For women in U.S., many glass ceilings left to shatter
For centuries, women toiled in obscurity, facing challenges often imposed by men.
These obstacles only elevate achievements, even as we recognize so much more work must be done to address pay disparities, end domestic and sexual violence, and bring parity in career opportunities and home life.
March is Women’s History Month, a time in which we reflect on the accomplishments of women and the work that lies ahead — a reflection that should occur year-round. Like Black History Month and Hispanic History Month, this celebration is necessary because of the dark legacy of oppression that consigned a segment of people to stereotypical roles that were constraining or dehumanizing.
It should go without saying that some of those roles, including “housewife,” were — and are — as honorable as any other; the problem is that women, through much of history, were prevented from choosing those roles for themselves.
They were expected to fill these positions, but expectations are sometimes a reverse motivation, and so it was with women throughout American history.
“How important it is for us to recognize our heroes and sheroes!” wrote Maya Angelou, author of the powerful memoir “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”
Who would argue with Angelou, one of our greatest authors? Who could argue with equal pay for women and men and, with it, equal opportunity? Why is it that San Antonio women who work full-time jobs earn a median salary of $26,925, while San Antonio men earn $33,358?
We recognize the achievements of women because they are profound and awe-inspiring, but also because they serve as role models for future generations, breaking constraints and barriers of the past.
In literature, Emily Dickinson is arguably our greatest poet, her reclusive nature belying her deep understanding of human experience. Most of her poems were published posthumously. She died in 1886.
About 100 years later, Octavia Butler wrote her classic time-travel narrative “Kindred.” The novel explored the disastrous consequences of forgetting our great national sin, slavery.
Gloria Anzaldúa, the Mexican American activist, published “Borderlands/la Frontera: The New Mestiza” in 1987. It was a groundbreaking work by a gay woman of color. Heartbreaking and triumphant, her works explored the difficulties of navigating through life as a marginalized member of society.
“A woman who writes has power, and a woman with power is feared,” she once said.
In civil rights, most of us know about Harriet Tubman, who led daring missions to free slaves through the Underground Railroad and belongs on the $20 bill. Less known — but just as significant — is Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. She wrote the original complaint in Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark decision that outlawed segregation in public schools.
In sports, sprinter Wilma Rudolph won a bronze medal in the 1956 Olympics and three gold medals in the 1960 Olympics. She was the fastest woman of her era, her sneakers blazing a trail that would motivate thousands. Her achievements helped elevate track and field among female athletes.
“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit,” she once said.
In science, Alice Ball was the first African American to earn a master’s from the University of Hawaii, becoming the first female chemistry professor at the same institution. She developed a crucial treatment for leprosy. Ball was only 23 at the time; she died in 1916.
And in politics, we have Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman, African American and Asian American to hold the office.
These women are just a few among the countless who shape this country, forcing change that is long overdue.
It would be a mistake, however, to think the fight is over. Not with the prevalence of domestic violence, a pervasive wage gap with men, and barriers to entry in the fields of science and technology. One key takeaway from Women’s History Month is that the fight continues to shatter glass ceilings.