March is Women’s Empowerment Month, honoring women’s contributions to American history in politics, science, education, culture, and activism. The month serves as a time to celebrate progress and the ongoing fight for gender equality.
According to the California State University Library, Women’s Empowerment Month started as a national celebration in 1981 when the President was requested and authorized to proclaim the week beginning on March 7, 1982, as “Women’s Empowerment Week.” As the years went by, Congress continued passing joint resolutions to designate a week in March as “Women’s History Week,” and in 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress designated the month of March as “Women’s History Month.” After that, Congress passed more resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to declare the whole month of March as Women’s Empowerment Month every year (calstatela.edu).
AP Language and Composition and Academic Language Development (ALD) Teacher Della June talked about her experience being a female teacher. She said, “I think being a woman in my field has provided me with advantages because I am also a mother. I have a son, and I feel like being a woman and having your own child gives you such a different perspective when you’re teaching someone else’s child. You just realize that all these little humans are loved by their families the same way I love my son. Being a woman has just made me who I am. I am proud of being a woman and wouldn’t want it any other way.”
June spoke about her job being a very female-dominated profession. “I do realize that because it’s a sort of female-dominated job, that’s probably why our pay isn’t higher. At the same time, I do feel like there is a lot of equity in teaching regarding pay,” June said. Even so, women today still earn about 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. While this gap has narrowed over time, it highlights why Women’s Empowerment Month remains relevant: to acknowledge historical struggles and continue advocating for equality.
Junior Elena Johnson spoke about the month’s significance: “Women’s Empowerment Month is very important because of the way women are treated to this day. In history, women were thought of as inferior to men. Although modern society has improved, sexism still exists and negatively impacts women around the world. This is why Women’s Empowerment Month is important; it raises awareness about inequalities and lifts women up to fight for who they are.” Even though sexism isn’t as prevalent as it used to be, it is there, and Women’s Empowerment Month is meant to uplift and celebrate women after being underappreciated for so long.
Activist Malala Yousafzai is a famous women’s rights advocate, according to the Malala Fund website. She is frequently celebrated during the month of March and has her own day, July 12, Malala Day. She is the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate and has fought for girls’ rights to an education and a future of their choosing. After the Taliban took control of her town, girls were not allowed to go to school anymore, so she became an activist and spoke out about girls’ rights to education. However, this made her a target, and in 2012, a masked Taliban gunman shot her on the left side of her head on a school bus. Yousafzai has created the Malala fund and been a huge activist for women’s rights. She is a symbol of women’s strength and is a perfect example of why this month is celebrated by so many (malala.org).