The Women's Conference
Encyclopedia
The Women's Conference is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization and annual forum for women. The event first began in 1986 as a California government initiative for working professionals and women business owners. Since 2004, The Women's Conference has been under the leadership of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
and First Lady Maria Shriver
and has grown into a "blockbuster" event featuring "powerhouse newsmakers" such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, Former Prime Minister Tony Blair
, Oprah Winfrey
, Barbara Walters
, Jane Fonda
, Martha Stewart
, Tyra Banks
, Sarah, Duchess of York
, Tim Russert
, Deepak Chopra
, Tom Brokaw
, Queen Rania of Jordan, Maureen Dowd
, Sandra Day O'Connor
, Thomas Friedman
, Anna Quindlen
, and Billie Jean King
.
Reinvented by Shriver, The Women's Conference has reportedly become the "largest meeting of women in the country" and a celebration of "lives and lessons". Its main stage presentations and seminar sessions have addressed personal topics such as work-life balance, service and volunteerism, healthy lifestyles, spirituality and families, professional issues such as professional development, financial planning, entrepreneurialism and communications, as well as social issues like women's maternal health, global poverty, climate change and emergency preparedness.
The event is staged at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California
, usually in October.
Every year, substantial portions of the event are made available free through a live streaming webcast at The Women's Conference's web site.
Erin Mulcahy Stein is the current Executive Director of The Women's Conference, which is headquartered in Los Angeles, California
.
, Cindy Hensley McCain
, Elizabeth Edwards
and Ann Romney
. Bill Clinton
did not attend because of a scheduling conflict, though Shriver joked that he had been "invited to serve coffee". The conversation touched on the role of the spouses in the campaign, the public's perceptions of the spouses, preparing their families for and protecting them from the campaign. Jon Stewart lampooned the first-ever "wives debate" on the October 30 edition of Comedy Central's The Daily Show.
Also in 2007, New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize
-winning author Thomas Friedman
moderated a conversation on leadership and the environment between former Prime Minister Tony Blair
and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
. Due to the October 2007 California wildfires
, Governor Schwarzenegger was unable to attend the conference in person and instead participated briefly via live satellite, giving an update on the status of the fires and fire fighters.
In 2006, His Holiness the Dalai Lama delivered his "first-ever address to a women's conference" on stage with Maria Shriver. His Holiness expressed his belief that women can change the world with compassion and kindness and he reportedly led the 14,000 women through a meditation exercise.
In 2005, Barbara Walters
and Maria Shriver engaged in an on-stage conversation with Sandra Day O'Connor
on the heels of her decision to leave the U.S. Supreme Court.
s around women's health issues throughout the world. In partnership with Meredith Corporation
, the initiative supports the work of CARE, a leading humanitarian organization, to save the lives of thousands of pregnant women in Africa and Latin America. WE Care encourages the women of California – and beyond – to join the movement to empower women in the developing world to overcome extreme poverty while proving much needed funds to fight mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Zambia
and train midwives in Nicaragua
to assist with safe deliveries. Participants in The Women's Conference 2007 showed their support for WE Care by making financial contributions and a visual sign of support: women dipped their hands in orange and yellow paint and left handprints on a banner that Maria Shriver will hand-deliver to the Care project sites in Nicaragua and Zambia.
Minerva Award recipients have made extraordinary contributions in the areas of the Arts, Health and Sciences, Community Activism, Human Rights, Business and Technology, Motherhood, Innovation, Education and Finance. Many of the nominees not only have made a significant contribution to their profession, but they also impart their knowledge and skills to the next generation either by mentoring, or by working for the inclusion and retention of women in their field.
The award is named after the Roman Goddess, Minerva
, who graces the State Seal of California
.
In 2007, Shriver expanded the awards to extend beyond California to honor a woman who has positively impacted the U.S. and world by honoring Eunice Kennedy Shriver
, Executive Vice President of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation and Founder and Honorary Chair of Special Olympics
International.
The achievements of Minerva Award winners are chronicled in a permanent exhibit at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts
in Sacramento and have become part of California's official archive.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
and First Lady Maria Shriver
Maria Shriver
Maria Owings Shriver is an American journalist and author of six best-selling books. She has received a Peabody Award, and was co-anchor for NBC's Emmy-winning coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics. As executive producer of The Alzheimer's Project, Shriver earned two Emmy Awards and an Academy of...
and has grown into a "blockbuster" event featuring "powerhouse newsmakers" such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, Former Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
, Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
, Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
, Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart is an American business magnate, author, magazine publisher, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she has gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, and merchandising...
, Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks
Tyra Lynne Banks is an American model, media personality, actress, occasional singer, author and businesswoman. She first became famous as a model, but television appearances were her commercial breakthrough...
, Sarah, Duchess of York
Sarah, Duchess of York
Sarah, Duchess of York is a British charity patron, spokesperson, writer, film producer, television personality and former member of the British Royal Family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, whom she married from 1986 to 1996...
, Tim Russert
Tim Russert
Timothy John "Tim" Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Washington bureau chief and also hosted the eponymous CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview...
, Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra is an Indian medical doctor, public speaker, and writer on subjects such as spirituality, Ayurveda and mind-body medicine. Chopra began his career as an endocrinologist and later shifted his focus to alternative medicine. Chopra now runs his own medical center, with a focus on...
, Tom Brokaw
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...
, Queen Rania of Jordan, Maureen Dowd
Maureen Dowd
Maureen Bridgid Dowd is a Washington D.C.-based columnist for The New York Times and best-selling author. During the 1970s and the early 1980s, she worked for Time magazine and the Washington Star, where she covered news as well as sports and wrote feature articles...
, Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
, Thomas Friedman
Thomas Friedman
Thomas Lauren Friedman is an American journalist, columnist and author. He writes a twice-weekly column for The New York Times. He has written extensively on foreign affairs including global trade, the Middle East, and environmental issues and has won the Pulitzer Prize three times.-Personal...
, Anna Quindlen
Anna Quindlen
Anna Marie Quindlen is an American author, journalist, and opinion columnist whose New York Times column, Public and Private, won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1992. She began her journalism career in 1974 as a reporter for the New York Post...
, and Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...
.
Reinvented by Shriver, The Women's Conference has reportedly become the "largest meeting of women in the country" and a celebration of "lives and lessons". Its main stage presentations and seminar sessions have addressed personal topics such as work-life balance, service and volunteerism, healthy lifestyles, spirituality and families, professional issues such as professional development, financial planning, entrepreneurialism and communications, as well as social issues like women's maternal health, global poverty, climate change and emergency preparedness.
The event is staged at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, usually in October.
Every year, substantial portions of the event are made available free through a live streaming webcast at The Women's Conference's web site.
Erin Mulcahy Stein is the current Executive Director of The Women's Conference, which is headquartered in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Event highlights
The Women's Conference 2007 sold out in less than three days, a conference record. The conference gathered nearly 14,000 participants on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007, and featured a panel discussion moderated by Shriver of five presidential candidates' spouses, Jeri Thompson, Michelle ObamaMichelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...
, Cindy Hensley McCain
Cindy Hensley McCain
Cindy Lou Hensley McCain is an American businesswoman, and philanthropist, and the wife of United States Senator and 2000 and 2008 presidential candidate John McCain of Arizona....
, Elizabeth Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards
Elizabeth Anania Edwards was an American attorney, a best-selling author and a health care activist. She was married to John Edwards, the former U.S...
and Ann Romney
Ann Romney
Ann Romney is the wife of American businessman and Republican Party politician Mitt Romney. From 2003 to 2007 she was First Lady of Massachusetts....
. Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
did not attend because of a scheduling conflict, though Shriver joked that he had been "invited to serve coffee". The conversation touched on the role of the spouses in the campaign, the public's perceptions of the spouses, preparing their families for and protecting them from the campaign. Jon Stewart lampooned the first-ever "wives debate" on the October 30 edition of Comedy Central's The Daily Show.
Also in 2007, New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning author Thomas Friedman
Thomas Friedman
Thomas Lauren Friedman is an American journalist, columnist and author. He writes a twice-weekly column for The New York Times. He has written extensively on foreign affairs including global trade, the Middle East, and environmental issues and has won the Pulitzer Prize three times.-Personal...
moderated a conversation on leadership and the environment between former Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
. Due to the October 2007 California wildfires
October 2007 California wildfires
The October 2007 California wildfires were a series of wildfires that began burning across Southern California on October 20. At least 1,500 homes were destroyed and over 500,000 acres of land burned from Santa Barbara County to the U.S.–Mexico border...
, Governor Schwarzenegger was unable to attend the conference in person and instead participated briefly via live satellite, giving an update on the status of the fires and fire fighters.
In 2006, His Holiness the Dalai Lama delivered his "first-ever address to a women's conference" on stage with Maria Shriver. His Holiness expressed his belief that women can change the world with compassion and kindness and he reportedly led the 14,000 women through a meditation exercise.
In 2005, Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
and Maria Shriver engaged in an on-stage conversation with Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
on the heels of her decision to leave the U.S. Supreme Court.
Organization highlights
Led by Maria Shriver's belief in the "power of WE", The Women's Conference has formed partnerships, developed programs and supported initiatives that extend the inspiration of the conference for "more than just a day" and empower women everywhere.WE Care – The Women's Health Empowerment Initiative
WE Care supports solutionSolution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
s around women's health issues throughout the world. In partnership with Meredith Corporation
Meredith Corporation
The Meredith Corporation is a media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The company has two divisions, National Media and Local Media.-History:...
, the initiative supports the work of CARE, a leading humanitarian organization, to save the lives of thousands of pregnant women in Africa and Latin America. WE Care encourages the women of California – and beyond – to join the movement to empower women in the developing world to overcome extreme poverty while proving much needed funds to fight mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
and train midwives in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
to assist with safe deliveries. Participants in The Women's Conference 2007 showed their support for WE Care by making financial contributions and a visual sign of support: women dipped their hands in orange and yellow paint and left handprints on a banner that Maria Shriver will hand-deliver to the Care project sites in Nicaragua and Zambia.
WE Invest – The Women's Financial Empowerment Initiative
WE Invest promotes women's financial security and economic empowerment, helping to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of each and every California woman. WE Invest supports California-based non-profit organizations that help women overcome social and economic barriers in their journey out of poverty.WE Lead – The Minerva Leadership Program
The Minerva Leadership Program seeks to inspire, educate and empower young women leaders who are civically oriented and socially conscious to be the architects of their own lives and to make a difference in the world. The Minerva Leadership Program inspires young women to become leaders in their homes, schools and communities. As part of this program, and in collaboration with the Women's Foundation of California, 500 ethnically and geographically diverse California women, ages 16 – 22, are invited as special guests to participate fully in The Women's Conference and attend two seminar sessions created just for them. Minerva Leadership Program participants must pledge to perform an additional 10 hours of service to their communities, which leads to more than 5,000 hours service to California's communities.Minerva Awards
Created by Shriver in 2004, the Minerva Awards honors remarkable women who have stepped forward in the spirit of Minerva and changed their country with their courage, their strength and their wisdom. The Minerva Awards are presented every year at The Women's Conference. Nominees are announced prior to the conference event, typically in September.Minerva Award recipients have made extraordinary contributions in the areas of the Arts, Health and Sciences, Community Activism, Human Rights, Business and Technology, Motherhood, Innovation, Education and Finance. Many of the nominees not only have made a significant contribution to their profession, but they also impart their knowledge and skills to the next generation either by mentoring, or by working for the inclusion and retention of women in their field.
The award is named after the Roman Goddess, Minerva
Minerva
Minerva was the Roman goddess whom Romans from the 2nd century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic...
, who graces the State Seal of California
Seal of California
The Great Seal of the State of California was adopted at the California state Constitutional Convention of 1849 and has undergone minor design changes since then, the last being the standardization of the seal in 1937...
.
In 2007, Shriver expanded the awards to extend beyond California to honor a woman who has positively impacted the U.S. and world by honoring Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, DSG a member of the Kennedy family, sister to President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy, was the founder in 1962 of Camp Shriver, and in 1968, the Special Olympics...
, Executive Vice President of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation and Founder and Honorary Chair of Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
International.
The achievements of Minerva Award winners are chronicled in a permanent exhibit at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts
The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts
The California Museum, formerly The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts – home of the California Hall of Fame – is housed in the State Archives Building in Sacramento, one block from the State Capitol...
in Sacramento and have become part of California's official archive.
| Year | Minerva Award Recipients |
|---|---|
| 2010 |
|
| 2009 |
Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National... , author, world renowned primatologist and environmentalist and founder of The Gombe Stream Research Centre. |
| 2008 |
Billie Jean King Billie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society... , professional tennis player and champion of the 1973 Battle of the Sexes match, and founder of The Women's Sports Foundation. Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s... , Women's Rights Advocate, Writer, Organizer, and Co-founder, Women's Media Center. Louise Hay Louise Hay is an American motivational author, and the founder of Hay House, a publishing company. She has authored several New Thought self-help books, and is best known for her 1984 book, You Can Heal Your Life.-Biography:... , author, self-help pioneer, and counselor who first gained national prominence during the AIDS epidemic. |
| 2007 |
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011... , Speaker of the House of Representatives "Sweet Alice" Harris Alice Harris, also known as "Sweet Alice", is a community organizer based in the neighborhood of Watts, Los Angeles, California. She is the founder and executive director of Parents of Watts, a local youth outreach group.... , Founder and Executive Director of Parents of Watts Eunice Kennedy Shriver Eunice Kennedy Shriver, DSG a member of the Kennedy family, sister to President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy, was the founder in 1962 of Camp Shriver, and in 1968, the Special Olympics... , Executive Vice President of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation and Founder and Honorary Chair of Special Olympics International |
| 2006 |
Jane Alexander Jane Alexander is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed... , Co-founder of Citizens Against Homicide Lifetime Achievement Minerva Award recipient:
|
| 2005 |
Janice Mirikitani Janice Mirikitani is an American Sansei poet and activist.She was born in Stockton, California to Shigemi and Ted Mirikitani, who were Nisei farmers in San Joaquin County. During World War II, she was interred along with her family at the Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas. Following the... , author and partner of Glide Memorial Church Lifetime Achievement Minerva Award recipient:
|
| 2004 |
Program for Torture Victims The Program for Torture Victims is a non-profit organization that provides medical, psychological, case management and legal services to torture survivors. PTV serves more than 300 victims of state-sponsored torture from over 65 countries annually.... |