Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society
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Symposium

2025 Symposium Information

The Policy & Politics of Caregiving

This year’s Symposium speakers include Ewa Rejman, J.S.D. Candidate at Notre Dame Law School, L.L.M. in International Law and Human Rights at Notre Dame, Master’s in Law at University of Wroclaw Poland; Lisa Washington, Assistant Professor of Law at University of Wisconsin Law School; and Kit Johnson, Hugh Roff Professor of Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law.

The event will also host two panel discussions:

  • “Impact of Like-Kin Legislation on Child Welfare Practice”
    • Robert Collins, Attorney, DCF
    • Tania Cornelius, Tribal Affairs Specialist, DCF
  • “Wisconsin Efforts Toward Fair Parental Leave”
    • Moderated by Ashby Fox (Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School)
    • Madeline Gansemer Topf, Co-President of TAA Graduate Student Labor Union
    • Nina La Vonne Denne, Co-President of TAA Graduate Student Labor Union
    • Rep Francesca Hong, Wisconsin State Representative for District 76

The Symposium will be held on Friday, February 21st from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the UW Madison Pyle Center. View the full event schedule with additional details below.

Attendees are eligible for up to 5 CLE credits, with each presentation being 1 CLE credit.

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Full Symposium Schedule

Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender, and Society Spring 2025 Symposium: “The Policy and Politics of Caretaking”

  • 9:00-10:00 – “Discrimination that requires a remedy. The case of mothers of children with disabilities.”
    Analyzing the overlapping vulnerabilities faced by mothers of children with disabilities through the lens of international human rights law and specifically the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

    • Ewa Rejman (J.S.D. Candidate at Notre Dame Law School, L.L.M in International
      Law and Human Rights at Notre Dame, Master’s in Law at University of Wroclaw,
      Poland)
  • 10:10-11:10 – “Undocumented Eldercare, LLC”
    Analyzing the widespread issue of undocumented eldercare workers in light of the incoming administration’s plan to end the program that allows these noncitizen caregivers to work in the United States; and ways these workers may be able to lawfully stay and work.

    • Kit Johnson (Hugh Roff Professor of Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law)
  • 11:20-12:20 – “Regulating Families”
    An exploration of the family regulation system through the lens of a temporal framework.

    • Lisa Washington (Assistant Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin Law School)
  • 1:20-2:20 – “Impact of Like-Kin Legislation on Child Welfare Practice”
    Discussing Wisconsin’s recent expanded kinship definition and exploring the impact of this legislation on kinship care, families, and the child welfare practice, including its intersection with the Indian Child Welfare Act.

    • Tania Cornelius (Tribal Affairs Specialist, Wisconsin Department of Children and Families)
    • Robert Collins (Attorney, Wisconsin Department of Children and Families)
  • 2:30-3:30 – “Wisconsin Efforts Toward Fair Parental Leave”
    A moderated discussion exploring past civilian and legislative efforts to expand parental leave policies in Wisconsin, and current and future efforts.

    • Moderator: Ashby Fox (Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School)
    • Rep. Francesca Hong (State Representative for Assembly District 76)
    • Madeline Topf (Co-president of TAA graduate student labor union)
    • Nina La Vonne Denne (Co-president of TAA graduate student labor union

Past Symposia

  • 2024: Unraveling Paternity in Law and Society
  • 2023: Surviving Intimate Partner Violence: How the Legal System Routinely Fails Survivors of Domestic Abuse.
  • 2022: Sex as Crime: Addressing the Intersection of the Legal World and the Sex Industry
  • 2021: Confronting Violence Against Indigenous Women and Peoples
  • 2019: Race-ing Justice, En-Gendering Power: Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and the Role of Intersectional Legal Analysis in the Twenty-First Century
  • 2018: Rights and Protections of Transgender and Non-Binary Individuals in the U.S. Legal System
  • 2017: Women in the Boardroom: The Social and Business Arguments that Challenge Executive Board Homogeneity.

Additional Information

If you have questions about the Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender & Society’s Symposia, please contact: