Wichita State hosts annual Diverse Women's Summit

The Department of Women’s Studies, in a partnership with the Office of Diversity & Inclusion and League of Women Voters of Kansas, will hold the annual Diverse Women’s Summit (DWS) of individuals and groups from different backgrounds on local, regional and global diversity issues affecting women and gender on March 8.

The daylong event will culminate with a keynote address from Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly.

Due to the pandemic, and especially the rise of prominent women and other minority populations taking on the pandemic and its associated problems, the theme of the 2021 summit is “Women and Leadership in the time of COVID-19.”

The summit is designed to focus on women’s roles, their implications for different women, the future of women and gender in their intersection with challenges in class/poverty, race/ethnicity, sexuality, disability, religion and other pyramids of power.

There are three parts to the Diverse Women’s Summit:

  1. Student Showcase, which consists of presentations, papers, art,and posters.
  2. Creative Concourse, which includes poetry, skits, stories and other presentations by community members and students.
  3. International Women’s Day Keynote Speech by Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly: “Women and Leadership in the time of COVID-19.”

The summit is open and free to the public and will take place on Zoom.

Learn more about the event


Wichita State University serves as the Kansas urban-based research university, enrolling more than 15,000 students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

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