Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Summer 1979
Abstract
The trashing of the Agency for International Development and the public scapegoating by my "sisters" at the National Women's Studies Association Convention is an experience which must, I feel, be noted in the annals of the conference.
Recognizing that U.S. women's studies programs tend to be relatively parochial, AID's and, in particular, the Women in Development office's concern was to bring an international development dimension, including the participation of Third World women, to the wide array of panels. On one panel—"U.S. and Third World Women: What Are the Connections?"—were researchers who discussed women in multinational corporations, the changing sex division of labor in agricultural economies, female-headed households, and the decolonialization of research on women. The second panel—"Broadening Women's Studies: Developing World Dimensions"—built on the first, with participants discussing models of existing international women's studies programs both inside and outside the U.S., and resources available for networking among women within and across campuses. As with all other panels, our proposal was approved by the Convention Coordinators. Both panels were well received by the attendees, partly because, as chair, I structured presentations and discussion toward content, to avoid disruption.