For the past 10 years, Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Service (GSS) has held a conference that parallels a United Nations’ world conference on women involving nearly 200 governments.
This week marks the UN-sponsored Beijing+20 conference reviewing the progress on women’s world status in the last two decades. At GSS, the parallel conversation is titled, “Looking Back, Looking Forward: Economic and Health Issues for Girls and Women of All Ages Around the World.”
Co-sponsored by the GSS’ Institute for Women and Girls, the event takes place on Sat., March 14 from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Costantino Room at the Fordham Law School. It continues across the plaza in the Lowenstein Center’s South Lounge from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
“We’ll be concerning ourselves with gender equality, health, and economic empowerment,” said Elaine Congress, DSW, associate dean of GSS and a spokesperson for the event.
Congress said that among the health issues being discussed are women’s mental health, elder health, and family planning. There will also be a panel discussion on economics.
“The panels will bring perspectives about [female]lifespans,” said Janna Heyman, PhD, one of the conference organizers, “and will look at women throughout their lifetime.”
Congress said events like the one at the United Nations offer a great opportunity for universities throughout the city.
“There are women’s issues everywhere and we want to bring them together so that our students understand the connection between the issues in the developing world and ours here at home,” she said.
The mission of the Institute for Women and Girls is to promote the well-being of women and girls who experience poverty, violence, health problems and workplace discrimination.
