Four profs talk on women's issues in their fields of study

"Penn women for women" was the defining theme of yesterday afternoon's joint lecture given by four prominent female Penn professors. The event, which was sponsored by Penn's Association of Women Faculty and Administrators and took place in Irvine Auditorium, focused on advancing the roles of women and increasing their responsibilities in society. Nursing Professor Joyce Thompson, Epidemiology Professor Jeane Ann Grisso and Microbiology professors Yvonne Paterson and Helen Davies each spoke briefly about contemporary female issues in their respective fields of study. The topics, which ranged from recent advances in cervical cancer research to shocking expos_s of violence against women in West Philadelphia, all shared the common theme of women's advancement. Thompson, who spoke for about 15 minutes, discussed women's rights and their role in global health. Thompson began her talk by posing the question: "Why invest in women?" The answer, she said, is that if society "invests in the health of the woman, it invests in the health of children; thus, it invests in the health of the family and ultimately, the health of a nation." Founder of Penn's Nurse Midwifery program, Thompson has done extensive work on the global, national and local level. For instance, she actively works with the International Confederation of Midwives on a worldwide level, with Safe Motherhood Initiatives-USA on a national level and teaches here at Penn on the local level. Thompson concluded her segment with a charge to the audience: "As privileged women," she said, "we must lead the way." Following Thompson was Grisso, who spoke on violence against women in West Philadelphia. After revealing the startling statistics of a recent survey, Grisso called upon the audience, asking: "What can we do to take action?" Up next was Paterson, who optimistically chronicled the recent progress being made on cervical cancer research. Paterson recounted some of the approaches that her department has used in combatting the disease. She ended her segment by noting that a vaccine has received funding and approval to be tested on women suffering from cervical cancer. Davies, who is also president of the Association of Women in Science, ended the lecture with a brief, but inspiring, speech. Recalling the Women's Liberation movement of several decades ago, Davies said it is "time for action? again." Although noting the positive influence of having a female University president for the morale of women at Penn, Davies stressed the need for a new status report that would reveal the positions and numbers of women and minorities across the campus. Since the United States serves as a role model for the rest of the world, Davies said, it is essential that women "keep moving" or they run the risk of "hold[ing] everyone back." Arnold, a member of the board of the Association of Women Faculty and Administrators, said she felt that the meeting not only provided "a lot of good information about women's issues," but also was a pleasant reminder of "what Penn women are doing."