March is Women’s History Month, and CLC’s Women’s Center is hosting virtual events throughout the month to celebrate.

The events, which are open to the public through Zoom, will feature speakers on women’s issues from the gender pay gap to domestic violence and what it means to be a feminist.

Tammy Burns, a specialist at the Women’s Center at the college, said this month is about making everyone, men and women “appreciate what women bring to the table.” 

“You should know the amazing contributions that women have made across the board throughout the history of the world,” she added. 

The Women’s Center has been holding Women’s History Month celebrations since its inception in 2003, usually through on-campus events, which cannot be done due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Burns says this month is important to bring more representation for women, which helps young girls realize their potential.

            “If you don’t see yourself represented in your history books, in your stories that you’re reading, in the movies that you’re watching, then those things are almost like pipe dreams,” she said. “You need to see [successful women] at a young age to know what’s possible… Once you see it, you can do it.”

She wants to highlight women in traditionally male-dominated jobs, such as scientists, inventors, and pilots, to inspire the CLC community.

Nayyirah Callahan, the student president of CLC’s Sister 2 Sister club, which is dedicated to promoting the “personal, academic, and professional success of young women, especially women of color,” according to CLC’s website, also spoke on the importance of celebrating women’s history.

“With young girls, it’s important to teach them their own worth and that they, too, can be something great,” she said. “If these girls aren’t educated about female role models, who are they going to look up to and aspire to be?”

Through Sister 2 Sister, Callahan says she works to create “community and sisterhood” for young women at CLC, as well as being a mentor for young children. “As a woman myself, I hope to leave my mark and legacy wherever I go… and be that role model,” she said.

            She also talked about how Women’s History Month has inspired her in the past, saying she would come out of events thinking, “wow, I’m really important.”

CLC’s theme for this year’s Women’s History Month is “be the first, be the next.”

“Be the first to do something, and if someone else did it, be the next,” said Burns. “You don’t have to be the first at everything to be great.”

Congress first recognized women’s History Month in 1987 when they passed a joint resolution to dedicate March to women’s history.

“American women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historical contributions to the growth and strength of the Nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways,” said the resolution. “Despite these contributions, the role of American women in history has been consistently overlooked and undervalued in the body of American history.”

Ms. Burns encourages everyone to take this month to learn something.

“This is the best time to find out about those unsung heroes, those little-known heroes that are out there,” says Burns.

The college’s virtual events will begin on Mar. 16 and continue through early April.