"The existence of Radcliffe makes it easier for Harvard to not deal with [women's issues] than if it did not exist. Not to say that Harvard hasn't made great strides forward, but things aren't entirely equal," she said.

However, participants of the conference emphasized that they can focus on gaining leadership skills instead of focusing on gender discrimination.

"[We're] trying to not give people a reason to discriminate, but allow these women to stand up on their merits and represent a group that has not been highly represented," said Ming Hsu '00, the 1999 conference co-chair.

Undergraduate Council President Beth A. Stewart '00 emphasized the conference's focus on workplace concerns for women.

"I expected the conference to be much more a man-bashing party, but the theme has been balancing career and family and how to exploit your womanliness for your advantage," Stewart said.

The conference has gained a reputation for giving undergraduates the opportunity to interact with well-known leaders in a personal setting.

Space in the event is limited, however. Although nearly 100 applicants applied in March, only 35 or so were selected.

"We keep it small because it is an intimate experience. What's special about this is you have your questions answered and you don't have to fight your way to the microphone," Hsu said.

Speakers are attracted to the conference because the small setting gives them the opportunity to talk to student leaders on an individual basis.

"People are giving up their Labor Day weekend and they're not getting paid [for their appearance]. They don't have an opportunity to interact students on a personal level [at other events]. It's fun for them," Hsu said.

Although the conference is tightly scheduled with panels and group discussions throughout the day, there is a scheduled "reflection session" at the end of each day.

"We finally got out issues that we couldn't talk about before because we're mature enough to deal with them," said Suzie Miller '99, who is co-captain of the women's basketball team.

Miller recounted how the discussions in the Lyman Common Room would go way past the scheduled time and how the participants ended up on steps of Widener Library talking until 1 a.m.

"Many people told me this was their best experience at Harvard, and how can you pass that up?" she said.

The Women's Leadership Project also runs the Undergraduate Partnership Program which functions as a mentoring program between upperclass women and female first-years.