Some soft-spoken women can be drowned out in meetings and class sections, she said.
"Women need to learn to deal with this problem, and men need to recognize that it exists," Gardiner said.
Students also focused on the need for Radcliffe to better define its image.
Both organizers and participants praised the format of yesterday's event.
"I think the informal nature of the discussion lent itself to our topic," said Massy Tadjedin '99, who organized the event. "It facilitated the generation of ideas."
Gardiner said she was pleased that so many different views were expressed.
"The size of the group was large enough to include disparate opinions, but small enough to keep the conversation intimate," she said.
The session was organized by the Institute of Politics as one of its weekly Pizza and Politics events.