Each year March is designated as Women’s History Month, a
celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture and society. For today’s
young women it is hard to imagine a time when women could not vote, but just
over 100 years ago, on March 3, 1913, 5,000 suffragists marched up Pennsylvania
Avenue in Washington, D.C. demanding the right to vote! Although Women’s
History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress
requested the President proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s
History Week", it wasn’t until 1987 that Congress passed Public Law 100-9
which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month."
To mark
the occasion, Reynolds recently held its annual Women’s History Month
celebration in the Workforce Development Conference Center on the Parham Road
Campus.
Reba
Hollingsworth of “CBS 6 This Morning” welcomed the audience and Nanette Kenney
of Reynolds gave an overview of Women’s History Month before the group enjoyed lunch.
Keynote
speaker, CBS 6 Meteorologist Carrie Rose shared career advice for women and her
story of growing from adversity. She continued her presentation by talking
about living presently and growing confidently, which led to her recent new job
as the Public Relations Manager for Greater Richmond Transit Company.
The afternoon
session continued with a panel discussion featuring environmentalist Patti
Jackson, Julie Williams-Byrd from NASA and Rose. Each discussed how they
achieved their positions, who and what helped them along their professional
career path, and how they hope to contribute to moving the next generation
forward.
A
second discussion panel included three women who work in higher education:
Fatma Shuaipi from the University of Richmond, Aditi Jain of Virginia
Commonwealth University and Mayola Mayhew of Reynolds.
The
annual event continues to serve as a reminder that women are making tremendous
strides in the workforce world as well as in their own personal lives.
