Diversity Council Dialogue on Gender and Sexism
The Rochester Diversity Council invites you to join their dialogue on Gender and Sexism.
A Time to Talk: Dialogue on Gender & Sexism
Thursday, March 30, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Heintz Center Commons
Phrases like "runs like a girl", "man's man", or "feminazi" show that our ideas about gender are still defining women's and men's roles in our community. While these ideas may seem harmless or old-fashioned, they manifest themselves in very real ways, such as wage disparity, harassment, and unequal opportunities for both men and women. Our ideas about gender affect us all-regardless of our sex.
Community members of all sexes, races, religions, backgrounds, and perspectives are invited to discuss the impact of gender and sexism on our community at A Time to Talk. Participants may register with the Diversity Council by calling 282-9951 or emailing info@diversitycouncil.org. Registration is free.
A Time to Talk: Dialogue on Gender and Sexism is sponsored by the Diversity Council and University Center Rochester. The event is the second in a series of community dialogues.
A Time to Talk: Dialogue on Gender and Sexism is part of the 2006 Rochester Reads program. In this year's Rochester Reads book, No Horizon is So Far, Anne Bancroft and Liv Arneson describe their challenges in finding funding and support as the first women to cross Antarctica. Their journey and struggles will provide starting points for the dialogue, but it will not be necessary to have read the book to participate in the dialogues.
A Time to Talk explores our ideas and assumptions about gender and how they affect our interactions as a community. Diversity Council facilitators will lead small group dialogue circles with members of the community. Dr. Roger Gregoire, nationally recognized expert on dialogue, participated in the initial training of community dialogue facilitators. Dr. Gregoire describes the benefits of dialogue: "It is a strategy that overcomes the conversational habits that reinforce our differences and keep us apart....Wisdom and understanding are the real objectives of generative dialogue while tolerance, cooperation and a greater sense of social cohesiveness are frequent benefits from the practice of dialogue."
