WOMEN’S COLLEGE LEADERS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE MEET TO DISCUSS “WOMEN IN POLITICS” 

August 31, 2008
For Immediate Release

SOUTH HADLEY and NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- Leaders of colleges and universities from around the world gathered June 5-7, 2008, in the medieval university city of Pavia, Italy, to discuss the state of women's education and women in politics. Hosted by Collegio Nuovo, a thirty-year-old residential college for women affiliated with the venerable University of Pavia, this was the third conference of Women's Education Worldwide (WEW).

The international conference brought together scholars, politicians, and the leaders of women’s colleges and universities from Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Korea, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Pakistan.  Sessions included commentary from women active in government, presentations of academic work in political science, and reflections on the role of higher education in propelling women into the political sphere.  According to Paola Bernardi, Rector of Collegio Nuovo, such international conversations and collaboration are important “not only for making women successful in their activities, but also for giving them the opportunity to be agents of social and economic change, and so help to build a better world.”

“Despite high profile success stories and considerable progress, the work that women’s colleges pioneered – and now share with coeducational institutions – is far from complete,” reflected Joanne V. Creighton, president of Mount Holyoke College in her introductory remarks, for which she shared the stage with WEW co-founder, President Carol T. Christ of Smith College.

Among notable conference presenters were Barbara Pollastrini, member of the Italian Parliament, and Claude du Granrut, who has served as Deputy-Mayor of Senlis, France, and as a member of the Committee of the Regions of the European Union.  Each reflected on the political landscape for women in her country and her own experiences.   “The new generation has the tools,” argued du Granrut, “education, free use of their bodies, choice in their family planning--to enter professional and political life on an equal foot with men.”  Ellen McKay of the U.S.’s White House Project, an organization that works to get women engaged in political processes at all levels, discussed her group’s efforts to encourage women to “vote, run, lead.”  Bianca Beccalli, a professor of sociology at the University of Milan added her own perspective on women in politics in Italy and beyond.

In addition to considering the influence of women’s education on the world, the conference was also an opportunity for the academic leaders of Women’s Education Worldwide member schools to exchange ideas about best practices at their individual institutions.  Alternative forms and functions of student government and alumnae relations, particularly as they relate to leadership development, were discussed and debated throughout the proceedings.  Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education at Michigan State University Kristen Renn shared her plans for an international, comparative study of women’s colleges that would explore the roles of these institutions in varying national and cultural contexts.

Plans for a number of WEW initiatives were advanced during conference proceedings.  Donal O’Shea, Susan Bourque, and Elizabeth Boylan, chief academic officers from Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Barnard respectively, proposed a model for collaborative course offerings with universal topics that could be tailored to various institutional contexts, for instance: women and leadership, women and finance, and women and education.  The group continued its discussion of plans for a database of institutions to promote such collaboration, with Dubai Women’s College proposing to take the lead. 

The group warmly embraced the proposal of Yvonne Rate, Principal of the Women’s College of the University of Sydney, for her institution to host the next WEW meeting in Australia in January of 2010, tentatively titled Empowering Women: The Economic Imperative.