As we all know, March is Women’s History Month. According to the Women’s History Month website, March has been dedicated to women’s history since 1987. Wednesday, March 7, was International Women’s Day, and to my surprise, I actually saw a few men speak out in defiance. “But why don’t men have a Men’s History Month?”
To answer their question, simply put, each day of the year is already treated as Men’s Day. Men are constantly celebrated for the things they accomplished, and are well-known household names. Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein. Now, don’t get me wrong, these men, along with many others, were very intelligent and influential. But how many female inventors, artists or scientists do you know of? There are so many talented women who have drastically changed the world, but some have no idea who they are.
For example, Margaret Sanger, who founded the first birth control clinic, or what is known today as Planned Parenthood. Most women utilize birth control and other Planned Parenthood services, but how many of them are aware of Sanger and how hard she fought to normalize methods of birth control?
Margaret Sanger
In addition, Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin were two female scientists who made great strides to some of the most important scientific discoveries. Curie’s work in radioactivity led her to discover polonium and radium, and eventually led to the creation of X-Rays. Meanwhile, Franklin’s research in DNA and RNA led to the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA.
Marie Curie
Another historic female inventor who I admire – not only for being a woman, but for loving coffee just as much as the rest of us – is Melitta Bentz. Bentz created coffee filters and turned the coffee-making process into what it is today. She received a patent for the invention in 1908, and went on to found a coffeee business that still exists today.
Melitta Bentz
Some of the world’s greatest inventions and discoveries were made by women, but they are often hidden in the shadows, their names unfamiliar to most people. It is necessary that we recognize March as Women’s History Month to recognize all the hard work that women have put forth to make this world a better, smarter, more creative place. We should really praise the women who came before us, not just during this month, but every mont, to show the world that females are capable of anything.