Recap: Inaugural Gender Wealth Summit

On Friday, September 16th, WOMEN’S WAY hosted the Inaugural Gender Wealth Summit at Quorum at the University City Science Center. From the very start, the event space was filled with the enthusiastic voices and energy of participants from across the region who represented a diversity of industries and lived experiences.

Having reached maximum participant capacity two weeks prior to the event itself, the Gender Wealth Summit created an incredible opportunity for WOMEN’S WAY to bring together and forge connections between many individuals with the shared goal of advancing gender and racial equity.

Thank you to all who attended, presented, and showed up. Your curiosity, empathy, and commitment to more deeply understanding the gender wealth gap was inspiring. And, many thanks to our sponsors and partners for making the Inaugural Gender Wealth Summit a possibility! We couldn’t have asked for a better inaugural event.

The conversations and connections made at the Gender Wealth Summit are just the start! To learn more about the Gender Wealth Institute and how WOMEN’S WAY is working to close the gender wealth gap, click here.

(Not able to attend this year? Good news! Moving forward, WOMEN’S WAY plans to host the Gender Wealth Summit on a yearly basis.)

Here are a few highlights from the event:

The Change the Narrative Fellows received a standing ovation following their incredible Keynote Panel titled, “Lift Every Voice: Shaping Change by Sharing Our Stories.” In the panel, Fellows from Cohorts One and Two shared why it is essential to center the voices of those most impacted by economic injustices. Their personal stories and reflections were inspiring.
Tiffany Younger, MSSP, MPH, led a critically important discussion about root causes of the gender wealth gap: “In order to address the race and gender wealth gap we must ask ourselves these questions: How did we build it? How did it evolve? What was its original function?”
Tanya Morris, Kimberly Rogers, and Jenifer Groves shared outstanding TedTalk style presentations to shed light on the connections between Entrepreneurship, Financial Education, Reproductive Justice, and the gender wealth gap.
Throughout the day, attendees had ample opportunities to learn from incredible speakers, listen to other participants, share their own stories, and connect across industries and lived experiences. (Shout out to our amazing facilitators stationed at each table who supported attendees through each session!) We are still thinking about many of the powerful statements that were shared including this one from Yzais Garcia-Cabrera, “My body is not an incubator for capitalism.”
The Feminist Marketplace was a huge success. Attendees had the chance to meet 9 local, women of color entrepreneurs and learn about each of their unique businesses. Many thanks to Tanya Morris from Mom Your Business for helping WOMEN’S WAY to organize the Feminist Marketplace. (You can still learn about each of the entrepreneurs through our digital Feminist Marketplace guide here.)
And finally, we want to highlight Victoria’s Kitchen, who kept us nourished and energized throughout the event, and the South Philadelphia Community Fridge who helped share our remaining meals with the community post-event.