Women Making History

March is women's history month. An annual tribute that sprang up in the seventies when women in history were first noticed and studied.

Women Making History:

Ruth Bader Ginsberg ~ The Notorious RBG

Ruth Bader Ginsberg, now 84 years old, has had a career spanning her life time. In her role as lead counsel for the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, Ginsburg believed the most effective way to achieve lasting results was to pick cases that were winnable and would set precedents that would chip away at the legal barriers imposed on women. "Not all feminist issues should be litigated now," she cautioned in the early '70s, "because some are losers, given the current political climate, and could set back our efforts to develop favorable law." In this way, bit by bit, Ginsburg set out to construct an unshakeable legal foundation for women’s equality, which would hold until society was ready to pass a more sweeping measure—say, an Equal Rights Amendment—explicitly banning gender discrimination. Ginsburg’s slow and steady approach drew the ire of some feminists who felt the ACLU wasn’t being bold enough.

Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman ever appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsberg was the second woman appointed. With no end in sight. Justice Bader Ginsberg has said on many occasions that she has no plans to retire any time soon.

On May 4, a documentary about Justice Bader Ginsberg's life and career will open at selected theatres.

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Emma Watson

We first head of Emma Watson at a young age for her portrayal of the brainy Hermione Granger in the widely beloved Harry Potter film series. Quite the overachiever herself, Watson earned her degree in English literature from Brown University in 2014 and later that year, was appointed UN Women Goodwill Ambassador. Her dedicated work for women’s rights around the globe includes acting as advocate for the UN’s HeForShe solidarity campaign, which encourages men and boys to be agents of change in the fight for gender equality. She has also spent time in Zambia and Bangladesh to promote education for girls and served as an ambassador for Camfed International, a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating rampant poverty in Africa through the empowerment of women. Just 25 years old today, Watson is destined to have an inspiring and productive career ahead of her.  

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Val Demings, Hometown Hero

In 2007, Val Demings made history when she became the first female chief of police in Orlando, Fla. and decreased the department's crime rate by 40 percent. After retiring from police work in 2011, Demings decided to run for Congress and won in the 2016 election.

Recently at a CNN Town Hall on gun policy, Florida Senator Marco Rubio publicly supported “gun violence restraining orders.” He previously backed the idea and. U.S. Rep. Val Demings (Orlando, FL), a former police chief, is a cosponsor of the Gun Violence Restraining Order Act.

The act would set up procedures by which families can ask a local court to prevent a loved one from owning a firearm, if the court finds that the individual poses a risk of injury to themselves or others. Senator Nelson also backs the idea. The bill has 60 cosponsors in the U.S. House. However, the GOP-controlled House of Representatives has refused to move the bill forward.

At the town hall Senator Rubio said, “I've already announced ... a concept called a gun violence restraining order that allows authorities -- and it has to be someone in your immediate family, it has to be somebody you live with, it has to be a parent, it has to be an administrator -- can go to authorities and allow someone to not just be prevented from purchasing any firearm and allow those to be taken from them -- and the person will have due process…I support that and I hope they will pass that.”

And, Rep. Demings said, “I’m glad that Senator Rubio has supported this common-sense idea. Families are our first line of defense. If something is wrong, it is nearly always a loved one who notices first. The mother of the Parkland shooter called police dozens of times about her son. If this law had been in place, law enforcement officers might have been able to take the shooter’s guns before he could use them on our children. I urge Senator Rubio to put his words into action and push his GOP colleagues to bring this proposal up for a vote.”

I honor these women and so many others who are working daily to promote gender equality.

Who do you admire?

National Women's History Month

In March we celebrate National Women's History Month. I do not identify as a feminist, but there are many women I admire. These are just a few on my list:

Eleanor Roosevelt

When President Franklin Roosevelt was stricken with polio in 1921, the first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, took a more active interest in public issues in order to restore his links with the world of politics. Throughout her adult life she played a leading part in women's organizations and was active in encouraging youth movements, in promoting consumer welfare, in working for the civil rights of minorities, and in combating poor housing and unemployment. In 1933 she conducted the first press conference ever held by a U.S. president's wife, and in 1935 she began writing a daily column, "My Day," which was syndicated in many newspapers. She also conducted a radio program, and traveled around the country, lecturing, observing conditions, and furthering causes.

Mother Teresa - 1979 Nobel Peace Prize

Mother Teresa taught in India for 17 years before she experienced her 1946 "call within a call" to devote herself to caring for the sick and poor. Her order established a hospice; centers for the blind, aged, and disabled; and a leper colony. In 1979 she received the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work.

Justice Sonia Sotomayer

Sonia Sotomayor – the fearless federal trial court judge who saved Major League Baseball from a ruinous 1995 strike – entered the record book as the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the High Court. Sotomayor was born in the Bronx on June 25, 1954 to Juan Sotomayor and Celina Baez, both native Puerto Ricans. Her father worked in manual labor and her mother was a nurse. The family took residence in the Bronxdale Houses, one of the most coveted complexes in the city-owned housing projects. Sotomayor’s father passed away when she was nine. Following his death, Celina began working six-day weeks as a nurse to support the family. Sotomayor decided to become an attorney at the age of 10 upon watching an episode from the legal drama "Perry Mason."

Judge Sonia Sotomayor is the first Latina to sit on the United States Supreme Court. She was a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit when President Barack Obama picked her to replace retired justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court in 2009.

Malala Yousafzai - 2014 Nobel Peace Prize

Much of the world's population, especially in poor countries, is made up of children and young people. To achieve a peaceful world, it is crucial that the rights of children and young people be respected. Injustices perpetrated against children contribute to the spread of conflicts to future generations. Already at eleven years of age Malala Yousafzai fought for girls' right to education. After having suffered an attack on her life by Taliban gunmen in 2012, she has continued her struggle and become a leading advocate of girls' rights.

In her speech, "I am many" Ms Yousafzai said the award was not just for her: "It is for those forgotten children who want education. It is for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change.

"I am here to stand up for their rights, raise their voice. It is not time to pity them. It is time to take action so it becomes the last time that we see a child deprived of education."

Besides the famous women in history, each of has women in our personal histories whom we admire and celebrate. This month, please take note of the women in your history and present who have made your world a better place ... mothers, sisters, colleagues, teachers, and daughters.

In the United States, National Women’s History Month began in 1981. Congress petitioned President Reagan to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” He did so, saying:

American women of every race, creed and ethnic background helped found and build our Nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways … As leaders in public affairs, American women not only worked to secure their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity but also were principal advocates in the abolitionist, temperance, mental health reform, industrial labor and social reform movements, as well as the modern civil rights movement.

Women’s History Week was recognized for the next five years until the National Women’s History Project lobbied Congress to designate the entire month of March as “National Women’s History Month.” Since President Reagan issued such a proclamation in 1987, March has been officially labeled as such.