HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah – As I reflect on Women’s History Month, and what it signifies, the word I meditate on most is sacrifice. The sacrifice of women before me who provided their shoulders as a foundation to stand on. Their tenacity and resilience to elevate women to heights unimaginable. The grace they embodied when met with adversity.
Originated in Santa Rosa, Calif. as Women’s History Week in 1978, the week corresponded with International Women’s Day. However, thirty-five years ago, Congress passed Public Law 100-9 declaring March, Women’s History Month.
Women’s History Month is more than just acknowledging women’s accomplishments and hardships. It is a call to stand firm on the principles of unity and equality for all. Women of every color, race, and ethnicity continue to persevere and break glass ceilings daily.
We honor women like, Harriet Tubman, Lucy Stone, Susan B. Anthony, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Rosa Parks, for their strength and determination to fight against inequality.
The sacrifice those women made throughout their lives provided a path for women like General Ann Dunwoody, General Jacqueline VanOvst, Admiral Michelle Howard Gertrude Stein and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass to solidify their place in history to inspire the next generation by shattering the glass ceiling.
Today, women still fight for equality, respect, and advocacy within the workplace. They fight to prove their ability to lead and sit at the head of the table. Not because they are women, but because there are invisible barriers such as the Glass Ceilings, Glass Walls, Glass Elevators and now Glass Slippers. These Glasses are barriers to career advancement in the private, public and government sector.
The strides women make every day and in every aspect of history resonates deep within the fibers of this country and around the globe. Their contributions and sacrifices helped catapult this country to the great nation it is today.
To provide healing for the scars of the past, we must come together in the present to act, listen, learn, lead, and advocate for a brighter future. The responsibility of our future and developing the next generation of leaders rests with each one of us who value equality, liberty and justice for all known as Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEI & A).