Public Employee Press

March is Women’s History Month

Before the women’s movement, there were few females in academia, corporate board rooms, the pages of history books and jobs such as doctors, lawyers, architects, truck drivers or pilots. You’d never see a female as a firefighter, one of the many jobs where law or tradition barred women.

It took the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and a movement that grew nationwide in the 1970s to shake up the status quo. Thanks to the female historians in that movement who excavated the history of women, we now know about the Rosie the Riveters and many more.

March is Women’s History Month — the month we recognize, celebrate, and reflect on the history of women in every sphere — including the labor movement.

Despite tremendous gains, women by any measure are still far from equal. Women are still concentrated in the “female ghetto,” the same clerical, retail, care-giving, and primary-education jobs they held before the women’s movement. In every field, men still earn more than women. Poverty in female-headed households is rising — up from 28.5 percent in 2000 to 31.4 percent in 2008 — and African American women have been especially hit hard by the current economic recession. All of this provides content for programs being held by DC 37 groups this March.

The following programs were reported to PEP by press time, but members should also check the union lobby for fliers about additional programs:

SSEU Local 371 Women’s Committee is offering a program at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening, March 10 at Local 371, 817 Broadway, 12th floor. For more information, call Helen Wilson at 212-777-9000, ext. 3053.

“The Contributions of Caribbean Women” will be the theme of a panel discussion presented by the DC 37 Caribbean Heritage Committee.

The panel of distinguished Caribbean women will examine contributions of women in the Caribbean diaspora in religion, politics, health, education and government beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, March 26 at DC 37.