International Women’s Day is March 8, but Lipscomb students have planned an entire week, appropriately named “Women’s Empowerment Week,” featuring sessions on campus throughout the week open to all.
Juniors Sena Seged and Leslie Garcia are co-directors of the week, with an organizational staff of over 15 fellow students.
Seven different events in total have been planned, ranging from the Lydia Conference to a “Lunch and Learn” with Frankie Henry, a civil rights activist during the Nashville sit-ins. This is the first year Lipscomb has recognized the week.
“It’s kind of surprising this hasn’t been recognized before — women’s history month is March — but just this week is such a good time to recognize women in general,” Seged said. “It’s good because we get a different perspective every day — a dose of women every day.”
This year, the theme for International Women’s Day is “Press for Progress.” Seged said that theme is also reflected in their weekly sessions and goals.
“Every year they have a new theme for what they do, kind of what they want women to recognize internationally, and this year’s theme is “Press for Progress,” which is so vital…that means making a change, making an effort, and we’re doing that right now by even having this week. Everyone has been so receptive of Women’s Empowerment Week.
“A lot of us have the same mind, in coming together,” Seged continued. “I wouldn’t call us feminists, but all of us are really passionate about coming together with women’s empowerment and celebrating the idea of being a woman. Everyday we can tackle a different issue, or a different subject that women face — like tonight, we’re talking about human trafficking.”
Senior Carrie Cowart is also helping to plan the week and is responsible for the creation of the Lydia Conference. Cowart said the Lydia Conference had been planned since August, but Seged and Garcia came to her asking if she would partner with them through Women’s Empowerment Week.
Additionally, Cowart partnered with the College of Business to produce the Lydia Conference, which, according to the mission statement, “is a women’s career empowerment event centered in connecting women’s careers to their spiritual journeys.”
Cowart credits the creation of the Lydia Conference to her desire to provide a way for college-aged women to hear from empowered women in the workforce.
“I have been very privileged in the fact that I’ve been able to grow up around women who are professionals and leaders in their fields, and I have my family to thank for that,” Cowart said.
“But I also know that not everyone gets that and has access to women who are leaders in their own lives. There’s not anything like this for women who aren’t in their careers yet — to empower them to reach their goals and learn more about what they could encounter when they go into their fields and such, so I was like, ‘You know what, if I don’t do it, then no one will.'”
Cowart said that in terms of the entire week, she and the rest of the committee tried to focus on not making it about “protesting,” but rather “educating the community and campus” about issues that are prevalent in the world today from a woman’s perspective. These topics include sex trafficking, civil rights, immigration and more.
In addition to sessions throughout the week, Women’s Empowerment Week is also raising items for those at the Tennessee Prison for Women. These items can be dropped off in each of the women’s dorms on campus.
Seged said she wants the week to ultimately be a movement — similar to the theme of “Pressing Forward” — that women are powerful. She has sought to do this by inviting many different women to speak as panelists to Lipscomb students.
“Women are powerful by themselves, but there’s something about multiple women coming together and sharing these ideas — you get something out of it; it’s something good, always,” Seged said. “I’m really happy for this week because pressing for progress — it starts here. It starts on our campus.
“I encourage everyone to come, not just for the chapel credit, not just for the food,” Seged added. “We’ve put a lot of hard work into this, and there are a lot of hot topics being discussed, so I feel like everybody, men and women, will benefit something from this week.”
Students can register and RSVP for the Lydia conference by clicking here.