. >> tonight we you're delighted to welcome deborah rhode author of "what women want" when the book first crossed our desk a grabbed our intention and has the great title and a great subject. we ask her if she would come and we're so pleased that she said yes and important book on important subjects. i have to say i am astonished and dismayed at the lack of progress from women in america from every possible measure behind our counterparts. with every significant topic please swap them professor of law and director of the stanford center of legal profession and former director of stanford's institute of women and gender, deborah rhode. [applause] >> name enormously pleased to be here and even more pleased you are here. woody allen said 90 percent of life was showing up. two you need me to start over? good enough? so let me begin with "the new yorker" cartoon where a woman informs her husband yes i do speak for all women. this is not a claim that feminist would make. but to build a powerful political movement have to be prepared to generalize about interest of women as the group will with t

please welcome deborah rhode [applauding] >> i am enormously pleased to be here and even more pleased that you are here. 90 percent of life is showing up. it matters what you show up for. do you need me to start over? no? good enough? so let me begin with a new yorker cartoon in which a woman informs her skeptical husband, yes, harold, i do speak for all women. this is not a claim that a contemporary feminist will readily make. women do not speak for foreign voice on political issues, but we must be prepared to generalize the interest of women as a group the goal was equality between the sexes. "what women want" seeks to jump start a conversation about that agenda and bring together a a broad array of research about what holds women back. the book -- and i will not dwell on it now, although i am happy to answer questions i will say a few words about what it was like to be a female loss to and faculty member i never had a course taught by or about women. there were no women organizations and it was noticeably absent. things could have been worse. at harvard there were ladies days in wh