A nurturer, a caretaker, a hard worker, a leader, an inspiration: a woman.
Taking a month to recognize the hardships, obstacles and efforts women have made throughout the decades showcase the progress the country has made thus far.
The story of achieving women’s equality is far from over, but we’re one chapter closer.
March 1 is the start of Women’s History Month — the celebration of women and recognition of figures who have contributed to women’s rights.
This month highlights the accomplishments women in history have made and celebrates where we are now.
Before the 19th amendment was in place, granting women the right to vote, women hopelessly fought for years just to have their voices heard.
Women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Abigail Adams, Alice Paul, Maud Wood Park and countless others contributed to the right to vote and various other women’s rights movements.
Trials surfaced time and time again, but the power of a single voice went a long way in the end.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 76.3% of women between the ages of 25 to 34 worked in 1998 versus 34.0% in 1950.
In 2008, women made up 48% of the labor force and men were 52%. To compare, in 1988 the shares were 45% and 55%.
The celebration of Women’s History Month means looking back at how things used to be, where women never worked but instead catered to a husband and family. Today, a woman decides to be whatever she wants to be.
In 1851, the Women’s Convention was held in Akron, Ohio. Sojourner Truth, abolitionist and women’s rights advocate, delivered the powerful speech “Ain’t I A Woman?”
As a person of color, Truth touches on her struggles with being seen as an equal not only to a man, but to a white woman.
“That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere,” she said. “Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me!”
Truth continues as she mentions how even though she worked as hard as a man and endured the pain they did, she never felt heard.
The young girls of this generation are witnessing history being made with the first African American and Asian American woman becoming vice president, signaling hope they too can be capable of anything when they grow up.
The power of the voices of millions of women continues to be heard while fighting for equal pay, reproductive rights and more representation in government to this day.
This month is meant to celebrate women of color and those in minority groups who face oppression more than they ever should, single moms who live day by day to provide for their children, military women who help protect our country every single day and every woman in between continuing to break the stigma against what women are capable of.
The power of a single voice will never go away.
