On March 8, 1857, the women from various New York City factories staged a protest over poor working conditions. In 1909, the first Women’s Day celebration was held in New York City. The United States Census Bureau calls those events the roots of Women’s History Month.
It took Congress seven decades to establish National Women’s History Week beginning the second week of March 1981. Every year since 1987, Congress has passed a resolution ( and the president has issued a proclamation) designating March Women’s History Month to acknowledge the vital role of women in America’s past.
It’s easy to picture the ladies of the past as docile housewives. Yet, through the ages, each generation had females who thought for themselves. A few made the history books such as: Ida B. Wells (1862 – 1931) who was born in Mississippi and became an investigative journalist and suffragette; Grace Hopper (1906 – 1992) who was born in New York City and became a computer scientist and rear admiral in the U.S. Navy; plus, Sandra Day O’Conner who was born on a ranch in Arizona in 1930 and became the first woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
During the 1960’s and ’70s, the women’s liberation movement changed our thinking and our language. Instead of dividing the married and unmarried with the terms Mrs. and Miss, all are addressed as Ms. In 1972, Congress passed Title IX paving the way for our daughter’s generation to compete on athletic teams sponsored by their schools. When the girls finished their education, they were accepted as police officers, firefighters and other occupations formerly restricted to men.
Although women in this country outnumber men 166.6 million to 161.7 million, they are not treated as the majority.
Who in your life was an independent woman?