Women's History Month

March is a time to honor women’s contributions in American History! This year, we celebrate the women who bring awareness to DEI.

Written by Crystall Thomas, Regional HR Manager, Olympic Steel

Did you know that Women’s History Month started as Women’s History Week in 1978? In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation designating the week of March 8, 1980, as National Women’s History Week. In1987, Congress passed the law designating March as “Women’s History Month.”

This year, Women’s History Month celebrates the theme “Women Who Advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” recognizing women who are leading change in their fields.

Today, initiatives often related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are encouraging social change. Women from all over the nation are helping to develop innovative programs and projects within corporations, the military, federal agencies, and educational organizations to help address injustices.

So, who are some of the strong women driving this change?

Jane Fonda: Fitness expert, actress, and bestselling author of My Life So Far. Besides being a successful actress, Fonda focuses much of her time on activism and social change. In December of 2017, she celebrated her 80th birthday by raising $1.3 million for her non-profit, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential. She also founded the Jane Fonda Center for Adolescent Reproductive Health at the Emory University School of Medicine and sits on the board of Women and Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, the Women's Media Center, and V-Day. Jane’s work focuses primarily on youth development, child sexual abuse, eating disorders, and adolescent reproductive health.

Cheryl Strayed: Author of the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir Wild. At the age of 22, Strayed experienced two major life-turning events - her mother’s sudden passing and the end of her marriage. She decided to confront her pain and venture out on a solo hike over 1,000 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail. Cheryl Strayed is a motivational speaker who helps others that are struggling with mental illness; her moving experiences and stories resonate with audiences of all ages.

Lucretia Mott: An American Quaker, abolitionist, women’s rights activist, and social reformer. Mott dedicated her life to achieving the goal of human equality. While attending Nine Partners, a Quaker boarding school, Lucretia Mott learned about slavery and discovered the inequalities between men and women when she learned that the women teachers earned less than males. In 1833, Mott helped to organize the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. Later, in London, she served as a delegate from that organization to the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention, from which women were excluded from participating. Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, another activist, held a women’s right’s convention in London, and later in New York on July 19 and July 20, 1848. In 1866, Mott became the first president of the American Equal Rights Association, an organization formed to achieve equality for African Americans and women.

Celebrate Women’s History Month! Go to https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/2024-whm-theme/ to learn more about some of the achievements of women from history.