Women Changing the World: How Phoebe Hearst, Jane Stanford, and Other Women Funded Feminism, Founded Universities, and Inspire Philanthropy Today

Julie Castro Abrams, Joan Marie Johnson, Alexandra Nickliss, Catherine Pyke

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For centuries, women have been powerful philanthropists, albeit less recognized than men. Women’s strategic largesse has been essential to progressive advances including feminism. Women have been especially influential in founding the two leading universities in the Bay Area. Phoebe Hearst was the ecletic mother of the University of California at Berkeley, just as Jane Stanford co-founded her namesake university through hands-on activism. What lessons do the stories of these brilliant, empowered women hold today for any woman (or man) who wants to use financial resources to shape society? Do women give differently than men do? Where do the challenges and opportunities lie? Historian Joan Johnson writes on “Funding Feminism,” former Hearst Foundation director Catherine Pyke delves into Jane Stanford’s legacy, and Alexandra Nickliss reveals the fascinating persona of Phoebe Hearst, whose influence shapes this very book festival.

Sponsored by the Journal of Alta California