"Insofar as their complaints are that they do not rise to leadership positions specifically because they are women, their complaints are not valid, but I understand their frustration," he says. "To attribute this to an axis of male power is ridiculous."

Not all women leaders say they have faced blatant disrespect. Harvard-Radcliffe Republican Club President Karen E. Boyle '94 says she has never been treated differently by the men who outnumber her in the club.

"I don't think it was an issue in the election," Boyle says of her December campaign for club president. "It wasn't discussed from anything other than my own questions. I got nothing but support."

But Boyle says the question of gender still concerned her. "I guess in my own mind, I wondered would being a woman hurt my chances," she says. "I did campaign extra hard, but I'll never know if I had to do that."

Similar fears that gender will become an issue may discourage some women from joining male-dominated organizations, just as fear of disrespectful treatment in council sessions may discourage women from speaking.

While these factors may not prevent women from seeking leadership positions or from taking an active role in meetings, they may require that women who do seek the spotlight acquire extra determination and confidence.

It is towards this end that the Women's Leadership Project holds a conference each fall sponsored by Harvard, Radcliffe and the Institute of Politics. Approximately 35 undergraduates--including some men--will attend the sixth annual conference in September to discuss the difficulties of being female in a leadership position, both on campus and after graduation.

Last year, WBZ news anchor Liz Walker delivered a keynote address at the conference. The program included panels and workshops on health, public speaking, negotiating and gender and the work force, according to executive director Elizabeth R. Caputo '94.

The conference, Caputo says, leaves its participants feeling empowered. She says the conference helped her gain the confidence she needed to eventually run for chair of the IOP student advisory committee.

"As a first-year student I was active in this political organization that was predominantly a male organization," she says. "The conference really gave me a good perspective to know I was the best person for the position I wanted when I decided to run for chair of the organization."

Caputo says participants find it useful to discuss issues specifically geared towards women leaders. "Men and women face different obstacles when they run for chairs in their campus organizations," she says. "I felt I had to run twice as hard."

Participants in the conference have also discussed which leadership styles work best. Caputo says many conference participants feel "women some-times don't know how to make their pitch."

"They have two approaches they can take, regardless of whether men are in the organization," she says. "One is to be aggressive, to be almost insensitive sometimes. The other option is to be more of a team-builder. That's what works for me the best."

Rachana Choubey '93, a former executive board member for the project, says the conference has helped lead to new projects such as SafetyWalk and Lighthouse magazine, two initiatives begun after their founders attended the conference.

"You create your own opportunities," says Choubey, who is also a former vice president of membership and alumni affairs for the International Relations Council.