Exhibition On Women's Equality Opens

PHILADELPHIA – An original exhibition titled "From the Absence of Many to the Presence of All…The Unfinished Business of Women's Equality" will premiere Oct. 18, 2010, at the National Constitution Center (NCC) in Philadelphia. It chronicles the historic and ongoing struggle for gender equality in America. The exhibition will be on display in the Center’s Posterity Hall through early 2011. Admission is free with regular museum admission.

Exhibition highlights include timelines on a series of ribbons depicting the benchmark events and halting progress in the struggle for gender equality in America, a wall of portraits and stories of heroes of the women's rights movement from the 19th-21st centuries, and a mural collage of historic photographs, posters, and newspaper articles highlighting the history of women asserting their rights to equality of leadership in American society.

“The Unfinished Business of Women’s Equality” was commissioned by Drexel University College of Medicine’s Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership and made possible by the generosity of McDonald’s Corporation. The exhibition opens as the Institute launches Vision 2020, a 10-year initiative to promote women’s leadership and equality with An American Conversation about Women and Leadership on Oct. 21 and 22 at the NCC.

“This exhibition was created to inform the public about women’s history, which is often only a slim chapter in American history books,” Vision 2020 Co-Chair Lynn Yeakel said. “It asks girls and boys to consider what remains to be done to achieve equality, which is a cornerstone of our democracy.”

To add to the women’s history component of “The Unfinished Business of Women’s Equality,” an educators’ guide with curriculum for middle and high school students has been developed. The guide will be available online beginning Oct. 18.

“The National Constitution Center is a proud Vision 2020 partner,” said National Constitution Center President and CEO David Eisner. “We look forward to exciting and inspiring a new generation of active citizens who are eager to carry on the legacy of the suffragists in protecting the ‘We’ in ‘We, the People.’”

The exhibition was developed by Remer & Talbott and designed by Metcalfe Architecture & Design.

About Vision 2020
Vision 2020 is a national project of the Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership at Drexel University College of Medicine focused on ensuring equality by energizing the dialogue about women and leadership. In 2010, Vision 2020 will develop and launch its decade-long action agenda to move America toward equality by inspiring and engaging new generations of women and men to finish the work of the suffragists who pursued women’s right to vote as fundamental to social and economic justice. The centennial of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution will be celebrated in 2020.

About Vision 2020’s Sponsors
The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company is the Presenting Sponsor of Vision 2020. The Exelon Foundation is a Forger of the Future and Wachovia, a Wells Fargo Company, Siemens, The Philadelphia Foundation and Phoebe W. Haas Charitable Trust are also sponsors.

About the National Constitution Center
The National Constitution Center, located at 525 Arch St. on Philadelphia’s Independence Mall, is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing public understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the ideas and values it represents. The Center serves as a museum, an education center, and a forum for debate on constitutional issues.

About Metcalfe Architecture & Design
Metcalfe Architecture & Design (www.metarchdesign.com) is the designer of the Vision 2020 exhibition. This award-winning Philadelphia firm, comprised of both architects and designers, designs projects for cultural, academic, and commercial clients.