Conférences 934 are a series of conferences organized by the Consulate General of France in New York in partnership with French and American leaders who share their analyses on international issues.

In honor of International Women’s Day, the Consulate invites you to attend a news conference of this series to explore the state of gender equality in our post-COVID world.

Speakers:

• Jessica Neuwirth, women’s rights lawyer, and activist

Jessica Neuwirth is an international women’s rights lawyer and activist. She is one of the founders of Equality Now, an international women’s rights organization established in 1992, and the founder and Director of the Frontline Women’s Fund, an offshoot project now hosted by the Sisterhood is Global Institute to support women’s rights organizations around the world. She is also a founder of the ERA Coalition, mobilizing a renewed effort to get the Equal Rights Amendment into the United States Constitution. To aid this effort, in 2014 she wrote the book Equal Means Equal, Why the Time for the ERA is Now. In September 2018 she was appointed by Hunter College as a Distinguished Lecturer and Rita E. Hauser Director of the Human Rights Program at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute. Jessica holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in History from Yale University. She has worked for the human rights organization Amnesty International, for the Wall Street law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, and for the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, as well as the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. She served as a special consultant on sexual violence to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda for its landmark Akayesu judgment holding that rape is a form of genocide. She led the drafting team for the Rwanda Tribunal on the Media judgment holding print and radio media accountable for their role in the Rwandan genocide and subsequently directed the legal team that drafted the judgment of the Special Court for Sierra Leone convicting former Liberian President Charles Taylor of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

• Sara Ziff, former model, filmmaker, and activist for labor rights in the fashion industry

Sara Ziff is the founder and executive director of the Model Alliance, a nonprofit research, policy, and advocacy organization for people who work in the fashion industry. Born and raised in New York City, she worked as a fashion model for over two decades and produced the feature documentary Picture Me, which chronicles her and other models’ experiences in their industry. At the Model Alliance, she established MA Support, the first industry-specific support line for fashion workers, and played a leading role in assisting survivors during the #metoo movement. Sara also spearheaded and helped to champion legislation including the Child Model Act and the Adult Survivors Act in New York and the Talent Protections Act in California. She has worked to develop the RESPECT Program, which invites companies in the global fashion industry to make an enforceable commitment to stop harassment and other forms of abuse. Sara is the recipient of various honors, including France’s National Order of Merit. She received her B.A. from Columbia University and her M.P.A. from Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Sara resides with her partner, child, and rescue pup in Brooklyn, NY.

• Garance Choko, CEO at Coda Societies

Garance Choko is a French pianist and entrepreneur. Born in Paris, she gave her first piano concert at the age of five and studied at the Ecole Normale de Musique.

After graduating from high school, Garance lived in Cuba for a while and then moved to the United States on a scholarship to train as a concert pianist. At the same time, she pursued her passion for political science, public administration, innovation, and social impact. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami, followed by a master’s in public administration from Cornell University.

In 2017, Garance founded Coda Societies, an organization based in New York City that promotes social justice and equality on a global scale by reshaping physical and economic infrastructure.

Since 2021, Garance is the producer and host of “A Propos,” the podcast of the Consulate General of France in New York.

If you are unable to attend, you can listen to the conference via Facebook Live or after the event on the Consulate’s YouTube channel.

Time: 6:30 PM EST

Free!

Registration