Women's Equality Day Luncheon
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22nd Annual Women's Equality Day Luncheon
Featuring Keynote address by:
Dr. Chelsey R. Carter of The Yale School of Public Health to present “Carrying the World: The Unshakeable Spirit of Women Who Care.”
-and-
The Women Stepping Up presentation of the 2026 Inspirational Leadership Award
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
(Doors Open at 11:00 a.m. Event begins promptly at 11:30 a.m.)
Bally's Riverfront Event Center
$75 Friend Ticket
$125 Donor Ticket
Sponsorships and Tables Available
Purchase Tickets, Tables and Sponsorships here: womensequalityday.swell.gives
On August 26, 2025, YWCA Evansville will host Evansville’s 22nd 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 Dr. Chelsey R. Carter of The Yale School of Public Health to present “Carrying the World: The Unshakeable Spirit of Women Who Care.” Dr. Carter will showcase her exploration of women living with ALS as they balance their roles as professionals, mothers, partners, and caregivers for aging parents. Her inspiring address will reveal the resilience of women caregiver in the face of challenges, and provide practical self-care strategies to foster strength and well-being for themselves and those around them.
This year's honorees will be announced later this summer.
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 106 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 26, 2026.
ABOUT DR. CHELSEY R. CARTER:
Dr. Chelsey R. Carter is an Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Anthropology. Dr. Carter holds a PhD in Anthropology and a Master of Public Health from Washington University in St. Louis, where she completed both degrees (2021), and a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology & Spanish from Emory University (2012). She completed her post-doctoral training as a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton University (2021-2022). Her training and expertise span ethnographic research, mixed-methods approaches, community-engaged methodologies, and applied public health interventions.
Dr. Carter’s research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) informs her first book project, “Witnessing ALS: Anti-Blackness, Race, and Care in the World of Rare Disease” (under contract with University of California Press). The book centers on the experiences of Black people living with ALS and their families, scientific knowledge production, and how embodied inequality shapes diagnosis, treatment, and engagement in clinical trials. Her research has been supported by more than $1.5 million in funding from private foundations, non-governmental organizations, and government agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, and the ALS Association. Her public and scholarly work includes more than 50 publications in outlets such as Scientific American, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, American Anthropologist, Medical Decision Making, Annals of Neurology, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, and more.
She is the founder and Director of The LEITH (Lived Experiences Igniting Transformations in Health) Lab, a hub focused on the social and structural determinants of health in rare neurodegenerative and genetic diseases, in honor of anthropologist Dr. Leith Mullings. Dr. Carter is a documentarian and co-directed/co-produced her first film, “Witnessing,” on the lives of three underrepresented families in the ALS ecosystem. Through the lab, she also curates "art meets science" exhibits and disseminates her research through multi-modal formats that reach academic, public, and community audiences.
ABOUT YWCA EVANSVILLE:
YWCA Evansville is dedicated to empowering individuals, strengthening families, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. It has served the Southwest Indiana region since 1911, and today its reach includes Gibson, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties. It works 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, YWCA Evansville has altered its programs to meet the changing need in the region, but its mission of offering a safe haven to people in need is as enduring now as it was from day one.
Current programs include a domestic violence shelter; an emergency housing program for women and children; the YES! (YWCA Embracing Sobriety) program, a long-term residential program for homeless women recovering from substance abuse; and Live Y'ers, our after-school and mentoring program for vulnerable youth.
More: 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
Featuring Keynote address by:
Dr. Chelsey R. Carter of The Yale School of Public Health to present “Carrying the World: The Unshakeable Spirit of Women Who Care.”
-and-
The Women Stepping Up presentation of the 2026 Inspirational Leadership Award
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
(Doors Open at 11:00 a.m. Event begins promptly at 11:30 a.m.)
Bally's Riverfront Event Center
$75 Friend Ticket
$125 Donor Ticket
Sponsorships and Tables Available
Purchase Tickets, Tables and Sponsorships here: womensequalityday.swell.gives
On August 26, 2025, YWCA Evansville will host Evansville’s 22nd 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 Dr. Chelsey R. Carter of The Yale School of Public Health to present “Carrying the World: The Unshakeable Spirit of Women Who Care.” Dr. Carter will showcase her exploration of women living with ALS as they balance their roles as professionals, mothers, partners, and caregivers for aging parents. Her inspiring address will reveal the resilience of women caregiver in the face of challenges, and provide practical self-care strategies to foster strength and well-being for themselves and those around them.
This year's honorees will be announced later this summer.
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 106 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 26, 2026.
ABOUT DR. CHELSEY R. CARTER:
Dr. Chelsey R. Carter is an Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Anthropology. Dr. Carter holds a PhD in Anthropology and a Master of Public Health from Washington University in St. Louis, where she completed both degrees (2021), and a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology & Spanish from Emory University (2012). She completed her post-doctoral training as a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton University (2021-2022). Her training and expertise span ethnographic research, mixed-methods approaches, community-engaged methodologies, and applied public health interventions.
Dr. Carter’s research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) informs her first book project, “Witnessing ALS: Anti-Blackness, Race, and Care in the World of Rare Disease” (under contract with University of California Press). The book centers on the experiences of Black people living with ALS and their families, scientific knowledge production, and how embodied inequality shapes diagnosis, treatment, and engagement in clinical trials. Her research has been supported by more than $1.5 million in funding from private foundations, non-governmental organizations, and government agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, and the ALS Association. Her public and scholarly work includes more than 50 publications in outlets such as Scientific American, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, American Anthropologist, Medical Decision Making, Annals of Neurology, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, and more.
She is the founder and Director of The LEITH (Lived Experiences Igniting Transformations in Health) Lab, a hub focused on the social and structural determinants of health in rare neurodegenerative and genetic diseases, in honor of anthropologist Dr. Leith Mullings. Dr. Carter is a documentarian and co-directed/co-produced her first film, “Witnessing,” on the lives of three underrepresented families in the ALS ecosystem. Through the lab, she also curates "art meets science" exhibits and disseminates her research through multi-modal formats that reach academic, public, and community audiences.
ABOUT YWCA EVANSVILLE:
YWCA Evansville is dedicated to empowering individuals, strengthening families, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. It has served the Southwest Indiana region since 1911, and today its reach includes Gibson, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties. It works 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, YWCA Evansville has altered its programs to meet the changing need in the region, but its mission of offering a safe haven to people in need is as enduring now as it was from day one.
Current programs include a domestic violence shelter; an emergency housing program for women and children; the YES! (YWCA Embracing Sobriety) program, a long-term residential program for homeless women recovering from substance abuse; and Live Y'ers, our after-school and mentoring program for vulnerable youth.
More: 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
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Where is it happening?
Bally's Casino Direct, 615 NW Riverside Dr, Evansville, IN 47708, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherYWCA Evansville
