University of the PACIFIC

Women’s Resource Center

Welcome to Pacific's Women's Resource Center!

Founded by volunteers in 2006, revamped in 2009, first director appointed in 2010! Look out world!

We are located inside the Multicultural Center on the ground level of the McCaffrey Center. The purpose of the center is to promote awareness of women's and gender issues and celebrate and cultivate women's leadership on campus and beyond. The Women's Resource Center is used for meetings and events, and serves as a resource for gender equality and campus violence prevention.

Message from the Director

In our Introduction to Gender Studies this fall, the class engaged in a thought experiment: we tried to imagine what the world would be like if people were not separated by gender. What would or could society look like if we did not divide ourselves into "male" or "female"? (Imagine: sports would not have to be organized by the imperative of separating athletes into male/female divisions and types of activities!) Even more radically, we tried to imagine a society in which it was taken for granted that there were multiple genders (in fact, scholars and scientists like Anne Fausto-Sterling have posited the existence of at least five different sexes!)  The real lesson of such an experiment is the full realization of just how pervasive and oppressive our binary male/female gender system is and how difficult it can be to question why it has to be this way. At the same time, our gendered way of experiencing and expressing our own identities can also be empowering and fulfilling. The important thing is to have spaces and places to explore these issues and to share our experiences, questions and insights with others. The Pacific Women's Resource Center and the Gender Studies program are two such places/discursive spaces, and I dream of a world where such questions are explored everywhere.

Email  Corrie Martin!

Women's Resource Center Outreach Coordinator Position
Interested in a paid work-study position at the Women's Resource Center next year?  The Women's Resource Center Outreach Coordinator is a great way to deepen your knowledge about women's issues and increase your leadership and advocacy skills.  We will have one position available in Fall 2012!  <Learn More>

Getting involved in the Women's Resource Center can be a great way to hone your advocacy skills and deepen your knowledge about women's and gender issues.  Our mission is to promote awareness of women's and gender issues and to celebrate and cultivate women's leadership on campus and beyond, and to serve as a resource for gender equality and gender violence prevention on campus.

Women's Resource Center Student Learning Outcomes:

• Acquire and be able to articulate knowledge about diverse women's issues
• Enhance understanding of how to apply knowledge and information to positively affect social or institutional change
• Gain greater cognitive and social development as effective leaders
• Demonstrate familiarity with key concepts and methodologies of the field of Gender Studies