“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist, nor to any one organization, but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.”
Gloria Steinem
Today is International Women’s Day (IWD). To celebrate, we decided to recap on the importance of International Women’s Day, list some ways you can take action, and highlight some of the incredible women within the field of collegiate recovery and on the staff at ARHE.
What is International Women’s Day?
An annual event held every March 8th, IWD marks a global celebration of women’s achievement, raises awareness against bias, lobbies for accelerated gender parity, and fundraises for female-focused charities.
International Women’s Day has been observed since the early 1900s during which time there was great unrest and critical debate occurring among women. Issues like women’s oppression and inequality led women to become more vocal about campaigning for change. In 1908, 15,000 women marched the streets of New York City demanding equal rights, better pay, and shorter working hours.
By 1909, the first National Woman’s Day was observed across the United States, and by 1910 International Women’s Day was honored for the first time. 2011 marked the 100 year anniversary of IWD. President Obama proclaimed March to be held as Women’s History Month, calling all Americans to mark the anniversary and reflect on the “extraordinary accomplishments of women” in shaping American history.
International Women’s Day 2021
Each year International Women’s Day is themed and for 2021, that theme is “Choose to Challenge.” Campaigners believe that a “challenged world is an alert world. And from challenge comes change.”
You can get involved by taking action. That might mean:
- Wearing colors that represent IWD: purple, green and white. Purple signifies justice and dignity, green symbolizes hope, and white represents purity.
- Donate to a female-focused charity/non-profit
- Take the day to highlight the achievements of women within your community and organizations
Highlighting Women in Collegiate Recovery
We’d like to take this opportunity to highlight the incredible women working within collegiate recovery. Here is a snapshot of some of their work, achievements, and how they navigate study, motherhood, all the while still contributing to the field.
Leading Collegiate Recovery, and Their Families: Insight from Moms in CRCs
ARHE Spotlight: Dr Clemmons-James
ARHE Board Member Spotlight: Angie Tozier Bryan
ARHE Spotlight on Maysa Mohmoud
An interview with Patrice Salmeri
Finding My Spot in Collegiate Recovery, with Ali
ARHE Spotlight: Louise Irizarry