Poverty in America officially has a new face: women. More than half of the 46.2 million Americans living in poverty are women, and 29 percent of adult women are more likely to be poor than adult men. From 2009 to 2010, more than 1 million additional children also fell into poverty, and the numbers continue to rise..

In celebration of Women’s History Month, join Tavis and an all-woman panel of forward thinking experts on Sunday, March 18 at New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at 4 p.m. for a thought-provoking conversation on poverty. The panelists include: Nely Galán, Founder, The Adelante Movement; Dr. Julianne Malveaux, economist and president, Bennett College; Suze Orman, America’s leading authority on personal finance; Hilda Solis, 25th United States Secretary of Labor; Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers; and Sheryl WuDunn, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer and co-author of Half the Sky with New York Times columnist Nicolas Kristoff. The conversation will outline the root causes of poverty among women and children with a goal of developing real solutions.

C-SPAN has been invited to broadcast the discussion LIVE and the conversation will rebroadcast for three nights on Tavis Smiley on PBS beginning Wednesday, March 28 through Friday, March 30. Additionally, the dialogue will continue during The Tavis Smiley Show from Public Radio International (PRI) beginning March 23.

It is my hope that either you will be able to join us in person, via television, radio or Internet for what we believe will be an informative conversation about women and children falling into poverty. The numbers are astonishing. Together, let’s develop an action plan to eradicate poverty.