March is Women's History Month

Ruthanne

Ruthanne

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The 2022 theme for Women's History Month is “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope.”

March is National Women's History month – when we pay homage to the many contributions of women across the nation. Whether you're honoring the strides made by women in the past, or celebrating strong women in the present, there are plenty of ways to mark Women's History Month.

A tidbit about Women's History Month: Facts about Women's History

1. The first Women's History Day was held in 1909.​

February 28, 1909 marked the first Woman's History Day in New York City. It commemorated the one-year anniversary of the garment workers' strikes when 15,000 women marched through lower Manhattan. From 1909 to 1910, immigrant women who worked in garment factories held a strike to protest their working conditions. Most of them were teen girls who worked 12-hour days. In one factory, Triangle Shirtwaist Company, employees were paid only $15 a week. History.com describes it as a "true sweatshop." Young women worked in tight conditions at sewing machines, and the factories' owners didn't keep the factory up to safety standards. In 1911, the factory burned down and 145 workers were killed. It pushed lawmakers to finally pass legislation meant to protect factory workers.

2. The day became Women's History Week in 1978.​

An education task force in Sonoma County, California kicked off Women's History Week in 1978 on March 8, International Women's Day, according to the National Women's History Alliance. They wanted to draw attention to the fact that women's history wasn't really included in K-12 school curriculums at the time.

3. In 1987, it became Women's History Month.​

Women's organizations, including the National Women's History Alliance, campaigned yearly to recognize Women's History Week. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter declared the week of March 8 Women's History Week across the country. By 1986, 14 states had declared the entire month of March Women's History Month, according to the Alliance. The following year, in March of 1987, activists were successful: They lobbied Congress to declare March Women's History Month.

Women’s History Month isn’t perfect. Professor Kimberly A. Hamlin argued in a Washington Post op-ed that when men make history, it’s just called “history.” But when women make history, it’s “women’s history.” It’s a fair point to keep in mind, now and especially as the country moves forward to a more equitable tomorrow. The below facts about women’s history and contributions of women aren’t historic just for women — they’re historic for everyone. See link at top of page.



Every March, Women's History Month provides an opportunity to honor the generations of trailblazing women and girls who have built our Nation, shaped our progress, and strengthened our character as a people.




Let's celebrate Women's History Month by posting whatever you feel is relevant.
 

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Naomi Parker Farley, the real Rosie The Riveter
 
this lady deserves some homage...

​

𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 117 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 1867(𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝗻 1750!). 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗪𝗮𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗹 𝗪𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘄 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗵𝗮𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.



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iu

What Did Hedy Lamarr Invent?​


Until recently, actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr’s legacy was nothing short of shallow. She was just one of the many beautiful actresses that graced the screen during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Yet, in reality, historians should write Lamarr into history books as one of the most influential figures in the field of modern technology. Her invention, frequency hopping—a type of wireless technology—led to the advent of WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

Redesigning Faster Airplanes During WWIl​

On the eve of the U.S.’s involvement in WWII, one of Lamarr’s boyfriends, aviation tycoon Howard Hughes, took note of her brilliance. His new partner’s creativity and intelligence astounded him, causing the businessman to introduce her to his aerodynamics team so she could help advance the planes.

In 1997, she and her co-inventor of frequency hopping, Antheil, won the Pioneer Award from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). In addition to this, the film Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2017) drew attention to her significant contributions to modern technology. Since then, articles from Forbes, the Smithsonian, Biography, PBS, and The New York Times have all helped reshape what people choose to remember and honor about Lamarr.
 
rgp said:
Oh, so now we all get our own history month ??



What ever happened to just history ..... and take your place in it ?
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March wasn't exactly the favourite month of Julius Caesar, the dictator of Rome. He was stabbed to death in the Roman Senate house by 60 conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus on March 15th. The day later became infamous as the Ides of March.

Incidentally, Ides simply referred to the first new moon of a given month, which usually fell between the 13th and 15th. In fact, the Ides of March once signified the new year, which meant celebrations and rejoicing, which is probably what Romans did following poor old Julius' fate.
 

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire​

On Saturday, March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the top floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory. Firefighters arrived at the scene, but their ladders weren’t tall enough to reach the upper floors of the 10-story building. Trapped inside because the owners had locked the fire escape exit doors, workers jumped to their deaths. In a half an hour, the fire was over, and 146 of the 500 workers—mostly young women—were dead.
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Frances Perkins, who stood helpless watching the factory burn, the tragedy inspired a lifetime of advocacy for workers’ rights. She later became secretary of labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
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The shirtwaist makers, as young as age 15, worked seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. with a half-hour lunch break. During the busy season, the work was nearly non-stop. They were paid about $6 per week. In some cases, they were required to use their own needles, thread, irons and occasionally their own sewing machines. The factories also were unsanitary, or as a young striker explained, “unsanitary—that’s the word that is generally used, but there ought to be a worse one used.” At the Triangle factory, women had to leave the building to use the bathroom, so management began locking the steel exit doors to prevent the “interruption of work” and only the foreman had the key.
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The next morning, throughout New York’s garment district, more than 15,000 shirtwaist makers walked out. They demanded a 20-percent pay raise, a 52-hour workweek and extra pay for overtime. The local union, along with the Women’s Trade Union League, held meetings in English and Yiddish at dozens of halls to discuss plans for picketing. When picketing began the following day, more than 20,000 workers from 500 factories had walked out. More than 70 of the smaller factories agreed to the union’s demands within the first 48 hours.

https://aflcio.org/about/history/labor-history-events/triangle-shirtwaist-fire

Proud to tell you my Grandma Rose was part of this protest.
Triangle Fire Memorial Design Competition: Call for Entries
 
Alligatorob said:
When I started engineering school there were no women in the engineering classes, and no women's restrooms in the engineering building. Things changed very quick after that. It all seems strange and silly now...
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When I was in high school, I was the only girl in my automotive class. (There were only two other girls enrolled, but we were in separate classes.). The boys tried to give me a hard time, but the teacher was thrilled to have a girl take interest in his class. (especially after the other 2 dropped out.)
 
Trila said:
When I was in high school, I was the only girl in my automotive class. (There were only two other girls enrolled, but we were in separate classes.). The boys tried to give me a hard time, but the teacher was thrilled to have a girl take interest in his class. (especially after the other 2 dropped out.)
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In Junior High, I wanted to take Shop class, rather than Home Economics, but was denied. I've always scored high in Mechanical Ability tests. Great that your teacher supported you.
 
old medic said:
Sorry RGP... not us...
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What “history” do feel you qualify for? All babies begin life with no Y chromosome, which technically means that you could have stayed female all of your days and therefore this recognition in March of Women’s History, includes both you and RGP.

January, July, August and December have no designations as being any type of history month while April and September only are partially designated. Here's a link to a chart that tells of the designations. It’s possible that your heritage may be listed there but if not, you can petition the powers that be for a special recognition of your own. Once you have one, you’re also welcome to start a forum of your own to celebrate it. Maybe we could designate a month as RGP, Really Grouchy People’s month. We deserve recognition too, after all but not here, not now.
 
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