The entire month of March, and every March since 1987,  observes National Women’s History Month. In this month, women are recognized and celebrated for the contributions they have made to American history.

In the March of 1987, Congress declared this specific month, in that respective year, as Women’s History Month. In the span of the next six years, Congress passed additional statements requesting that each President proclaim March, each year, as National Women’s History Month.

“…we will support women throughout our society, recognizing that the successes of women strengthen our families, our economy, and our Nation.  As we reflect on the role of women throughout American history, we remember that women must always have access to all the opportunities that our Nation has to offer. Indeed, ensuring access to these opportunities is vital to our Nation’s prosperity,” states current President, Donald J. Trump, in his 2018 proclamation of Women’s National History Month.

During this month of nationwide female empowerment also comes a day in which women all around the globe are recognized: International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8.

On March 8 corporations, such as Google, Mattel, McDonalds, and Starbucks, show their support for the gender equality associated on this day of appreciation. For example, Mattel released 17 new Barbie dolls all based off of historic females figures, and a McDonald’s located in Lynwood, California flipped the iconic ‘M’ sign upside down to form a ‘W’ as a “celebration of women everywhere.”

(This month’s Google Doodle, celebrating gender equality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkfpqGWzHCE )

Although many celebrations were made throughout the world on International Women’s Day, not much is being done in the states for this month of recognition for female achievements.

“I have learned all I know about Women’s History Month only through Twitter. I haven’t seen anything on other platforms except on Instagram when celebrities post something saying ‘Happy Women’s History Month!’ and nothing else,” states senior Emma Houston.

Evan Helgeson, a junior at Oakdale, also seems to be aware of this problem, “There is very little seen by most, and a majority don’t know this (month) exists.”

Keeping in mind that this month was specifically declared as Women’s National history month, the media is failing to acknowledge that fact in more ways than one. Fox News host, Tucker Carlson, released a new television show about the men in America the day before IWD.  “We hear a lot about female empowerment in this country, and, of course, we’re totally for that — we’re for empowering all Americans. But for some reason, you almost never hear anything about how men are doing in America.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrhHkQhglig

However just because the media is not giving women as much recognition as they deserve, does not mean the public should follow in their footsteps. Make sure to educate yourself on the accomplishments of the National American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA), or on other feats made by historical women such as Susan B. Anthony and Ida B. Wells, or even just refresh your knowledge of the 19th amendment.

“I think it is very important to continue talking about Women’s History Month and talk about it more because of the same reason we still talk about Pearl Harbor or 9/11. These events changed history,” claims Houston.

So at the very least during this month of women’s history, be sure to make yourself aware of all the changes made in our society today that are a direct result of the strong women of our past.