The role of women in the civil rights movement in the South during the 1950s and 1960s is the focus of a lecture to be given at noon Monday, Feb. 10, at the University of California, Davis. "African American Women in Southern-Based Civil Rights Movement Organizations" will be delivered in MU II of the Memorial Union by Belinda Robnett, an assistant professor of sociology at UC Davis. Her talk is free and open to the public. Although not widely acknowledged, women played a pivotal role in the success of the civil rights movement in the South. The movement's success is mostly attributed to charismatic male church leaders but, Robnett said, the movement "would not have succeeded without women organizing at the grassroots level." Robnett, who teaches courses in social problems, gender and society, and sociology of the black experience, joined the UC Davis faculty in 1991. The lecture is part of the Spotlight on UC Davis Women Scholars series sponsored by the Women's Resources and Research Center. WORKSHOP TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS FACED BY LESBIANS, BISEXUAL WOMEN DAVIS, Calif. -- A series of three workshops aimed at addressing the difficulties faced by lesbians and bisexual women in asserting their identities and rights in society will be held in February at the University of California, Davis. "Holding Your Own in a Straight Society: Assertiveness Skills for Lesbians and Sexual Women" will consist of three two-hour sessions held on Feb. 11, 18 and 25, all beginning at 4 p.m. The format of the sessions, which are free, will include lectures and other information, but the emphasis will be on small group work and participatory exercises. The topics to be explored include assertiveness, homophobia and the difficulties lesbians and bisexual women may encounter with family members, peers and co-workers. The workshop will be facilitated by Robin Holmes and Elaine Wohlgemuth, psychology interns from the UC Davis Counseling Center. Holmes is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology and has worked with lesbians and bisexual women in individual and group therapy. Her doctoral dissertation is on lesbian identity issues. Wohlgemuth is working toward her doctoral degree in counseling psychology, and has worked with lesbians and bisexual women in therapy and served on several committees dealing with gay, lesbian and bisexual issues. Enrollment in the workshop is limited. To enroll or obtain more information, call Diane Adams at (916) 752-3372. ### FORMER MOTHER JONES EDITOR TO SPEAK ON 'CRISIS BETWEEN THE SEXES' DAVIS, Calif. -- Deirdre English, author and former editor of the award-winning investigative magazine Mother Jones, will speak at noon Friday, Feb. 14, at the University of California, Davis. English's talk, titled "The Private Agenda: Today's Crisis in the Relationships Between the Sexes," will be given in MU II of the Memorial Union. It is free and open to the public. English will discuss how issues such as law professor Anita Hill's testimony in the U.S. Supreme Court hearings for Clarence Thomas, violence against women and the rise of a "men's movement" affect women in personal, cultural and psychological realms. She will examine how those developments affect the relationships between the sexes. A brief question-and-answer period will follow her talk. English has made many contributions to the women's movement. She co-founded one of the country's first women's studies programs at a branch of the State University of New York, and has lectured widely on women's history at dozens of colleges and universities. She co-wrote, with Barbara Ehrenreich, "For Her Own Good: 150 Years of the Experts' Advice to Women." She is the executive series editor of "America's Women," a six-part interactive-media documentary series in production for PBS. Her work has appeared in Harper's, Ms. and the New York Times Book Review. ### STATUS OF WOMEN FACULTY AT UC DAVIS SUBJECT OF TALK DAVIS, Calif. -- The status of women faculty in regard to hiring, promotion and roles at the University of California, Davis, is the subject of a talk to be given at noon Tuesday, Feb. 18, at the campus. "The Reality of Discrimination: Women Faculty at UC Davis" will be delivered by Martha West, professor and associate dean of the UC Davis School of Law, in MU II of the Memorial Union. The lecture is free and open to the public. West will examine recent hiring and promotion statistics at UC Davis and discuss inequities that persist for women faculty. She will discuss how much progress women have made in comparison to affirmative action goals set by the campus. West joined the UC Davis faculty in 1982 and has served as the law school's associate dean since 1988. She teaches courses in labor law and employment discrimination. The lecture is part of the Spotlight on UC Davis Women Scholars series sponsored by the Women's Resources and Research Center.