Empower Her: Political Pathways for Women Explored event set for Oct. 5

Empower Her: Political Pathways for Women, a half-day program dedicated to helping women in NEPA become more politically active, is set for Saturday, Oct. 5, at The University of Scranton. Hosted by the University’s Center for Ethics and Excellence in Public Service, the non-partisan event begins with opening remarks at 9 a.m. and concludes at 12:30 p.m.

“Empower Her seeks to inspire and inform women who are interested in becoming more involved in their communities, whether that is getting involved in advocacy efforts or running for office,” said JoyAnna S. Hopper, director of the University’s Center for Ethics and Excellence in Public Service and associate professor of political science. “The program’s focus is on helping women in NEPA see the value that their lived experiences can bring to government and activism, and to help women to figure out how to use their day-to-day experiences, education, and skillsets to become more involved.”

According to Dr. Hopper, women continue to be underrepresented in politics at the national, state and local levels.

“We know that this underrepresentation is partly due to fewer programs and opportunities focused on encouraging and helping women to run for office. A healthy democracy is one that includes fair representation for women and women’s issues. Programs like Empower Her and Ready to Run are aimed at helping us get closer to a more effective and representative government in NEPA,” said Dr. Hopper.

Empower Her is part of the Ready to Run Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) program that is run by Scranton’s Center for Ethics and Excellence in Public Service, in collaboration with the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, which offers non-partisan, campaign training programs that target women in in Bradford, Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Pike, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

The participation fee for Empower Her: Political Pathways for Women is $15. Some scholarships are available, and students can attend free of charge. The event will take place in room 405 of the DeNaples Center on campus.

To register, visit scranton.edu/readytorun or email ceeps@scranton.edu .