
The process of sharing stories helps people recognize themselves and others in an empowerment process. Participants engaged in a body map storytelling workshop as a space to share, honor and uplift. No artistic or mapmaking experience needed. The workshop was facilitated by noted scholar Dr. Betsy Sweet. Brought to you by WCU It's On Us, The Center for Women & Gender Equity, Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion & The Counseling Center. This workshop was funded by a 2021 It's On Us PA Grant.

Be’s in the Trap: Migrating sound and culture, disrupting respectability and gender with Trap music
Dr. KAIA SHIVERS is a writer and media studies scholar working in Liberal Studies at New York University. She describes her work in three words—academia, artistry and activism—because these aspects of her life often intertwine. Dr. Shivers joined the Dowdy Multicultural Center as the 2022 Black History Month Cultural Month Speaker. Dr. Shivers’ research focuses on African religious traditions, black representations in media and the African diaspora. In this important community conversation, she offers a critical examination of the role of TRAP music in disrupting conceptions of respectability and gender.

Human Trafficking Awareness Month Event
This event was designed to inform about myths and facts related to human and labor trafficking, what students can do to address the harm that occurs, and to understand how social media contributes to the issue.

Past Collaborations:

• With Dowdy Multicultural Center:
  • Ruby Jones Conference 2020
  • Monica Ramirez: “Seeking Justice for Migrant Communities Amidst COVID-19”.
• With Wellness Promotion and the Center for Trans and Queer Advocacy:
  • • Sex After Dark: A Conversation with Sexuality Educator Erica Smith