UMass Global's call to action for Women's History Month

IRVINE, Calif. (March 7, 2023) – Acknowledging women's social, economic, cultural, and political achievements, the university’s Title IX Office and Pregnant and Parenting Scholars Organization issued a call to action for gender equity. Their message explains that people can answer this call to action in many ways, including recognizing women of the past and present whose stories inform our collective knowledge and advancement.

For more information about how the university supports women, please visit the Pregnant and Parenting Students website (UMass Global login required) or email the Title IX Office at [email protected]obal.edu.

To learn more about women’s history, you can read OEI’s “Observing Women’s History Month” flipbook, which introduces readers to historically notable women. The publication relays text from the National Women’s History Museum’s account of the origins of the annual commemoration and museum biographies of historically significant women.

Among the selections:

• Tarana Burke

  As an activist, community organizer, and executive, Tarana Burke has made quite an impact. Known as the founder of the ‘me too’ Movement, Burke’s hashtag has been used more than 19 million times on Twitter alone. Since then, Burke has been widely recognized for her work and was named Person of the Year by TIME Magazine in 2017.
  
  

• Antonia Hernández

  According to Antonia Hernández, she “went to law school for one reason: to use the law as a vehicle for social change.” Decades later, she can claim numerous legal victories for the Latinx community in voting rights, employment, education, and immigration. From legal aid work, to counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, to head of a major civil rights organization, Hernández has used the law to realize social change at every turn.
  
  

• Judith “Judy” Heumann

  Judith “Judy” Heumann has been a part of almost every pivotal moment in the disability rights movement. Considered “the mother” of the movement, she remains a tireless advocate for the disabled community. Heumann has improved accessibility and opportunities for the estimated 56 million people in the United States and one billion people around the world with disabilities.
  
  

• Mary Joan Nielubowicz

  Mary Joan Nielubowicz was the only woman in the Navy Nurse Corps to earn the rank of Commodore and the first non-physician to earn the role of Deputy Commander for Health Care Operations in 1984. Nielubowicz was a Polish and Lithuanian American who rose through the ranks of the Navy to eventually earn the rank of rear admiral and the title of Director of the Navy Nurse Corps in 1983. She served in the Navy for 36 years in various roles while fighting to increase the number of women in the military and for an improvement in their experiences.
  
  

• We’wha
  We’wha, a Lhamana (Zuni Two Spirit) individual, took on both male and female tasks as a Zuni cultural ambassador and pottery and textile artist. Also a spiritual leader, We’wha endeavored to preserve the history, traditions, and knowledge of the Zuni people.

To learn more, use your smartphone to access “Observing Women’s History Month.”