Wharton to hold alumnae conference

Women in the business world will give anecdotes and advice about their professional experiences at the Wharton School's 11th annual Wharton Alumnae Conference, being held today in the University Museum. Beginning with an address by Wharton Dean Thomas Gerrity, the day-long conference, titled "Business Women in the Nineties and Beyond: Diversity, Opportunity, Success," will address the changing role of women in the business world. "There has been a lot of talk recently about the disparity between how comapanies are treating men and women, in being proactive versus being reactive," said Wharton graduate student Donna Cahill, a conference organizer. She explained that "while some firms have gone out of their way to intergrate women into their businesses," there are still areas in which women are not on a completely equal footing as men. After Gerrity's speech, the conference will break up into six discussion groups, featuring panels of prominent businesswomen. The panels will address the ways women are involved in the business world. The "Entrepreneurial Women" panel will examine women who have started their own businesses. The panel will feature Hilary Adams Pridgen, a woman who sold her direct mail-order company to the Campbell Soup Company. "The conference allows the women here to get a perspective on the real world," Cahill said. She said that it provides an opportunity for women in the workforce to share what they have learned with the next generation of businesswomen. Rosemary Conners, associate director of alumni affairs for Wharton, said that the conference "brings together diverse constituencies, of alumni and students." Other panels will discuss women's roles in international business, in traditionally male-dominated careers, in management and in the non-corporate, public sector. Registration will be from 8:30 to 9 a.m. at the University Museum. The cost is $15 for students, $25 for faculty, $50 for alumnae and $60 for people unaffiliated with the University. The fee includes breakfast, lunch and a reception.

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