Women’s Empowerment speaker, Dr. Jenn Gunsaullus, talking about having the awareness and courage to move towards our fears and discomforts.

The word “empowerment” has been used (and overused) for many years, particularly as related to women’s equality and voice in workplaces, schools, and personal relationships.

Despite its sometimes trite use, when I’m speaking to groups of women about how to be more authentic and vulnerable, and how to responsibly speak up for themselves in new ways, empowerment is still the word that best encapsulates these concepts. Because when we can know ourselves at deeper levels, learn clear and effective communication, and practice greater emotional responsibility, we have choices that we didn’t have before, and I think that is the epitome of self-empowerment.

I was recently searching for a podcast interview I had given a while back, and came across this article by Samantha Aman that I didn’t know was written (or don’t remember? because, you know, covid times!) about a keynote address I gave at Delaware County Community College’s Women’s Day of Empowerment in the fall of 2019. I talk about the complexity of empowerment in a complicated (and unfair) world, and how each individual student can learn skills to be more authentic and fulfilled in their context. (And side note, the organizer for the event was Keeley Mitchell, a friend I went to elementary school with! What a delight to be able to work with her after all those years.)

I’ve cut and pasted part of the article below; you can read the entire article here: Women celebrate a ‘Day of Empowerment.’

—————— (QUOTED FROM ARTICLE)——————

Several successful women delivered presentations on self-empowerment, women’s rights, and diversity in the workplace and beyond during DCCC’s “Day of Empowerment” at Marple campus on Oct. 4.

The all-day event, which “focused on empowering women and the community,” was hosted by Campus Life, the College-Wide Reading Committee, the Institutional Diversity Committee and Student Employment Services.

Dr. Jennifer Gunsaullus, sociologist and author of “From Madness to Mindfulness: Reinventing Sex for Women,” delivered the keynote speech, “Finding Your Authentic Voice,” in which she discussed how practicing mindfulness and becoming more aware of physical reactions can help people, especially women, in both their personal relationships and their careers.

“I want you to be able to reap the potential rewards of being able to choose a new path in life,” Gunsaullus told the audience.

Another highlight of the event was a presentation by Ariell Johnson, founder and owner of Amalgam Comics and Coffeehouse in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. Johnson is the first black woman to own a comic bookstore on the East Coast.

“We wanted Amalgam to be a place where everybody feels welcome,” Johnson said. “I’m really happy to say that we’ve managed to do that. When you come into Amalgam’s space, so many kinds of people are represented.”

Molly Hayward, co-founder and chief brand officer of Cora, a company which produces sustainable period care products, also spoke at the event.

Packets containing various Cora product samples were offered free of charge to students outside the event and in women’s restrooms around the campus.

The event also included a panel discussion on women in the trades, featuring DCCC professors Jen Wendling-Foulke and Kathy Mickells and automotive technology student Najah Straford.

The panelists discussed their experience in the trades, discrimination in the workplace, and opportunities available to women in the skilled trades.

Amy Amtrin, director of technical education for Workforce Development and Community Education at DCCC, moderated the discussion and joined the panelists in encouraging students who are hesitant to consider the trades to stop by for a tour of the Advanced Technology Center at Marple campus or to try out an introductory-level course.

“I always say in intro-level classes, all you’re going to learn is life skills,” Amtrin said. “There’s nothing to lose.”

The “Day of Empowerment” kicked off with Gunsaullus’ keynote presentation, delivered to a standing-room only crowd of students, professors, and guests.

Gunsaullus said she hoped her presentation would help all the attendees, especially the women in the audience, to feel more in control in their lives.

“I’m hoping that when you go home today, you’re able to realize that there’s places that you can make choices that you didn’t even know you had,” Gunsaullus said. “Because to me, the epitome of empowerment is choice.”

But Gunsaullus admitted that there are many things people don’t have control over, including discrimination and prejudice.

“It’s not that easy,” she said. “We’re not talking about empowerment in a vacuum.”

Still, Gunsaullus argued that individuals do have a choice in how they internalize and respond to these outside pressures.

The author said that in response to negative experiences, rather than retreating, lashing out, or resorting to distractions, people should “pause and create space” for their feelings.

Gunsaullus then introduced attendees to the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and sensations, which she called the “triangle of awareness.” She also encouraged paying particular attention to the bodily sensations that occur during negative experiences.

“Our body has so much wisdom that it gives us,” Gunsaullus said. “And often that wisdom is really uncomfortable.”

(Read the entire Women’s Day of Empowerment article here.)

~Dr. Jenn Gunsaullus — Empowerment Keynote Speaker, Intimacy Coach, & Sociologist