The University of Idaho’s Women’s Center, Professional Development and Learning, and Athena Professional Women’s Association, in partnership with Washington State University’s Women’s Resource Center, the WSU-ADVANCE grant, WSU President’s Commission on the Status of Women, and Lewis-Clark State College, will collaborate to host the 6th biennial Women’s Leadership Conference.
The theme for the conference is “Leaned on While Leaning In: Valuing Women’s Invisible Labor”. This title illustrates the complexity of tasks that women are often called upon to fill in a variety of roles. This year the conference will focus on the issues women encounter in both their professional and their personal lives. The theme will examine how women professionals often experience and deliver disproportionate levels of invisible labor in the workplace, including tasks and responsibilities not detailed in their job descriptions, emotional care work with constituents and colleagues, and other unquantifiable tasks that are vital to their organizations’ success, and yet rarely recognized or rewarded. The conference will explore ways in which we can shift our thinking and systems of value to place greater emphasis on the importance of this invisible work, and address alternatives to “leaning in” that value all of the contributions of women professionals
The Women’s Leadership Conference planning committee invites proposal submissions for presentations and workshops that address topics such as work-life balance, “leaning out” as a radical reframing of organizational norms, issues of self-care, women’s leadership, the glass ceiling/glass cliff effect, and effective communication strategies. We welcome presentations on any topics, but would like to encourage presenters to consider how their topic may intersect with issues related to women’s leadership roles, maintaining a healthy work-life balance, and effective communication strategies.
This day-long conference will be held at the Best Western University Inn in Moscow, Idaho and offers all women in higher education – students, staff, faculty, and administrators – an opportunity to celebrate our differences and create an empowered community that is more inclusive and supportive of women, as a group, irrespective of social identity, status, or institutional role. Conference presentations and workshops will take place on Thursday, March 30, 2017.
Sessions may blend presentation techniques, perhaps by encouraging networking and providing attendees with opportunities for an interactive experience. Proposals for sessions that showcase solution-driven strategies, best practices, and/or new directions or methods of collaboration are strongly encouraged. If you have a topic you think might not clearly fit the theme, but speaks to the issues at hand, please do submit your proposal, as all submissions will be considered. Please let us know whether your material would work better in a 60- or 90-minute workshop. Alternatively, if you prefer to present your material as a poster presentation, please note your poster must conform to the poster specifications included in the link below. A limited number of partial scholarships are available for students to assist in offsetting the cost of production of poster presentation materials.
Regardless of the presentation format you choose, please submit your proposal by completing this Qualtrics form and providing a brief abstract/description and other information.
Workshops will be scheduled for either 60 minute workshop sessions, or 90 minute intensive workshop sessions. Please submit your completed application by Monday, February 6, 2017.
*Attendance is free, but all conference attendees (including presenters) will need to register online for the conference when registration opens February 2017.
For more information please see the conference website: https://www.uidaho.edu/wlc, email wlc@uidaho.edu or call 208-885-2777
