Women's Intergenerational Discussion in Middlebury

by Gail Zatz

     LEAD International (Leadership Education Action Diversity) and the Green Mountain Chapter of the Older Women’s League joined together to co-sponsor a “Generation to Generation” discussion at Chellis House at Middlebury College in April. This was the fourth program to date; previous events were held in Montpelier, St. Johnsbury, and Burlington.
      The Middlebury program drew 30 women of all ages, with a large showing of younger women from Middlebury College, including at least five women of color. Over pizza and brownies the discussion was lively. After introductions, participants broke into three smaller groups to create and discuss questions the participants wanted to ask of a woman of a different generation.
      Among the questions recalled by some participants was “How do we get men to take us more seriously?” (asked by a college student). The answer from the oldest woman there was “Stop smiling at them.” Other questions included a request to define feminism, and queries on how feminism has changed and whether it is still relevant. College students wanted to know whether it was easier or harder to remain an active feminist after leaving their academic enclave.
      After the small group discussions, the whole group came together one final time for a group closing and final comments.
      The programs aim to bring women of all ages together to share an evening of discussion while raising awareness and interest in issues that affect all girls and women and generating ideas about advocacy, action, and support across generations. The next intergenerational women’s discussion is scheduled for May at Dartmouth College.
      LEAD International is a non-profit organization, part of whose purpose is to support diversity and tolerance in our society.

Al Perkins and Fran Moravcsik contributed to this report.