Women’s History Month began as a weeklong celebration of women’s contributions to culture, history and society organized by the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women in 1978 here in California.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week. President Carter stated: “Understanding the true history of our country will help us to comprehend the need for full equality under the law for all of our people.” The following year, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution establishing a national celebration. In 1987, the National Women’s History Project was successful in convincing Congress to expand the event to the entire month of March.

During my teaching days, my students learned of the many contributions of women all through the year but especially during the month of March. One of the writing prompts I gave to my second-grade students was: “My mom may not be famous but she’s very important because …” Of course, in today’s more inclusive classroom environment, I would have expanded the female roles to include aunt, grandmother, sister, etc. Nevertheless, had I been one of my students engaging in this assignment, I would have mentioned so many reasons my own mom was important: She raised three sons without the consistent support of our father while experiencing poverty and provided the stability we needed to stay focused on school and relationships, contributing to our general well-being. She re-entered the work force when my two younger brothers were in elementary school, working in various roles as a classified employee at our local schools and district office. She eventually left the school district, accepting a business office position at CSU Long Beach. She later retired from the university after roughly 30 years of service in the field of education.

Throughout her career, my mother had to overcome biases from some of her colleagues and supervisors because of her gender and because she was Latina. Though these issues were common during my mother’s tenure, women today still face many challenges in our society from discrimination in the form of outright/implicit bias, unequal pay, racism, homophobia and less career mobility/fewer job opportunities, particularly in higher paying positions. Women of color and those who identify as LGBTQ+ often experience higher levels of discrimination.

The field of K-12 education is one in which there is room to grow in terms of career mobility and pay for women. While nationwide, 77 percent of teachers are women, 56 percent of principals are women and only 30 percent serve as school district superintendents. There are also some school districts in our country where females receive less pay than males in the same position doing the same work and with the same tenure.

Women’s History Month is an ideally designated time for students and educators to learn more about the many aspects of women’s history. It is an opportunity to acknowledge the tremendous contributions of women in multiple fields from the arts to science, from education to politics, and across the spectrum of life and culture.

However, it is incumbent upon us as educators, aligned with the goals of diversity, equity and inclusion, to address the various challenges and discrimination that women have faced and still face in many fields of endeavor, and make it a priority to not only advocate but to realize improvements through education, policy changes and implementation of equitable practices. Regardless of our own gender identities, let’s start this process early in our students’ educational learning experiences by promoting lessons and discussions that expand views of gender roles, careers, behaviors and opportunities while eliminating stereotypes, biases and discrimination based on outdated norms.

Exposing students during their K-12 years to the vast array of possibilities may decrease and, later, eliminate the unfair and unjust obstacles currently at play. Let’s all work together to make this happen!

Michael Tapia is a retired administrator from Ventura.