Dive Brief:
- Several current and former presidents of women's colleges across the nation have signed a letter denouncing Stephen Bannon's selection as a chief presidential adviser, following renewed criticism of remarks he made disparaging women in 2011.
- Bannon previously said that the women's liberation movement was a harmful initiative led by women from the Seven Sisters institutions in the northeast.
- "Now more than ever, we look to those who would lead the United States of America for a message of inclusion, respect and unity," the presidents write. At Smith College, some graduates contributed nearly $4,000 in Bannon's name to the institution.
Dive Insight:
There are several positive takeaways from the Seven Sisters' unity against a perceived anti-feminist appointee in the White House, beginning with the notion that anti-women's rhetoric does not have a place in federal administration.
But more than that, it positions small liberal arts colleges at the center of a national discussion with range across gender, class and geography, and while other women's colleges like Spelman College and Bennett College for Women were not included in the letter, it also provides the platform for these schools to enter the conversation in meaningful ways.