Photo By Denise Caskey | Shirley Ginwright, who is the co-founder and Chair of the Fairfax County Communities...... read more read more
By Bernhard “Lash” Lashleyleidner, JTF-NCR/MDW Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VA. – Service members and DoD civilians from across the National Capital Region spent their lunch hour learning about the many accomplishments of women in honor of Women’s History Month March 28 at Patton Hall on Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.
Tekeyiah Richardson, JBM-HH Chief of Staff, welcomed those in attendance to JBM-HH for Women’s History Month observance.
Richardson said this year’s theme is "Women Who Made Great Achievements," recognizing the achievements of military and civilian women, past and present, whose contributions to the mission continue to serve as positive examples for others.
“We celebrate their brilliance and triumphs and fight all forms of discrimination,” said Richardson.
She said since 1987, the month of March has been set aside in the United States to honor the accomplishments women have made.
The actual celebration of Women’s History Month grew out of a weeklong celebration of women’s contributions to culture, history and society organized by the school district of Sonoma, California, in 1978, according to a history.com FAQ.
Presentations were given at dozens of schools, hundreds of students participated in a “Real Woman” essay contest and a parade was held in downtown Santa Rosa.
A few years later, the idea caught on within communities, school districts and organizations across the country. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week.
Women’s History Month originated in 1981 when Congress passed Public Law 97-28, which authorized and requested the president to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982, as “Women’s History Week.” In 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Public Law 100-9, which designated the month of March as “Women’s History Month.”
“We celebrate the resilience and triumphs of women, reflecting on the incredible progress the Department of Defense has made toward gender equality, while acknowledging the challenges that still lie ahead for women to achieve their full potential,” Richardson said.
Women nationally represent nearly 50 percent of the workforce, whereas women in DoD comprise 17.3 percent of the active-duty military force and 33 percent of DoD civilian employees, Richardson said.
Richardson said these statistics suggest that the journey toward equal opportunity for women in defense occupations is ongoing.
“We are honored to amplify the voices and recognize the inspiring stories of women who have significantly contributed to the ongoing progress being made within the DoD – many who have ties to JBM-HH,” Richardson said.
Richardson mentioned trailblazers such as captains Kristen Griest and Shaye Haver, who were the first women to graduate from Ranger School in August 2015.
Haver has ties to the joint base. She was the first woman to command Delta Company, of the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), and she was served as an aide-de-camp to former U.S. Army Military District of Washington commander, Maj. Gen. Allan Pepin.
Other women who have made history on America’s Post include:
Sgt. Heather Johnson became the first female Tomb Guard in 1996, Sgt. Danyell Wilson became the first African American female Tomb Guard on January 22, 1997.
Army Pfc. Jessica Kwiatkowski made history on September 18, 2023, when she became the first female infantry Soldier to earn the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Identification Badge.
“And we cannot forget former JBM-HH commander, now Gen. Laura Richardson, who is the first woman to lead U.S. Southern Command,” Richardson said.
“As we continue with today’s program and commemorate Women’s History Month, let’s leave the celebration with reinvigorated commitment to promote a workforce that fosters dignity, respect, and an inclusive environment for all servicemembers and civilians regardless of their gender,” Richardson concluded.
Following her speech, Richardson introduced the Women’s History Month guest speaker, Shirly Ginwright, to the podium.
Ginwright said it is important that we reflect on the incredible contribution women have made in their various fields, and despite facing countless obstacles, these trailblazing amazing women have broken the glass ceiling, broken stereotypes and paved the way for future generations.
“Dream big and achieve even greater heights,” Ginwright said.
Highly successful women often display the following characteristics of resilience, courage, persistence, innovation, leadership, empathy, creativity, intelligence, vision and impact, Ginwright said.
“Many accomplished women show resiliency in the face of discrimination,” Ginwright said. “If you look around the room and your organizations you will find women who possess many of these characteristics, yet never hear their names or their accomplishments.”
Ginwright talked about some of the notable women who made history in a variety of areas.
“Rosa Parks, a civil rights activist from my hometown of Montgomery, Alabama,” Ginwright said. “Her courage, defiance and struggle for racial equality, led to the Montogomery bus boycott and paved the way for the civil right movements in the United States.”
She went on to name several more accomplished women from Marie Curie, the scientist discovered radium and polonium; Margaret Eloise Knight, the inventor of the flat bottom paper bag; Josephine Cochran, the inventor of the first hand-powered dishwasher; J.K. Rowlings, creator of the Harry Potter books and movies; Maya Angelou poet, scholar and activist; Angela Merkel first female Chancellor of Germany; and Venus and Serena Williams two of tennis greatest players.
“I like to mention that I was a part of the civil right movement,” Ginwright said. “I am one of the first women in the DoD, who programed and used COBOL.”
She said COBOL is an English-like computer programming language designed for business.
Ginwright said if it was not for the movie “Hidden Figures,” people would not know about Kathrine Johnson, the first female African American mathematician to work at NASA.
“How many other Katherine Johnson’s are out there that no one knows about?” Ginwright asked.
Ginwright said celebrating Women’s History Month allows us to share the many accomplishments woman have made.
Richardson said celebrating Women’s History Month is important, because women are a big part of our organization, culture, society and our country and instrumental to everything we do.
“It’s important to start young,” said Richardson. “Getting out to the college, elementary schools and high schools to empower our youth and let them feel loved.”
For more joint base news, visit army.mil/jbmhhnews
| Date Taken: | 03.28.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.01.2024 09:17 |
| Story ID: | 467466 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 30 |
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