Harvard Law School Celebrates 60 Years of Female Alumnae

Over 600 alumni representing decades of Harvard Law School classes converged on the school’s campus this past weekend to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first female graduates from the school.

Dubbed “Celebration 60,” the three-day conference included panel discussions that ranged from topics like national security to the future of legal education. The event’s programming was centered around this year’s theme “Leaders for Change—Women Transforming our Communities and the World.”

According to Marissa Wesely, a Law School graduate and co-chair of the event’s planning committee, the conference hoped to examine the successes of women in many fields, as well as shed light on the work being done to tackle issues of gender inequality.

Wesely said that people are now much more comfortable talking about the challenges faced by women, including the “enormous amount” of unconscious bias in the workplace.

The event was attended by professionals from a variety of careers, from current and first chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission Edith Ramirez ’89 to former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Jamie S. Gorelick ’72 to Senior Vice President of the Oprah Winfrey Network Tina Perry.

The conference culminated in a Celebration 60 Gala Dinner on Saturday evening, during which U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren was awarded the Harvard Law School Association Award for her work in Congress. In a conversation with Law School Dean Martha L. Minow, Senator Warren discussed the current situation in Washington, D.C. and her plans to publish a book in the spring.

Warren said she was optimistic about the movement towards gender equality with respect to positions of leadership, albeit its slow pace.

Harvard Women’s Law Association President Nitzan Weizmann said that the main takeaway from the conference was that gender equity is still “doable.”

“Part of doing better for everybody is creating an environment that is more comfortable and more nurturing,” Weizmann said.

The conference’s attendees said that the event far surpassed expectations. Minow said there was “a lot of love” amongst the Law School alumni.

“There’s so much insight and energy and wisdom,” Minow said. “So many people identify with connections and build on those connections.”

In spite of the gains toward gender equality for women, some speakers agreed that there were still many steps left to go in the movement for gender equity.

“Keep working, never stop,” Senior Counsel for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Juanita C. Hernandez ’82 said in an interview Sunday. “Women hold up half the sky, and don’t forget that.”

This article has been revised to reflect the following corrections:

CORRECTION: Oct. 3, 2013

An earlier version of this article misstated the class year of Juanita C. Hernandez, senior counsel for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In fact, Hernandez graduated from the College in 1982, not 1989.

CORRECTION: Oct. 7, 2013

An earlier version of the Oct. 3 correction to this article incorrectly stated the context in which Hernandez made a statement offering advice to women. In fact, Hernandez made her statement in an interview on Sunday, not following a panel discussion on Saturday.