March is Women’s History Month. This month honors the extraordinary women of the past, present, and future. But it doesn’t take extravagant achievements or defining hardships to create an extraordinary woman worth honoring. The truth is that all women are extraordinary in their own beautiful and unique ways and more than worthy of recognition and celebration. 

“My favorite part of being a woman is growing older because I keep getting smarter and more beautiful and more confident and yet much of the world thinks the opposite of aging women,” Cynthia Fey, an English Paraprofessional at Niles North says. “It makes me laugh, how frightened much of the world is of powerful and aged women.”

The women in our community make such a large contribution to our lives each and every day. The staff in our schools, peers in our classes, and family at home deserve to be recognized this month and every month. 

Ms. Wright, an English teacher at Niles North, shares her belief on why women should be honored.

“Honoring women is important because, historically, many women have sacrificed themselves so that we have the opportunities that we have today,” Wright says, “We stand on their shoulders, so it’s important to acknowledge how we got here.”

Celebrating Women’s History Month means celebrating women all throughout history. An early example of a groundbreaking woman was Agnodice. Agnodice lived in 400 BC in Greece. She is now celebrated as one of the first female gynecologists. Agnodice courageously practiced medicine even though she could have faced the death penalty for doing so. You can scroll through more of history’s most impactful women here.

As we honor Women’s History Month, we also must acknowledge the hardships women globally continue to face. In America, 19.2% of women face severe food insecurity. This stat is sourced from the UN Women’s project “Women Count”. Women Count “seeks to bring about a radical shift in how gender statistics are used, created and promoted.” Learn more about Women Count’s mission and research here.

This March (and every day!), make sure to honor the women in your life. Whether it be your mom, sister, friend, or teacher, let the women in your life know how valuable they are and what they mean to you. 

Ms. Fey puts it simply:

“There is a myth of meritocracy that continues to this day that implies it’s totally normal that there are no American women presidents. That it’s totally normal that women get paid less than men and that Black and Indigenous women get paid less than White women. That women have not yet earned or developed the talent or skills to be in the highest levels of power. These are lies and myths. Look at all the countries with women leaders — the U.S. is WAY behind. So honoring women isn’t simply a “nice” thing to do — it’s necessary to drag this country into the modern era.”