Converse College presents the fifth annual “Hub-City High Heel Hundred,” a 100-meter dash in your favorite pumps, on Friday, September 11th at 5:00 pm.
Check in begins at 4:30 pm in downtown Spartanburg. The event aims to raise awareness about the gender pay gap and the continuing need to achieve equitable compensation for women.
Spartanburg community leaders and members have run alongside Converse and other college students for the past three years. Converse Trustee and community leader Billy Webster ran with his daughters, commenting, “The High Heel Hundred is clever, innovative and loads of fun. The race turns traditional gender roles on their head and thereby has relevance to the workplace and other venues where outdated stereotypes often prevail. Running 100 yards in high heels is a pretty painful lesson for a male! My girls loved being a part of the event. They recognized that it was something special.”
The event provides men and women alike with the opportunity to celebrate the women in their lives while raising awareness for the continued need for women’s equity by dashing 100 meters in a pair of heels. There is a 2-inch minimum for heels for the adult races, and costumes are welcome. Kids can also dash in a lollipop race, but no heels, please. Prizes will be awarded in each category.
WHY RUN?The Hub-City High Heel Hundred seeks to promote awareness of the continued need for women’s equity. The gender pay gap is a very real issue impacting society as a whole, and yet it is often overlooked. Women excel in their careers and continue to break glass ceilings – often while juggling the demands of family life or other obstacles.
Ilene H. Lang, a former tech CEO now working for Catalyst, a leading research organization that studies women in the workforce, once said: “Imagine that there’s a big race and your daughter or your granddaughter or your sister—whoever it is—is really good at track and field, and she trains with the best of them. She goes to the start line, and you look up and she’s not on the start line. She’s 100 feet back. Would you accept this? So that’s the challenge: women are starting out behind the start line. And they don’t catch up.” Let’s bridge this gap and pave the way for the future generation to start on common ground.
Come run for the fabulous women in YOUR life. Whether you do it for yourself, your spouse, your daughter, your mother, your sister – or all of them – you will help us make great strides by simply acknowledging the value of these women.
Proceeds of the fifth annual Hub-City High Heel Hundred will benefit The Haven Homeless Shelter for Families in Spartanburg, SC. The Haven is a tax-exempt non-profit organization, which was founded in 1983 as an outreach mission of Second Presbyterian Church, it was meant to provide shelter for transient men originally until 1985 when the service focus changed. They began to shelter homeless families due to the growing and urgent need in the community. Second Presbyterian Church continues to be a supporter of the Haven, but any other sort of outside help is appreciated. Because of the incredible amount of support The Haven has provided for families of our vibrant community, Converse believes The Haven would be the perfect recipient of resources raised by the fifth annual Hub-City High Heel Hundred.
Join Converse College as we empower women of today and prepare young girls for tomorrow. We look forward to seeing you!