Pacifica Institute and BayCC held a panel titled “The Role of Education in Women’s Empowerment” in the Board Chambers of Government Center in San Jose on International Women’s Day, March 8th 2019. The event was held in partnership with UNA Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, and Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith. The purpose of the panel was to share best practices about providing quality education tools for women in our community and around the world. The evening started with Keynote Speaker Supervisor Cindy Chavez, who discussed some of her initiatives in empowering women in Santa Clara County, such as making sure rape kits are not thrown out without being tested. Following her speech, the panel moderator Tom Pyke introduced the panelists. Susan Ellenberg, Santa Clara County Supervisor, spoke on the importance of accessible daycare both for early childhood education and to help mothers be more empowered in their careers. Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith highlighted the obstacles facing women in the police force in the recent past, and drew connections to the future contributions women can make in many fields. Santa Clara Unified School Board Member Vickie Fairchild discussed the importance of recognizing one’s own privilege and using it to help empower young women through education by recounting a personal anecdote. Lastly, Pacifica Women’s Platform member Ayse Sahan discussed the conversation partnership the Women’s Platform has been involved in with refugee women in Greece and the positive effects of the project. The panel was closed with a speech about the conversation partnership project by Jan McDaniel from Los Altos United Methodist Church.

When : Friday, March 8, 2019 at 6 PM

Where: Board of Supervisors Chambers  – 70 W Hedding St, San Jose, CA