Friday, April 1, 2011

Women's Forum Inspires Audience

Women of all ages and backgrounds attended UVI's Women's Month Forum "Virgin Islands Women in Leadership: Myth and Realities," held on March 29, in the St. Thomas campus Adminstration and Conference Center. The all-women panel consisted of (pictured from left) Memorial Moravian Church Pastor Rev. Dr. Winelle Kirton-Roberts, Vice President for Public Relations and Governmental Affairs of Innovative Corporation Jennifer Matarangas-King, VI Senator Nellie Rivera-O'Reilly, Superior Court Judge Audrey Thomas, and physician Dr. Audria Thomas.

The event included the panelists fielding questions about salary disparities between men and women, whether or not women or men were better bosses, high points and low points each has encountered because of their gender, and lessons they would give to toher women who want to pursue similar careers. It also included a series of personal questions that the panelists answered by raising placards that read "myth" or "reality" based on their individual curcumstance. Some of those questions included: "Women in leadership positions like yours have maids to clean their homes," and "Women in leadership positions like yours don't watch TV." The forum was sponsored by UVI's St. Thomas campus Division of Student Affairs.