First Thursday March: Half the Sky

March 4 is International Women's Day, and through this program, we will be standing with AAUW branches across the country, in support of women and girls across the world, many who are struggling under dire circumstances.

The book Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn details the barriers that women face all around the globe and provides information on what one person can do to work for women's rights and equality. Visit http://www.halftheskymovement.org/ and CARE, AAUW partner in the Half the Sky movement, for additional information. We hope you'll be able to read this powerful book in advance of our March program.

Women account for half of the world's population. Fewer than one third of all women are literate, and in many African and Asian countries, only one in ten females even enter school. "Feminization of poverty" is a structural reality of the world political economy. Inspired by the book Half the Sky, this talk explores the myths about the invisibility and supposed insignificance of women's contributions to the world economy. The stories collected in this book reveal the resultant changes that can affect everything from population to the economy, which, along with other factors such as industrialization and shifting cultural norms and values, are agents of social change. The book is a powerful medium that narrates boundaries of exclusion, and imagined and racialized womanhood.

This and all First Thursday events held at the library are made possible by the Friends of Schlow Centre Region Library. This program is being presented in partnership with AAUW's State College Branch.