COLUMBUS, Ind. — “Are women thriving? The answer is yes and no.”
These were the words of Julie Goodspeed-Chadwick, a Chancellor’s Professor of English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at IUPUC, as she spoke at the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual Women in Leadership event. The luncheon was held on Wednesday at The Commons, with attendees hearing from the three 2022 honorees: Julie Del Genio, Shen Macheel and Mary Stroh.
The event began with a keynote address from Goodspeed-Chadwick, who spoke on “Surviving and Thriving in the Workplace.”
The professor highlighted talented women in history, including Sylvia Plath and Assia Wevill, who struggled as working mothers despite their professional achievements. She also spoke of her own mother’s lack of equal opportunity and inability to reenter the workforce after having children, due to a lack of affordable childcare.
“When we compare our lives and accessibility of our world to our mothers or grandmothers, we must acknowledge that yes, this is a different world in many respects,” said Goodspeed-Chadwick. “Thanks to Title IX, which turns 50 this year, women are protected in many respects in educational settings. … However, that landmark law is only 50 years old, and women are still battling under pay gaps, segregation into pink-collar work, sexual harassment, sexual assault and gender violence, which are at epidemic proportions today.”
