Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month and was created to recognize women’s achievements throughout history. Women’s History Month celebrates women who contributed to important historical events and the continued contributions they make to our society, well-being, science, and technological advances.

Many of the contributions made by women have a lasting impact in modern life today, with many of women’s firsts in areas historically dominated by men, such as Violet Piercy who became the first woman to run a marathon in 1926.  In 1980, Mary Decker became the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes and twenty seconds. 

The images below portray sexism and were made before 1980:

However, since then, many great achievements have been made, some of the notable ones are: Katharine Graham who was the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company in 1972; Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic; and, Kamala Harris is the first female Vice President of the United States, in addition to being the first person of color to serve as Vice President. Women have been able to vote in the United States for approximately 100 years. They have consistently proven they are capable of making important contributions to mankind despite past opinions that relegated them to being wives and mothers. The significant advances, historically and now, made by women are why we celebrate women for the entire month of March every year.

Women have proven they are similarly intellectually and able to apply higher-level concepts to change the world and make it a better place.  They demonstrate their intellect acuity on par with the contributions of capable men. 

 Although discrimination is beginning to fade within the United States, there are many places in the world without women’s rights. Most of Africa and Asia are lacking because this issue is not a top priority nor do they believe women deserve any rights and men are the sole decision-makers. . Countries closer to the equator, in the eastern hemisphere, consistently treat women poorly.  For example, in Pakistan human trafficking, specifically among women, occurs regularly.  In India, underage women are forced to marry somebody they do not know or wish to marry. Their opinion does not count.

While all achievements are beneficial, some are more recognized than others, and this is why we need to celebrate Women’s History Month. If it was not for this month-long tribute, it would be easy to overlook or ignore women’s achievements, which would likely continue the myth that women should contribute to society as wives and mothers only.  Women have created, invented, explored, and developed many concepts, books, scientific facts, and advances, and we celebrate them each year. This is a special time for women, as it helps them get the motivation to achieve great accomplishments.

By Elijah Bobonea, Journalist at the ASK Catalyst.