Symposium to focus on women's work and capitalism

EUGENE, Ore. -- (March 2, 2012) -- An upcoming symposium at the University of Oregon will address gender equity issues in the U.S. and the developing world."Gender Equity and Capitalism: The Impact of Capitalist Development on Women's Economic Status and Rights"focuses on women's economic status and equality as a key component of human and civil rights in capitalist societies. The symposium takes place March 8 and 9 at the Gerlinger Lounge and Knight Law Center.

"Women's economic progress has stalled in major industrialized countries, and economic development brings mixed outcomes for women in the developing world," Wayne Morse Center Director Margaret Hallock said. "Women earn less money than men, remain responsible for most of the caring work insociety, and are not well protected by a social safety net. The result is growing stress, hardship and vulnerability."

The symposium is part of the Lorwin Lectureship on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and is sponsored by the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics; the Center for the Study of Women in Society; the departments of Ethnic Studies, Geography and Sociology; and Bitch Media.  

Featured event

"Women's Gains, Mothers' Losses: Capitalism and the Care Penalty"
Keynote address by Nancy Folbre, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, and she has consulted for the United Nations Human Development Office and the World Bank.
7 p.m. Thursday, March 8
110 Knight Law Center

Other conference highlights

"9 to 5?: Women's Work in Popular Culture"
A panel discussion for students featuring Kelsey Wallace, Bitch Media; Mara Williams, School of Journalism and Communication; Carol Stabile, Center For Study Of Women In Society; Erin Mcgladrey, ASUO Women's Center; and Priscilla Yamin, Department of Political Science.
12 p.m. Thursday, March 8
Gerlinger Lounge

"Gender Equality and Capitalism: An International Perspective"
Keynote address by Barbara Pocock, director of the Centre for Work + Life at the University of South Australia. Professor Pocock will be in residence at the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics during February and March 2012.
2:30 p.m. Thursday, March 8
Gerlinger Lounge

Reception honoring the career of Joan Acker
Joan Acker, professor emerita of the UO sociology department, is the founding director of the Center for the Study of Women in Society and has been a faculty member at the University of Oregon since 1966.
5 p.m. Thursday, March 8
Gerlinger Lounge

"Rethinking Gendered (In)Security in the Neo-liberal Era: Notes for a Caribbean Feminist Geopolitics"
Keynote address by Alissa Trotz, an associate professor in Women & Gender Studies and director of the Caribbean Studies Program at New College, the University of Toronto. She is also a member of Red Thread, a women's organization in Guyana which co-ordinates the Global Women's Strike locally.
10:45 a.m. Friday, March 9
175 Knight Law Center

For a complete schedule, visit http://waynemorsecenter.uoregon.edu/gender_equality/.

About the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics

The Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics is a living memorial to Oregon's former U.S. senator. Housed at the School of Law at the University of Oregon, the Centerbrings scholars and activists to Oregon to discuss critical topics in law and politics, in the tradition of Senator Morse. The Center is dedicated to Morse's vision of peace and justice through law and politics.

About Oregon Law

For more than 125 years, the University of Oregon School of Law has served the state, the nation, and the world through a constantly renewed commitment to excellence in scholarship, classroom teaching, and public service. Oregon Law is an American Bar Association accredited law school, and the only public law school in the state.

Media Contact: Abbie Stillie, Wayne Morse Center communications coordinator, astillie@uoregon.edu 541-346-3717.