Many of the tools we use, the liberties we enjoy and the entertainment we love are thanks to women. The brilliant minds and talents of women are responsible for progress nationally, around the globe, and here at Child Care Resource Center.
Did you know that the first staff and the agency’s first paid directors were all women? Are you aware that CCRC staff is comprised of approximately 85% women? Women continue to lead the way in our field and across the country. As an organization that is largely made up by women, we see on a regular basis their impeccable leadership, imaginative problem solving, and compassion. Our organization – our society – would not be what it is today without the contributions of women.
That’s why March is designated Women’s History month, a time of recognition that began as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California. In 1978, the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission of the Status of Women celebrated “Women’s History Week.” International Women’s Day, which was first observed in 1911, is the week of March 8th so the organizers set the then weeklong acknowledgement to correspond with International Women’s Day. This movement took off and women across the country began to host their own Women’s History Week celebrations.
Women in leadership continued to advocate for national recognition of Women’s History Week. It was not until February of 1980 that President Jimmy Carter declared the week of March 8th, 1980, to be National Women’s History Week. Over time, Women’s History Week eventually became Women’s History Month.
There is a yearly theme for Women’s History Month, which the Women’s History Alliance declared for 2022 would be “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope.” According to the Alliance, the theme “is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history.”
Whether it’s the contributions of women to law, politics, music, art, medicine, science, sports, activism, government and more, women have made a lasting impact on the world. Women’s history is full of trailblazers from all cultures in the fight for equality in the U.S. Some of the many distinguished women in this country include abolitionist Harriet Tubman, the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, activist Rosa Parks, Vice President Kamala Harris, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, actress Rita Moreno, artist Frida Kahlo, poet Maya Angelou, and countless others. This month and always, we celebrate and acknowledge the various achievements of all women.
