Press "Enter" to skip to content

The importance of actively participating in Women’s History Month

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter designated the week of March 2-8 as Women’s History Week. Seven years later, Congress declared that the entire month of March would be Women’s History Month. 

It may be difficult to think of ways to celebrate the month, so The Scout has compiled a list of suggestions. 

The first, and our personal favorite, is to support independent female artists in their endeavors. Musicians, painters, sculptors and actresses – women are underrepresented in every group. Women of color are especially negatively impacted by white male domination of the media. Some up and coming female musicians to check out include quinnie, O-Slice and Lizzy McAlpine.

In your neighborhoods, there are likely many women-owned small businesses that you can shop at during this month. However, if you cannot find any in your area, sites like Etsy can be good starting points.

Celebrating women’s accomplishments can include educating both yourself and those around you. Education can come in forms such as films, books and podcasts.

Several streaming services have documentaries about women’s history such as “Period. End of Sentence” on Netflix and “The Janes” on HBO Max. As far as books go, titles such as “Bad Feminist” by Roxanne Gay and “Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics” by bell hooks are good resources about feminism as a whole. 

Female-led podcasts are a way to listen to women discuss important topics in life. “Encyclopedia Womanica,” “Under the Sisterhood” and “Stuff Mom Never Told You” are just a few of the many podcasts that you can listen to during this month.

With every entertaining version of education, there also comes the uncomfortable conversations that are necessary with people in your life. Do the men in your life make space for female voices? Do they listen to their female colleagues’ opinions? Do they call out sexist behavior in their male peers?

If the answer is no, then it’s time to sit them down and have a conversation about why it is important to advocate for women in their everyday life, or at the very least try to have them understand why women’s history is so significant.

Throughout history, women have fought for their rights to vote, work, go to school and so much more. During the month of March, it is important to reflect on the progress that we have made and the progress that women continue to fight for.

Copyright © 2023, The Scout, Bradley University. All rights reserved.
The Scout is published by members of the student body of Bradley University. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the University.