A conference aimed at examining issues affecting women who work, teach and learn in institutions of higher education will be held at DePaul University March 5 and 6 in Cortelyou Commons, 2324 N. Fremont St.

The conference opens at 5 p.m. March 5 with a reception. Opening remarks will be made by Ana Castillo at 6 p.m. Castillo, a prolific Chicana author, holds the university’s Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz Chair and has a joint teaching appointment in the English department and the Latin American and Latino Studies program. She has written more than 20 works of fiction, including the acclaimed novel “So Far From God” and poetry collections “My Father Was a Toltec” and “I Ask the Impossible.”

The day-long Saturday program begins at 9 a.m. with registration and continental breakfast. The itinerary is as follows:

9:30 a.m.: Beverly Guy-Sheftall, the Anna Julia Cooper Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Spelman College, will deliver a keynote address. Guy-Sheftall is also founding director of Spelman’s Women’s Research and Resource Center, an adjunct professor at Emory University’s Institute for Women’s Studies and founding co-editor of “Sage: A Scholarly Journal on Black Women.” She recently co-authored, with Johnnetta B. Cole, “Gender Talk: the Struggle for Women’s Equity,” and co-edited an anthology titled “Traps: African-American Men on Gender and Sexuality.”

10:45 a.m.: Facilitated breakout sessions will center on the theme of “Difficult Dialogues,” focusing on such topics as racism between women, homophobia, balancing work and family, women faculty and tenure review, power relationships between staff and faculty power relationships between faculty and students.

Lunch will be held from noon until 1:15 p.m.

1:15 p.m.: Aida Hurtado, professor of psychology at the University of California Santa Cruz, will conduct the plenary. Hurtado, whose research explores the effects of subordination on social identity, is credited with making a powerful contribution to feminist scholarship by taking on sensitive subjects. Her book “The Color of Privilege: Three Blasphemies on Race and Feminism” tackles the problems of gender and racial allegiance within the women’s movement and progressive politics. Her most recent book is “Voicing Feminisms: Young Women Speak Out on Identity and Sexuality.”

A panel of DePaul faculty, students and staff, headed by Laura Washington, the university’s Ida B. Wells-Barnett University Professor, will serve as respondents to Hurtado’s talk. Washington, an award-winning journalist and Chicago Sun-Times columnist, teaches courses in the communication department and the African and Black Diaspora Studies program.

3 p.m.: Loretta J. Ross, founder and executive director of the National Center for Human Rights Education, in Atlanta, will deliver the closing remarks: “Where Do We Go From Here? Women of Color and the Relationship to Main Stream Organizations (Academia and Others).” Conference attendants will participate in a discussion after Ross’ speech.

The conference closes at 4 p.m.

“Women in Higher Education: Building Solidarity Across Difference” is free and open to the public. Those planning to attend should reserve a space by Feb. 25 by calling DePaul’s Women’s Center at 773/325-7558 or its Cultural Center at 773/325-7759.