The Kenner Keynote: Generation Equality Register

Mar 24, 10:30am-12:00pm

A moderated conversation with Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (2018-2019).

Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (2018-2019), in conversation with Dr. Susan Bailey ’63, Executive Director, Wellesley Centers for Women (1985-2010). With an introduction by President Paula A. Johnson.

Ms. Espinosa and Dr. Bailey will discuss plans for the Generation Equality Forum in Mexico and France and how the forum is building off 25 years of United Nations–led engagement on gender issues.

Wellesley has a unique place in this continuum. At the historic Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995 Wellesley's presence was visible and vital. In her role as US Ambassador to the UN, Madeleine Albright ’59 headed the US delegation to Beijing. At this conference, Hillary Clinton ’69, then First Lady of the United States, presented a speech at which she declared, “human rights are women's rights and women’s rights are human rights.” While her message seems self-evident today, Clinton’s proclamation resonated as a radical statement of gender equality. Dr. Bailey ’63 was also present at the conference’s gathering of non-governmental representatives.

Please register in advance.

GOVERNANCE & CIVIL SOCIETY LEADERSHIP

Panelists

Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (2018-2019)

An academic, diplomat and politician, Ms. Espinosa has held many leadership positions within the Government of Ecuador, serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defense and Minister of Cultural and Natural Heritage. She was the first female Ambassador of Ecuador to the United Nations in New York and Geneva.
Dr. Susan Bailey, Executive Director, Wellesley Centers for Women (1985-2010)

Susan has conducted research on a variety of issues related to the education of women and girls and was the principal author of How Schools Shortchange Girls (1992), a report that prompted national public dialogue on gender issues in K-12 education. Following the 1995 NGO Forum at the Fourth World Conference for Women in Beijing, China, she coauthored a guide for junior and senior high school teachers, Shaping a Better World: Global Issues/Gender Issues, and Unsafe Schools: A Literature Review of School-Related Gender-Based Violence in Developing Countries. She is currently working on a memoir, The Education of A Feminist.