“It’s about changing culture, but culture does change,” says Emily from Hollaback!, one of the 14 women- and girl-serving organizations represented at the Omega Women’s Leadership Center’s 2nd annual Women Serving Women Summit. The Summit, held on May 28-30, 2012, at the Omega Institute in Rheinbeck, NY, kicked off with this video of Summit attendees reflecting on our current culture.
In the video, attendees first respond to the question “What are some of the challenges facing young women and girls today?” Their responses range from the “issue of representation” in media and media-making roles to “the rights we thought we had attained…now being eroded” to the challenge of “having a world in which they feel safe.”
In the spirit of the Summit, though, which gives these organizations’ leadership teams much-needed time away from their offices to “envision, plan, network, and rejuvenate,” the second half of the video asks attendees to imagine a new world for women and girls. From closing the wage gap to simply imaging “boys and girls working with each other,” these thoughtful women leaders are hopeful about “changing culture.”
The Strong Women, Strong Girls leadership team was fortunate to be able to attend the Summit this year. It was an extremely valuable opportunity for the SWSG teams in Boston, Miami, and Pittsburgh to meet in one place and plan for the upcoming year. SWSG was also honored to be at the Summit alongside organizations doing great work for women and girls, such as Black Women’s Blueprint, Children’s Media Project, and the Lower East Side Girls’ Club.
Watch the Summit video, and tell us what you think: What are the biggest challenges facing young women and girls today? And what does a better future look like?