Prairie View’s celebration of Women’s History Month continued with a lecture by Gaynelle Jones at the School of Architecture last Thursday. The program, which was hosted by the university’s Office of Cultural Development opened to a modest crowd of faculty and students.
Gaynelle Jones, whose grandfather served as a professor at Prairie View, is the first African-American woman to serve on the Texas Court of Appeals.
A graduate of Boston College of Law, Jones has served on the US Attorney General’s Advisory Committee and is currently the director of Standards of Business Conduct at Hewlett Packard Company and an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law School.
Jones spoke on the evolution of women’s rights in the United States, and the importance of women in the political history of the United States.
The rise of feminism from early colonial history to the rebirth of the definition of womanhood in the 1960s was the principal subject of the lecture.
She also highlighted the feminist movement’s role in the quest for universal suffrage and prohibition.
Jones focused on the economic disparity between men and women in the workplace and explained the reasoning behind the lack of respect for women in the workplace.
“More women face challenges of balancing their jobs and families-the reason why 42 percent of women in corporations are childless by age 40,” Jones said.
She also stressed the importance of selflessness in helping fellow women. “Don’t be selfish about our choices. Don’t focus on fame and fortune…instead think of making a difference.