Women in Science Group to Host Session on Empowering Women and Girls

The Women in Science at Duquesne University (WIS@DU) will host an interactive session, Dollars & Sense: The Value of Asking for What You Want, a program designed to empower girls and women by training them in the art of negotiation.

The presentation, which will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 15, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. in Mellon Hall’s Laura Falk Lecture Hall, will be led by Ayana Ledford, the founding executive director of the Program for Research and Outreach on Gender Equity in Society at Carnegie Mellon University.

Ledford, a nationally known speaker on topics including influencing the long-term career success of women, has conducted more than 100 presentations on the value of negotiation for women’s and girl’s organizations. She co-chairs the Girls Coalition of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s economic empowerment committee, and is a member of the YWCA of Pittsburgh’s Young Leadership Advisory Committee.

“(Negotiating) is an essential skill, especially in the STEM disciplines, where women tend to be underrepresented and where unconscious bias can make it more challenging for their opinions to be heard,” said Dr. Allyson O’Donnell, assistant professor of biological sciences in the Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Resources and a member of the WIS@DU leadership team.

“We are looking forward to a dynamic and well attended event that encourages our female scientists to reach for leadership positions and that brings some of the issues facing women in science to the forefront of the conversation,” O’Donnell added.

For more information on WIS@DU, visit www.duq.edu/WISDU. To register for the session, RSVP at WIS@duq.edu with the subject line “Ledford.”