Even after MeToo’s public victories, professional women writers still face discrimination and harassment. On Tues., Sept. 14 from 3 to 4 p.m. ET, ASBPE will host an inter-generational, international webcast with speakers who will address ways for women to identify and protect themselves from problematic behavior in the workplace, fight back against discrimination and find inspiration as they look for ways to create safer, more inclusive working conditions for all women. Bring your questions and concerns to a workshop that is intended to provide a safe, non-judgmental environment to explore this painful yet vitally important issue. Although this presentation is geared at women, non-gender conforming individuals and male allies are highly encouraged to attend as well.
This diverse panel is relevant to many women who still experience sexism in academic and professional workplaces, and will speak from research and experience on strategies to ensure women’s ideas are heard and their interests are represented. While legal means exist in some countries to confront outright harassment and discrimination, workplace culture can still make women feel unwelcome and shamed into tolerating degrading and even illegal behavior. We’ll discuss specific ways women and allies can advocate for an equitable workplace culture and hold space for women to speak up and be heard about injustice.
The webinar will be hosted by Sophia Bennett, a member of ASBPE’s board of directors. Panelists include:
Diane Brazil is a retired technology and business journalist following a 45-year career in Silicon Valley where she worked as a communications executive, and a technical, proposal, marketing, and executive speech writer. Brazil is now the author of “Shadow Valley,” a fact-based novel set in 1972 and 1973 about sexual discrimination and harassment, homophobia, ageism, and unsafe workplaces in the Silicon Valley technology industry during that era. The larger story in Shadow Valley is the true and accurate history of how unions have been blocked for more than a century, long before technology emerged, making Silicon Valley the most “un-unionizable” place on Earth. “Shadow Valley” is available for purchase on Amazon.
Dr. Leah Leach is the founder of Gal’s Guide to the Galaxy, which is home to the first lending library dedicated to women’s history in the United States. Before founding Gal’s Guide in 2016, she ran an award-winning film company for a decade. Leach has won 12 cinematic awards as well as six awards for the podcasts she has produced. Her current show is The Gal’s Guide Podcast available everywhere you listen to podcasts. Dr. Leach is a practicing Buddhist and holds an honorary degree in Metaphysics. She is currently working on a book that allows for women’s history to be a blueprint for a better life.
Dr. Karen McLean is currently the department chair and associate professor of social work at Western Connecticut State University where she teaches policy practice and cultural diversity classes. She is a graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Social Work where she received her Ph.D. in social work. McLean’s research includes discrimination, antiracism, and inclusion; self-care; and the learning experiences of undergraduate social work students. She has co-authored a book titled “Contemporary Social Work Practice: Integrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” which focuses on skills in working with diverse populations and explores terms such as cultural humility, oppression, and privilege in the context of social work practice. Dr. McLean is also a contributor in news articles and online journals. She aspires to increase dialogue and knowledge on understanding, recognizing, and appreciating differences across communities in order to foster equity and change.
Jaylan Salah is an Egyptian writer, translator, and poet, who won literary awards for her collection of Arabic short stories, “Thus Spoke La Loba” and her debut Arabic novel, “Bogart, Play Me a Classical Melody”. She received her B.Sc. in pharmacy in 2011 and has published film criticism articles, short stories, poems, and translations in many online and offline publications. Her works discuss themes of sexuality, gender, identity, sexual trauma, and feminism. Salah’s debut novel “Bogart Play me a Classic Melody” was recently chosen as one of the 32 novels in the “Arab Voices” initiative at the virtual Frankfurt Bookfair in 2020, which introduced popular Arab novels to an international audience. Her poetry books, “Workstation Blues” and “Bury my Womb on the West Bank,” are available for purchase on Amazon.