Radcliffe Institute to hold conference on women, money, power

Authors, economists, social scientists, and CEOs will discuss a range of historical and contemporary issues surrounding women in bankruptcy, poverty, and economic development around the world, as part of the Radcliffe Institute’s “Women, Money, and Power” conference on Oct. 24-25.

“This conference will bring together a distinguished, diverse group of experts from academia, business, and the media,” said Drew Gilpin Faust, dean of the Radcliffe Institute. “It will be an excellent opportunity to hear thinkers from various disciplines discuss a subject that is of great social concern.”

Made possible through the support of Morgan Stanley, the conference will include eight panels exploring women in American business, the conditions that foster entrepreneurship, surrogate mothers, and the global sex trade, among other related issues.

Panelists will include Elijah Anderson, the Charles and William L. Day Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania; A’Lelia Perry Bundles, author of the widely acclaimed biography “On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker”; Virginia G. Drachman, the Stern Professor of American History at Tufts University; Mary Gordon, the Millicent McIntosh Professor of English at Barnard College; Joline Godfrey, founder and CEO of Independent Means; Katherine S. Newman, dean of social science at the Radcliffe Institute; and Dawn Riley, the first female captain of an America’s Cup team and the first female CEO of America True.

Pamela Thomas-Graham, president and CEO of CNBC since July 2001, will be the lunch speaker. The conference will also include a presentation of a case study on a group of self-employed women in India. Speakers discussing the case study are Ela Bhatt, founding director of the Self-Employed Women’s Association in India, and Martha Chen, public policy lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government.

Although there is no fee for the conference, registration is encouraged. For more information, or to register, call (617) 495-8600, or visit http://www.radcliffe.edu/conferences/wmp.