Will a Woman Become President? Activist Marianne Schnall to Offer Her Take on Sept. 30

BRISTOL, R.I – While the 2008 election of Barack Obama as the first black president in U.S. history broke a significant racial barrier in American politics, the highest elected office in the land still remains a hurdle uncleared for female politicians. With former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina among the nearly two dozen presidential candidates now competing for their party’s nomination, might 2016 be the year that a woman breaks the presidential glass ceiling?

On Wednesday, Sept. 30, members of the Roger Williams University community and the general public are invited to join Marianne Schnall – activist and author of What Will it Take to Make a Woman President? – for a discussion that will explore perspectives on that question as well others concerning women, leadership and power.

Schnall is a widely published writer and interviewer whose writings have appeared in a variety of media outlets including O, The Oprah Magazine, TIME.com, In Style, CNN.com, EW.com, the Women’s Media Center and many others. She is a featured blogger at The Huffington Post and a contributor to the nationally syndicated NPR radio show, 51 Percent: The Women’s Perspective.

Laura D’Amore, assistant professor of American studies, hopes Schnall’s talk will spur a dialogue about women and leadership.

“The question she poses in her book – Why haven’t we had a woman president? – is a great entrée to conversation as to why girls in general are resistant to becoming leaders and going into public service,” D’Amore says. “Schnall will be a valuable resource for our young students interested in pursuing business, politics, or activism, and I’m excited that they’ll have access to an expert and can hear about some of these bigger trends in American politics.”

Schnall is also the founder and executive director of Feminist.com, a website and nonprofit organization. For nearly 20 years, Feminist.com has fostered awareness, education and activism for people all across the world. Schnall is also the author of Daring to Be Ourselves: Influential Women Share Insights on Courage, Happiness and Finding Your Own Voice (2010), which is based on her interviews with an array of prominent women, including Maya Angelou, Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, Madeleine Albright, Natalie Portman, Jane Goodall and Alice Walker.

Her Sept. 30 presentation at Roger Williams will be held at 6 p.m. in the Feinstein College of Arts and Sciences building, Room 157, on the University’s Bristol campus at One Old Ferry Road.

The visit is sponsored by the University Library, Mario J. Gabelli School of Business, School of Justice Studies, Department of History and American Studies, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Department of Communication, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, The Women’s Center and the Office of Residence Life.

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