I’m sure many of you are already aware that March is Women’s History Month, but in case you aren’t, here is a quick rundown! Women’s History Month is an entire month where people (not just women) recognize the discrimination, triumphs, inventions, and overall history of women. This month is not only celebrated in America, it is recognized globally as an international holiday since 1987. The National Women’s History Project petitioned for this month’s recognition globally, and Congress passed it Pub. L. 100-9 which designated March as WHM. 

Women are constantly being discriminated against, especially by corporations. This phenomenon happens so often that it has been dubbed “The Pink Tax.” For example, an ordinary men’s razor costs about $9.99, and a women’s razor costs about $12.50, although they have no apparent difference other than color. The same thing happens with clothes; men’s shorts usually cost around $17.99, while a women’s shorts/skirt costs upwards of $27. Men’s shampoo costs about $5.99, and the women’s version has a 5-dollar raise in price, again, for no apparent reason.

For the sake of relevance, I am only going to be covering the American history of women. Since the dawn of the United States to more recent years, women have been seen as less than. Women did not get the right to own land till 1900, the right to vote till 1920, the right to have an abortion till 1973, the right to have a credit card till 1974, and countless other rights that men were given without protests or second thoughts.  It is important to remember the low-lights of every minority to ensure the cycle stops, and women’s suffrage is no exception. 

Women have invented hundreds of things that are used in everyday life, except men take the credit and the women are promptly forgotten. Allow me to name just a few inventions made by women: Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth were all invented by Hedy Lamarr. Windshield wipers were invented by Mary Anderson. Home Security Systems were invented by Marie Van Brittan Brown. Kevlar, the fabric used in many bulletproof vests, (and in gloves, helmets, jackets, bike tires, etc) was invented by Stephanie Kwolek. The fax machine, the touch-tone telephone, solar cell, fiber optic cable, caller ID, and call waiting were all invented by Shirley Ann Jackson. Thanks to Melitta Bentz, you can have your perfectly filtered coffee in the morning, since she invented coffee filters. There are countless more female inventors, such as Josephine Cochrane (dishwasher), Grace Hopper (computer programming), Asima Chatterjee (Malaria treatments), and Jeanne Villepreux-Power (aquariums) that give us many of the things we use every day. 

Women’s History Month is an extremely important month to show your love and support to your female peers. Women go through a lot; post something to raise awareness or maybe just buy your mom some flowers. Happy Women’s History Month!