“A Place I Could Be Myself”
The Penn Women’s Center celebrates five decades of providing advocacy, advising, refuge, counseling, company, and tea. From its origins in the struggle against campus sexual
Founded in 1973, Penn Women's Center is one of the nation’s oldest women's centers. Our mission is to advance gender justice for the entire Penn community through an intersectional framework that embraces all identities. We achieve this by advocating, fostering community, facilitating learning, mentoring, and providing support.
The Penn Women’s Center was founded in April 1973 after protestors occupied College Hall for four days to protest a series of rapes on campus. We moved to our current location on Locust Walk in the early 1990s, following the “Diversify Locust Walk” movement that sought to make Penn safer for minorities and female students. For over 50 years, the center has been active in promoting the rights of women and gender-marginalized individuals on campus and beyond. We strive to include voices of gender, sexual, and racial minorities, acknowledging that feminism has historically been white and cis-centered. Come visit us to walk through a timeline of our history!
Director Elisa Foster leads the Penn Women’s Center as it approaches its 50th anniversary
The Penn Women’s Center occupies three-quarters of a three-story house tucked off Locust Walk, with a front garden dotted with clumps of hellebores and daffodils during
Q&A With Elisa Foster, New Director Of Penn Women’s Center
Congratulations on your promotion to Director of Penn Women’s Center. What does it mean to be the new Director of Penn Women’s Center (PWC)? It