Women's History Month

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Women's History Month by Reanna Hicks, J.D. Candidate, Class of 2023

Women’s History Month has been celebrated for over 30 years, initially it was an achievement that provided a platform for Women’s contributions to be highlighted, but now if feels like a lazy afterthought. The US government has a lackluster website that hits all the cliché talking points. The problem with scheduled annual celebrations is that they allow individuals a way to pat themselves on the back without making any real change. Businesses create social media post to “celebrate” their employees that are women, people like the post and everyone feels good and goes on with their day. You do not see any businesses posting that they will take measurable steps to pay women at the same rate as their male counterparts. To this day women earn 83 cents to every dollar men earn (https://www.businessinsider.com/gender-wage-pay-gap-charts-2017-3).

This idea is not new, over fifteen years ago Morgan Freeman said “I don’t want a Black History Month. Black history is American history.” https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-history-month-debate-back-n502226 . The idea easily applies to Women’s History Month. Since the creation of the United States, ethnic minorities and women have had to fight to be treated as their white male counterpart’s equals. What do they have to show for it? Neither are treated equal, but they have a month that pays lip service to their contributions to our country.  

All history classes examine the past through a lens. As a history major, I took classes that looked through the lens of protest movements, the military, and women. The problem with using women as a lens is that it allows every other history course to leave women out. The course I took on the US military and protest movements did not mention women. Women’s History Month has the same effect. It allows women to be left out of the nation’s overall progress. By giving women a month, the US government denies them the rest of the year.

Please see the display I created for Women’s History Month in the Greenan Reading Room.

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