“Where Ideas Meet Action.”

This is the phrase sprawled across the website of “Cause the Effect,” an organization created to join civically-engaged women from across Chicago. On Saturday, October 6, women of all ages—and some men—gathered at the Chicago Teachers Union for the 2018 Young Feminist Conference, hosted by Cause the Effect.

Young girls in grey t-shirts decorated with the words “Cause the Effect” frantically dart around the converted warehouse-to-conference space, handing out pamphlets and greeting attendees. Ceiling fans whir above the hum of the crowd, despite it being 8:30am on a Saturday morning. Founder of Cause the Effect, Bridget Gainer, mounts the stage at the front of the room, and a hush falls over the audience.

Cause the Effect, formerly known as “Off the Sidelines Chicago,” was created last year in order to, according to their website, “bring civically-engaged women together to turn their ideas into action.” Since then, the organization has created a network of nearly 3,500 women from the Chicagoland area.

“The intriguing thing about Cause the Effect is that it never stops,” sophomore Grace Conrad said. “Cause the Effect went to the ‘March for Our Lives.’ They had a whole group that went to ‘Strides for Peace,’ which was a 5k for gun violence awareness. No matter if it’s feminism or related to Cause the Effect, they’re always part of the activism community in Chicago.”

In the past, Conrad has volunteered as a member of the Board of Cause the Effect and as a mentor through the Young Feminist Ambassador Program. “The point of the Ambassador Program is to educate people who don’t have as many resources and privileges as the people who are in the program right now,” Conrad said. “A lot of Parker girls do it. I think the important thing is getting people that are not like that involved because they’re the people that need it the most.”
Though Conrad took a hiatus from Cause the Effect, she has resumed her work and helped organized this year’s second annual Young Feminist Conference.

The 2018 Young Feminist Conference featured three panels on subject matters ranging from sexual abuse to gun violence. The second panel, titled “Everyday Feminism with Four ‘Bad Feminists’,’” featured five female speakers. One of the five speakers was 18 year-old Trisha Prabhu, creator and CEO of “ReThink,” a technological enterprise that detects and halts cyber bullying before it occurs. When asked about what women can do to make the world a safer place for women, Prabhu said, “Don’t be perfect. Please be brave.”

After the panels, the audience split-up into breakout sessions on reproductive justice, immigration activism, and environmental activism, among other topics.

“I’m really impressed by the work they’ve done,” sophomore Julia Marks said. “The events they’ve held so far have been really impactful.” Like Conrad, Marks joined Cause the Effect through the Young Feminist Ambassador Program after attending last year’s Young Feminist Conference, and additionally volunteers on the organization’s Board. Throughout the school year and summer, she worked with other high school students from across the city to plan events geared towards young women, such as “#MeToo for Teens.”

Outside of Cause the Effect, Parker students and staff remain active in the feminist community. Upper School Department Co-Chair of Cultural Studies Lorin Pritkin is not only the faculty sponsor for the Students Affirming Gender Equality (SAGE), but has also organized the International Women’s Day Event—hosted by Parker in early March—for seven years. Pritikin believes that Parker offers considerable time in their curriculum to speak about topics relating to feminism. “There’s certainly an intentional space for gender dialogues in curriculum,” Pritikin said. “I hope that outside of the classroom space, we can offer places for people to find each other who are passionate about feminist activism. If there’s issues at Parker that students want to develop an action plan for, they need to take it off campus and mobilize groups of men and women who feel similarly about feminist issues.”

As for the future of feminism at Parker, according to Conrad, there is still progress to be made. “There’s always going to be nasty guys who say things about women who stand up for themselves,” Conrad said. “There’s always more work to be done, but for the most part, Parker is a good community for girls to be in.”