Simpson speaking at White House

Senior Leader-In-Residence Carole Simpson of the Journalism Department, on right, with student Rachel Smith ’13 at a May 2013 award ceremony. (File photo)

Carole Simpson, senior leader-in-residence of the Journalism Department, will participate in a roundtable discussion at the White House on Friday, May 17, about women in the media.

Simpson said she received the invitation within weeks of persuading Emerson’s Journalism Department to teach a course this fall called Women in the Media.

“I got the invitation to speak, along with top media women, to White House officials about the dismal portrayals of women and girls in the media today. I will have much to share with my students come September,” Simpson said.

The half-day event, chaired by author and feminist activist Gloria Steinem and Lauren Embrey, board chair for the Women’s Media Center, is meant to build an ongoing relationship with the White House to encourage it to use its bully pulpit to improve the status of women and girls in the media, among other issues.

“To be invited to speak to the highest powers in the land on behalf of women and girls is humbling beyond belief,” said Simpson, who became the first African-American female network television news anchor while working for ABC. “This White House conference is the culmination of a lifetime of advocacy for women. I couldn’t be more grateful for this opportunity.”