Glass Slipper or Glass Ceiling? Connecting the Fashion Industry and Gender Equality
Feb 12, 2019
NYAC
Gender equality is a critical issue – now more than ever. It is embodied in United Nations Sustainable Development. Goals as well as global movements such as #MeToo and others who are working to end inequalities, promoting empowerment of women and girls, ending discrimination and eliminating all forms of violence. While the movement continues to make gains in all aspects of political, economic, and public life – much still needs to be accomplished.
Fashion can be a force for change and has the clout to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality. LAU NY, in collaboration with London College of Fashion at UAL, and Parsons School of Design at The New School, is proud to host a panel discussion at the LAU New York Headquarters and Academic Center, bringing together key players shaping the global fashion industry to explain why fashion matters, and how it can be used to advance this cause.
Moderator:
Dr. Lina Abirafeh, Executive Director of the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University. Her background is in gender-based violence prevention and response in development and humanitarian contexts. In 2018, Lina was listed as one of the Gender Equality Top 100: The Most Influential People in Global Policy - one of only two Arabs to make the list.
Panelists:
Frances Corner, OBE, is Head of London College of Fashion, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of the Arts London. She is a fashion activist, committed to using the power of fashion to tackle social, environmental, economic and ethical issues. She is a key voice in shaping the global fashion industry.
Burak Cakmak is Dean of Fashion at Parsons School of Design. His agenda includes educating the next generation of fashion creatives about the importance of social responsibility to tackle wider political and social issues including feminism and inclusivity.
Dayle Haddon is the founder and CEO of WomenOne, a non-profit focused on securing opportunities for girls to receive a quality education globally. Partnering with Duke University, WomenOne created award-winning programming for Syrian refugee girls in Zaatari Camp and urban refugees in Jordan in concert with IRC. Haddon has been in the beauty and fashion business for over thirty years. She is the only person to have four major beauty contracts as the face and international spokesperson for L’Oréal, Revlon, Estée Lauder, and Max Factor. She has written two international bestselling books on inner and outer beauty and living in balance. Haddon is on the board of VAPHER Inc., and Artemis Rising Foundation and a member of the international think tank, The Council on Foreign Relations.
Jason Steel leads the B.A. in Fashion Design program at Lebanese American University. Steel has taught in the UK, Beijing, Taipei, Singapore, and Hanoi. When he is not in Beirut, he is in his native York with his dachshund Walter.