Women Empowerment Day - Essay Example

I attended a conference organized by the California State University, Northridge to address the issue of women empowerment in Latin America. The Conference was held on 12th December 2011, with powerful women attending, including Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton. One of the objectives of the conference was to show that despite the negative prejudices placed on women, there are those who have conquered that belief and succeeded in their daily undertakings. Women’s great contributions to the community were greatly acknowledged, especially those realized in hospitals, schools, and institutions that support the poor.

In the conference, it was noted that economic inequalities, as well as legal and political structures, play a vital role in worsening the overall empowerment of women. In her speech, Oprah Winfrey stated that inheritance laws and cultural practices discriminate and undermine women in several fields (Ellison 233). For example, in some of the Latin American communities, girls inherit half as much as their brothers, while mothers get less than what their children get; and if children pass away, mothers inherit less than fathers do. Such cultural practices deny women key resources that can help them emerge as successful people in society.

The conference was organized in a way that, the day was divided into shorter sessions and evening sessions where the real objective of giving the techniques to be used by women to conquer the social prejudices was addressed by the speakers. The audience did not consist of women alone, but men as well, since the whole community has a role to play in the empowerment of women. The conference seemed extremely lively as everyone participated wholly in his or her own way. Some questionnaires were passed around in the conference concerning women issues, and the audience ware so positive in answering. Participants were asked to give some cultural beliefs and practices that limited the success of women, and the responses were so logical. Women were more willing to listen and participate fully as compared to men and had clear responses based on their own experiences. They showed a lot of gratitude for the speakers who enlightened them more on their welfare as well as to CSUN for organizing the event.

From the conference, I learned that women have so many opportunities and unused talents which, if addressed or practiced, can produce elegant leaders in the community. The conference was a huge success, as some women's potentials realized during the sessions was developed by the sponsors who were determined to use the opportunity to show women that they can do better than what people perceived. Read More