Women’s History Month serves as a time of remembrance and recognition. Photo courtesy of Achievement First.
TESSA FACKRELL | STAFF REPORTER | tfackrell@butler.edu
The month of March marks the celebration of Women’s History Month. The month serves to represent the contributions, accomplishments and lives of women in American history.
The federal government recognized the celebration in 1981 with the passage of a bill to proclaim the week of March 7 as “Women’s History Week.” Six years later in 1986, Congress passed another bill which designated the entire month of March as Women’s History Month.
The National Women’s History Alliance, NWHA, decides on a theme for each Women’s History Month, this year’s being “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” According to the NWHA website, this year is focused on “recognition of women, past and present, who have been active in all forms of media and storytelling including print, radio, TV, stage, screen, blogs, podcasts, and more.”
Some students, including senior strategic communication major Angelica Letcher, appreciate how Women’s History Month is a time of remembrance of the achievements of women. For Letcher, the month is about recognizing the importance of inclusivity and equality for women.
“At the end of the day, I think it’s a good reminder to stay informed and know that there’s still room for growth, whether it’s with the gender pay gap or just being inclusive with gender pronouns,” Letcher said. “So I feel like it’s easy to celebrate it without knowing that you’re doing so.”
Women’s History Month serves to keep the public informed about the areas in the lives of women that need improvement.
Sydney Riddle, a junior communication and organizational leadership major, said she believes that representation on campus would make talking about women’s issues less taboo.
“Women are what, 52% of the population, and we’re still considered less-than even to this day,” Riddle said. “Even if they say that they have [made] progress, you still have that dollar to [82] cent ratio, and I don’t think that’s talked about enough.”
Along with ensuring that there is room to improve the status of women in the country, the month also recognizes the often forgotten contributions of women in American history.
Sophomore strategic communication major Rachel Brown believes that the achievements of women are often overlooked, and need to be more widely recognized.
“There’s a lot of women’s achievements that are ignored,” Brown said. “And I think it’s important during Women’s History Month to look at those achievements and those women specifically.”
Letcher believes that there was not enough recognition on campus this year for Women’s History Month.
“As a senior, it’s kind of frustrating because I’m aware that there have been things in the past,” Letcher said. “So I don’t know if other things are being prioritized or what the case may be, but that is kind of [an oversight] of Butler.”
Although there have been few Women’s History Month events advertised on campus, downtown Indianapolis and Newfields have celebrations and events for the entire month. Many organizations, like the NWHA as well as the National Organization for Women, NOW, work year-round to improve the status and lives of women across the country.
