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The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said: 鈥淚'm sometimes asked 鈥榃hen will there be enough women on the Supreme Court?鈥� And I say, when there are nine. People are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that.鈥�
Ask ten different people why we recognize Women鈥檚 History Month, and you鈥檒l probably get ten different responses. Yet, they tend to distill down to one common theme: too many people are still taken aback by the prospect of women in leadership.
We鈥檝e definitely come a long way. Even as recently as a few generations ago, US women weren鈥檛 permitted to open credit in their name without their husbands鈥� approval. And 103 years ago, white women were given the right to vote, a right not cemented for women of color until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
In light of this, there鈥檚 still a long way to go. As UN Secretary General Ant贸nio Guterres very recently stated, "Progress toward gender equality is vanishing before our eyes. Women鈥檚 rights are being abused, threatened, and violated around the world." He also said at this rate, true equality won't be achieved for another 300 years.
That essential truth is reflected in a myriad of ways in daily professional, political, and social life for modern women. These are just some of the reasons why we recognize Women鈥檚 History Month.
from The Hill is accompanied by a caption that reads in part: 鈥淪cholars say the new era of gender parity has reshaped relationship dynamics, empowering young women and, in many cases, removing young men from the equation.鈥�
Jennifer Reitman, founder and publisher of points out in an email message, the post鈥檚 carousel of images trumpets statistics designed to sound the alarms:
Over 60% of young men remain single 鈥� almost twice as many single young women, which 鈥渟ignals a larger breakdown in the social, romantic, and sexual life of the American male.鈥�
About half of single men are consciously in search of relationships or dating partners.
20-something young men are more likely than women their age to be 鈥渞omantically uninvolved, sexually dormant, friendless, and lonely.鈥�
This 鈥渟ocial disconnect鈥� sometimes leads to 鈥渢ragic consequences鈥� 鈥� specifically, mass shootings.
The framing of this content isn鈥檛 advocating for better mental health care or attention to loneliness but rather, seems to blame young women for young men鈥檚 dissatisfaction and even criminal behavior.
The Hill鈥檚 post and associated content raise important questions that should be addressed by society, but positioning this as a poor outcome for men that鈥檚 caused by women and independence is unfair to everyone.
Celebrating Women鈥檚 History Month won鈥檛 solve this problem, but it does present an ideal opportunity to start the conversation and raise awareness.
Chances are, you can identify the major contributions to history, politics, science, entertainment and education made by James Watson, Francis Crick, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela.
Can you say the same of Rosalind Franklin, Ada Lovelace, Faith Spotted Eagle and Patsy Mink? Do you know why Hedy Lamarr is so important to modern technology? Have you ever heard of Bessie Coleman? Or any of the women mentioned in the video below?
Throughout history, women have made positive and influential changes that made life better for millions but they often go unrecognized. The result is that we鈥檙e getting only about half of the story behind our societies, cultures, and histories. Women鈥檚 History Month helps us learn the rest.
Gender pay equity seems like such a simple concept: if two people are doing the same job, they shouldn鈥檛 be paid different salaries simply because one is a woman and the other is a man.
In 2021, women earned on average 82 cents for every dollar that men earned. That pay gap was even greater for women managers, who earned 77 cents on the dollar compared to male managers. For Black and Latino women, the gaps are even greater: 63 cents and 58 cents for every dollar earned by a white male, respectively.
Paying women less than men who are performing the same job functions sends a loud message that women employees simply aren鈥檛 valued as highly as their male colleagues. That鈥檚 not right, nor should it be tolerated.
It鈥檚 to everyone鈥檚 benefit to ensure equal pay for equal work, because a rising tide lifts all boats.
Far too many people aren鈥檛 even aware that pay equity is a very real issue today. This month 鈥� and every month 鈥� is a perfect time to advocate for parity and raise these issues with managers and colleagues.
At the 91桃色, we want to recognize and celebrate the many achievements made by women throughout history, as well as their ongoing fight against stereotypes and discrimination of all kinds.
For suggestions on how you can honor the contributions of women, explore some resources on the government鈥檚 and ADP鈥檚 .