Women’s History Month events cover a variety of topics

Women’s History Month will wrap up in the next two weeks with a number of diverse programs about and for women at Pitt.

These activities include:

Women in Public Safety Expo: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. March 20, William Pitt Union, Assembly Room. Learn about our roles and careers in public safety.  There will be more than 20 agencies attending including law enforcement, EMS, fire, Homeland Security, FBI, ATF, pre-trial services and more.  Stop by for resources, giveaways, games and interactive activities. Open to Pitt students, faculty and staff. For more information, contact Pitt Police Officer Jamie Cunningham, jac355@pitt.edu

Beyond Abortion: The Consequences of Overturning Roe: 7:15 to 8:15 a.m. March 21, Join via Teams. Lisa Harris — professor of reproductive health, and professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Department of Women's and Gender Studies,
University of Michigan — will focus on the impact of Roe vs. Wade being overturned on people who plan to continue their pregnancies. She will show how abortion bans now mean that anyone who becomes pregnant will be newly vulnerable to increased surveillance, civil detentions, forced interventions, and criminal prosecutions. This includes people who experience a pregnancy complication, as well as those who give birth to healthy newborns.

“Looking Back, Looking Forward: 50 Years of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies at Pitt”: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. March 24 at William Pitt Union and Alumni Hall. Founded as the Women’s Studies Program in 1972, it is one of the oldest women’s studies programs in the United States. State Rep. La'Tasha Mayes, a graduate of the program, will give the keynote address at 6:30 p.m. at Alumni Hall, fifth floor. Other sessions during the day include: “The Work of Creating Women's Studies at Pitt”; thematized intergenerational lunch conversations on “What Can We Learn Together?”; “From Women's Studies to Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies”; and more. The last day to RSVP for this event is March 17. Find more information here.

Inside the Second Wave of Feminism: A Presentation with Nancy Rosenstock: 4-5:30 p.m. March 28. The Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies will host Nancy Rosenstock, a member of the radical feminist organization Boston Female Liberation, to discuss her book, “Inside the Second Wave of Feminism.” The book provides an inside account of the group’s history, strategy, and legacy through reflections of Rosenstock’s fellow activists. Check the University calendar for more information.

Women’s History Month book club and discussion, “The Blues Walked In”: Noon-1:30 p.m. March 28, William Pitt Union, Room 537. Kathleen George, author and theatre arts professor, will lead the discussion about her book of historical fiction, which focuses on 19-year-old Lena Horne’s encounter with a Lebanese-American girl, Marie David, near her father’s hotel in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. Their chance meeting sparks a relationship that will intertwine their lives forever.  The first 30 registrants for this discussion will receive a free copy of the book, which can be picked up on the 31st floor of the Cathedral of Learning. 

Women in Medicine and Science Forum: March 28-29, Alumni Hall, Connolly Ballroom, and March 30, S100 Starzl Biomedical Science Tower. The annual conference’s 2023 theme is “Professional Well-Being: Fostering Culture Change from Me to We.” This forum expands upon Pitt’s Year of Emotional Well-Being and promotes the professional well-being of women in medicine and science, highlighting strategies that lead to emotional well-being and career success. Topics include: “Work/Life Balance for Women in Academia”; “From Surviving to Thriving: Building and Sustaining High-Performance Teams”; “The No Club: Putting a Stop to Women's Dead-End Work” and more. The WIMS Forum is open to all members and genders of Pitt's academic community. Register here. Walk-ins are welcome, excluding the career consultations session, which is by prior appointment only. Find more information about the forum here.

POSTPONED (New date, time, and location TBA) — HerStory Slam: 6-8 p.m. March 29, Frick Fine Arts Building, Cloisters and Auditorium. The HerStory Slam will bring together women storytellers from across Pitt and the greater Pittsburgh community to share true, personal stories that explore the breadth, depth and diversity of being and becoming a woman.

SheLeads Women's Forum: 3-6 p.m. March 30, Information Sciences Building, 3rd Floor Theatre. The School of Computing and Information presents the SheLeads Women’s Forum with keynote speaker Catherine Marsh, director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. A panel discussion with local female tech leaders as well as a Pitt student and a professor will focus on their lived experiences as women leaders in technology at different points in their careers. RSVP here. Find more information on the SCI website.