The importance of women and work for impoverished countries discussed in free event at The College of St. Scholastica

Release Date: 09/25/12

DULUTH, MN - Author Sheryl WuDunn will speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, in the Mitchell Auditorium on The College of St. Scholastica campus. The title of her discussion is "Putting Women to Work." The public is welcome; there is no charge. 

WuDunn's talk is the first in a series called Confronting Global Poverty, sponsored by the Alworth Center for the Study of Peace and Justice at St. Scholastica. The series will explore the planet's impoverished conditions. The World Bank calculates that half of the world lives on less than $2.50/day and that the poorest 40 percent represents only 5 percent of global income.

Together with her husband, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, WuDunn is the author of "Half the Sky", which makes the case for investing in the health and autonomy of women worldwide. WuDunn and Kristof conclude that it is impossible for countries to climb out of poverty if only a fraction of women (9 percent in Pakistan, for example) participate in the labor force. What's more, they reveal local women to be the most effective change agents in their own countries.

Duluth public television station WDSE-TV Channel 8 will show "Half the Sky," a documentary inspired by WuDunn and Kristof's best-selling book, at 8 p.m. Oct. 1 and 2.

A special advance preview of the documentary will be shown at Zinema 2 at 7 p.m. on Sept. 27. Contact Zinema for ticket information.

Additional lectures in the Confronting Global Poverty series are outlined below. All are free and open to the public. They start at 7:30 p.m. and are in the Mitchell Auditorium on campus.

For more information visit spotlight.css.edu or contact the Spotlight Box Office at (218) 723-7000. Spotlight@css.edu is St. Scholastica's one-stop shop for arts and lectures information and tickets.

Thursday, Nov. 8
"Global Development is Succeeding"
Charles Kenny, World Bank senior economist

Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013
"The Reality of Poverty"
Jonathan Morduch, professor of public policy and economics, New York University

Thursday, April 4, 2013
"Poverty and the World's Water Supply"
Maude Barlow, Canadian environmentalist, author and activist

The College of St. Scholastica is regularly recognized as one of the finest colleges in the Midwest. The 2013 "America's Best Colleges" survey by U.S. News & World Report magazine ranks St. Scholastica in the top tier of Midwestern universities. The Washington Post has rated St. Scholastica as one of the nation's 100 "hidden gems" among U.S. colleges and universities.