“Women belong in every place a decision is being made,” senior Avery Smith said.

March has been designated Women’s History month since 1995 by Presidential Proclamations. 

Women’s History Month took some time to get started and was acknowledged as a real celebratory month. With this month, women get to acknowledge what they have brought to the world and how it’s important to see other women in power. Even though we’ve made progress since this month was created, there is still work that can be done.

Women’s History Month first started as Women’s History Week in Santa Rosa, Calif. It was executed and planned by the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women. The first Presidential Proclamation was declared by President Jimmy Carter in February 1980. He declared the week of March 8th, 1980 as National Women’s History Week but in March 1987 Congress passed Public Law 100-9, officially designating March as Women’s History Month. 

Women’s History Month is a month meant to highlight the contributions of women in history and society. Many women in our school have many accomplishments and high roles that should be shared and celebrated not only during this month but also throughout the school year. “It’s cool to have that power, not in a weird, power-hungry way, like it’s cool to have that influence over people and lead my peers in that type of way,” Smith said. Smith is currently one of the Editors-in-Chief of Endeavor, which is part of the journalism program. “I think definitely for younger girls, being able to look up, whether it’s middle schoolers on my team or freshman, they see me in leadership positions and I’ve earned a lot of their respect just from my accomplishments and the success I’ve had,” senior Emma Wright said. Wright is the other Editor-in-Chief for Endeavor and her position gives her the ability to lead a room and also inspire others, especially girls on her team and in her staff who might look up to her.

Even though we’ve made more progress since the first Women’s History Month, we can still continue to do more. “I think now, more than ever, women need representation. We’ve always had issues with women’s representation but people think it’s been so long ago and think there’s representation out there, but we definitely lack a lot of representation that needs to be here,” junior Emi Richardson said. Richardson has been part of the band for many years and was one of the drum majors of the marching band in the 2021 season. Having the ability to have such a high position in the band is very important to her since sometimes it can be something that is male-dominated. “It feels really good to be in a high leadership position as a woman and be able to show that I can do it,” Richardson said. Having women in leadership positions, even in high school, allows other girls, especially young ones, to look up to them and see what they can do even if it’s only in high school.

When women have representation in something that is usually dominated by men, they have a chance to see themselves in that position and be able to work towards it. “I think women will just assume that this type of role isn’t for them even if they could do a good job, I think they’re like, ‘oh, well that’s a man’s job so that’s okay, I’m just gonna take this job,’ whenever they’re missing out on a big opportunity for them,” senior Mia Maguire said. Maguire has been Editor-In-Chief for Livewire for two years and it’s given her the opportunity to lead others in a classroom and put herself in a higher role. “While we’ve come a long way, the mindset is still the male leader. Males kind of get the priority and get placed in roles that women are just as capable of but I do feel like there’s been growth in recent years to change that mindset,” counselor Savannah Richardson said. It’s important to see that women are just as capable as men in any job and that women should be able to step up in anything when they want to. 

“I think having that empowerment to want to be in those decisions and those moments, to have these leadership roles, I think it’s so important. However, many years ago, women were not making these decisions, and I think having these big strides is helping the world overall and helping boost equality for women and men,” Smith said. Representation in the world is important for anyone. Being able to see yourself in someone else’s role and wanting to push yourself to be the same makes leaders in the world everywhere. “So many women now are stepping up and being strong and taking in who they are and spreading that and I think it’s become a really important component of this world today and I’m happy to see it,” senior Emma Egan said. Egan has been a Lady Charger for five years and this year will be her fourth year on the varsity level. She’s been able to see how women are now trying to take their place and step up when they can, especially in a program that’s been dominated by men. 

Women have grown so much from where they have started from voting movements and getting a celebratory month for them. There is still work that can be done but today, representation is more important than ever. Showing women that they have the ability to do everything and anything if they put their mind to it allows for there to be more ideas and great change in the world.  

To see more about this topic and this interview, check out the video over Women’s History Month posted on our Twitter @BElivewire and Instagram @belivewire.