On June 5 and 6, as Hillary Clinton's campaign drew to an end and Sex and the City played in movie theaters, I attended the UC-wide Women's Leadership Symposium. The conference, presented by the UCSF Center for Gender Equity, drew about 400 women to the Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel in San Francisco for inspiration, practical techniques and mutual support.

Former UC regent Dolores Huerta's speech Thursday morning set the tone. Huerta, who co-founded the National Farmworkers Association (later the UFW) along with César Chávez, challenged all of us to create change. As Huerta recounted stories from her remarkable life, I could not stop wondering how she had accomplished so much while raising 11 children.

Later, author Maxine Hong Kingston described her work with veterans and her efforts against war. She also read her English translation of the Chinese legend of Fa Mulan, the story at the heart of Kingston's first book, The Woman Warrior.

The conspicuously male Jackson Katz addressed race and gender in presidential campaigns. I particularly enjoyed hearing Julianne Malveaux, president of Bennett College for Women. Tossing out insights and witticisms at full speed, she described the sexism she encounters even at a women's college. She emphasized, however, that women need to take responsibility for our own success.

Between each speech, we broke into smaller sessions. As fellow attendee Rebecca Funke said, "The workshops were fun, interesting and practical in a real-life setting." Funke, a program coordinator at the UC Davis School of Medicine, added, "The skills that they taught me are easily transferable to my daily life and I look forward to 'practicing' my new skills."'

Concepts, sources of power

My favorite session was Denise Brouillette's "Six Ways to Power." Brouillette, a women's career strategy consultant, started by addressing our negative associations with the concept of power and reassuring us that we were harnessing it for good. Next she discussed different sources of power and women's tendency to give our power away. Then she gave us techniques for reclaiming it.

As a mom, I also benefited from Joan Williams' session on workplace discrimination against mothers. Williams, a law professor and director of the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings College of Law, described current research, identified legal resources for victims of blatant discrimination and discussed ways to help mothers be more successful in both areas of our lives.

In her session, "Race and Gender in the White House," Maria Echaveste, former deputy chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton, spoke movingly and personally about her "classic American success story" and her self-doubts. It was very generous of her to be so open with us. Knowing that someone so talented and accomplished questions herself is a powerful tool against those self-defeating doubts most of us have.

Conference attendees were also very generous with their insights and advice. Anandika Muni, administrative assistant at the UC Davis School of Medicine, told me, "What I found to be most meaningful was the great advice I received, whether from the eloquent speakers on the podium or the beautiful women sitting at my table." Attendees participated in three networking exercises that prompted us both to ask for help and to provide help to others.

Throughout the symposium, women focused on how they could empower each other. Identifying obstacles was simply a precursor to discussing strategies to overcome them. All of the attendees I spoke to were excited about the Women's Leadership Symposium and eager to return.

"This UC symposium rivaled the best of national conferences, but was tailored to UC's culture and needs," said Maril Stratton, UC Davis associate chancellor. "There was much to inspire provocative high-profile speakers, insightful topic-area presentations, and lots of networking and brainstorming opportunities with UC women colleagues."

Reflecting on it days later, Muni said, "I met many strong women who have accomplished the unthinkable, and I've come back empowered, energized and ready to soar."

For more information, visit www.ucsf.edu/cge. The next symposium will take place in 2010 in San Francisco. Sue Jones is the publications coordinator of the UC Davis Law Review.