Women's Equality Day Luncheon

Name: Women's Equality Day Luncheon
Start: 2025-08-27T11:30:00-05:00
End: 2025-08-27T13:00:00-05:00
Location: Bally's Casino Direct

Schedule

Wed Aug 27 2025 at 11:30 am to 01:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Bally's Casino Direct | Evansville, IN

21st Annual Women's Equality Day Luncheon
Featuring Keynote address by:
M. Susan Hardwick “The Drive for Equality: Is it Ok to be Selfish?"
-and-
The Women Stepping Up presentation of the 2025 Inspirational Leadership Award
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
(Doors Open at 11:00 a.m. Event begins promptly at 11:30 a.m.)
Bally's Riverfront Event Center
$75 Friend Ticket
$100 Donor Ticket
Sponsorships and Tables Available
Purchase Tickets, Tables and Sponsorships here: womensequalityday.swell.gives
On August 27, 2025, YWCA Evansville will host Evansville’s 21st annual Women’s Equality Day celebration at a luncheon honoring the 19th Amendment, where we will shine a light on the achievements of women, and recognize the continued fight for equal rights.
This year’s featured speaker will be M. Susan Hardwick, recently retired Chief Executive Officer of American Water Works, Inc., (See her full biography below). She is well known in the Evansville region for her leadership roles with Vectren Corporation and her many contributions to our community and the state of Indiana. The theme of Ms. Hardwick’s address is “The Drive for Equality: Is it ok to be Selfish?” She will explore how women do (or do not) embrace the very real quality of selflessness.
ABOUT WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY:
The women’s suffrage movement was a decades-long fight to win the right to vote for women in the United States. It took activists and reformers nearly 100 years to win that right, and the campaign was not easy. It wasn’t until women’s involvement in the World War I effort made their contributions painfully obvious that women’s suffrage finally gained enough support. Women’s rights groups pointed out the hypocrisy of fighting for democracy in Europe while denying it to half of the American citizens at home. On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was finally ratified, enfranchising all American women and declaring for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
In 1973, Congress designated August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day” in the United States on August 26th to commemorate the 1920 adoption of the 19th Amendment. From the 1973 Joint Resolution: “Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That August 26, 1973, is designated as ‘Women's Equality Day’, and the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation in commemoration of that day in 1920 on which the women of America were first guaranteed the right to vote. Approved August 16, 1973.”
The observance of Women’s Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality. All across the country, workplaces, libraries, organizations, and public facilities now participate with Women’s Equality Day programs, displays, video showings, or other activities. Evansville’s Women's Equality Day event began in 2004 and, over the years, has featured prominent speakers discussing the engagement of women in the political process, women in government, women in business, gender stereotypes, and more. This year, we will celebrate the 105 year anniversary of women getting the vote and observe the continuous struggle for women's participation and equality in all spheres of life and society on Wednesday, August 27, 2025.
ABOUT M. SUSAN HARDWICK:
M. Susan Hardwick is the retired Chief Executive Officer of American Water Works, Inc. (NYSE: AWK), the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. The company’s regulated businesses operate in approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states and provide water and wastewater utility services to residential, commercial, industrial, and other customers. Ms. Hardwick joined American Water in June 2019 and became its Chief Financial Officer that July. She was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the company in February 2022. Prior to American Water, Ms. Hardwick served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Vectren Corporation before its sale to CenterPoint Energy Company.
Recognition of Ms. Hardwick’s leadership includes being honored by: the Women’s Forum of New York for Achieving Gender Parity on its Board of Directors, NJBIZ as one of the Top Executives of the Year, South Jersey Biz as Executive of the Year, and Executive Women of New Jersey with the 2023 Corporate Board Gender Diversity Award. Under her leadership, American Water became the first utility to join Fortune Magazine’s “Modern Board 25” ranking of S&P 500 companies’ most innovative boards of directors. In addition, Ms. Hardwick served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia and its Executive Committee, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of New Jersey Resources, Inc., a New York Stock Exchange company. She also was a member of the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council. In Indiana, Ms. Hardwick’s community leadership roles included being appointed by the Governor to two terms as an Indiana Arts Commissioner. She also received the Athena Award from the Chamber of Commerce of Southwestern Indiana in 2009, the Leadership Evansville Sara B. Davies Leadership Award in 2016, and the Torchbearer Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 from the Indiana Commission on Women.
ABOUT YWCA EVANSVILLE:
YWCA Evansville actively empowers individuals and communities through advocacy, education, and support services, ensuring dignity for all. The YWCA has served the Southwest Indiana region since 1911 and today, our reach includes Gibson, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties. We work with those who face the greatest barriers to safety, stability, and opportunity in order to bring out individual strengths and foster resiliency and self-sufficiency. Over the years, we have altered our programs to meet the changing need in our area, but our mission of offering a safe haven to people in need is as enduring as it was from day one. Website: https://ywcaevansville.org
ABOUT WOMEN STEPPING UP:
Stepping Up, a non-partisan organization, celebrates women in the Tri-State from every race, class and ethnic background who have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our community in countless recorded and unrecorded ways.
Website: https://steppingupev.com