GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.- Women’s History Month is a month dedicated to reflecting on the sometimes-overlooked contribution of women in United States history. Influential women such as Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Abigail Adams, and many more have made significant impacts along the way.
In 1978, a celebration of Women’s History Month grew out of a weeklong celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture, and society organized by a school district in Sonoma, California. There were celebrations where hundreds of students participated in essay contests and parades. Through the next few years, more and more communities began to get involved including school districts and organizations across the entire country.
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8th as National Women’s History Week. The following year, U.S. Congress followed suit by passing a resolution that established the national celebration. Six years later, the National Women’s History Project successfully expanded into celebrating the entire month of March.
2022’s Theme
Every year for Women’s History Month, the National Women’s History Alliance designates a theme and in 2022, the theme is “Women Providing Healing Promoting Hope.” This theme is a tribute to the work of caregivers and frontline workers during the pandemic and a recognition of the thousands of ways women of all cultures have provided hope and healing throughout history.
Women’s History at FWF
In 2020, FWF created the Diversity & Inclusion Alliance (DIA), an employee-led group committed to the vision of establishing education, unity and diversity among employees and the community. The Diversity & Inclusion Alliance hosts trivia sessions, happy hours and events focused on spreading awareness of key diversity initiatives such as women’s history, Black history and Hispanic heritage.
To celebrate this month, Diversity & Inclusion Alliance is hosting a Gender Equality trivia event for FWF team members. Trivia questions will focus on educating employees on the history and achievements of women with winners receiving a gift card to a local woman-owned business.
“This month in the DIA, we are focusing on gender equality/women’s centered trivia to educate our team regarding women and their tribulations and triumphs throughout history. The prize for the trivia will be to a woman-owned company in the local Grand Rapids area. It is important to acknowledge the progress that has been made for women, but also recognize the progress that still needs to be made.”
Madison Thayer, Operations Manager and Diversity & Inclusion Alliance Vice President
Overview
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are important topics for companies to address. FWF’s unmatched culture strives to educate and implement diversity initiatives for all employees. You can learn more about FWF and apply here.
