Labor and unions have been much in the news recently, and a study released in May 2011 by the Ms. Foundation for Women shows that women are bearing the brunt of today's economic crisis. What aspects of labor comprise the struggles women share across racial, ethnic, class, sexual, and national divides? How have women contributed their labor artistically, culturally, and politically, in our communities as well as around the globe?  Questions like these, and many others, will be addressed at the 20th annual Women’s Studies Conference at Southern Connecticut State University. The conference –  "Women and Labor: At Home, At Work, Around the Globe"  – will take place on Southern’s campus on April 20-21, 2012.

Organized and sponsored by Southern’s Women’s Studies Program, the two-day conference will offer panel discussions and plenary sessions, and a women and girls' fair.  

A highlight of the conference will be keynote addresses by two renowned figures in the women’s labor movement: Dolores Huerta and Lilly Ledbetter. Huerta founded the Agricultural  Workers Association, launched the National Farm Workers Association with César Sanchez, and was instrumental in the enactment of the Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975. Today, she serves as voluntary president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, developing leaders, and advocating for the working poor, women and children.  Ledbetter became a women's equality activist after the Supreme Court ruled against her in the case of Ledbetter vs. Good Year Tire and Rubber Company. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first piece of real legislation Barack Obama signed as the 44th President of the United States, helps ensure that workers discriminated on the basis of gender have a fair chance to sue their employers. The Act was signed into action on January 29, 2009.

Conference fees range from $20 to $120, with discounted rates for students and young girls. For more information or to register, visit http://www.southernct.edu/womensstudies/ or call (203) 392-6133.