Women marching, holding signs and yelling to gain attention. Crowds forming to watch the excitement. These were common sights to see in the early 1900’s. Despite winning the right to vote in 1919, many women are still fighting for equality in other aspects of daily lives both inside and outside the workplace.

“Since the ability to vote, we as women have realized that we deserve the same rights and abilities as men because our gender does not determine what we can and cannot do,” Cheryl Njuguna, freshman, said. 

Women have made influential strides in the last election. The nation elected its first female Vice President. With Kamala Harris’s victory, the glass ceiling holding back women shattered when she took the oath of the second highest office in the land.

“[A day of shattered glass ] means that she broke through the ceiling of glass that has held women back from positions of power. By achieving the position of Vice President, she broke through the glass ceiling,” Ryan Kennedy, junior, said. 

Though progress has been made, women have a long way to go toward equality.  There is still room to grow as many women are underpaid compared to men in professional fields. This can be due to women having to take time off to take care of family, have children, and other issues that tend to fall onto them.

“If two people are competing for the same job and the same qualifications, typically the man is more likely to get hired. This can be because the women can be seen as less qualified than a man,” Alexandra Lindberg, junior, said.

Etowah’s new Instagram page, Voices at Etowah, features successful students, teachers, and alumni, all female, to bring attention to Women’s History Month since it is usually forgotten or ignored. 

“I love it! I think it [Voices of Etowah] is a really good way to acknowledge the achievements of students,” Astrid Medina, sophomore, said.

It is important that students use opportunities like Women’s History Month to grow and acknowledge problems that may affect other groups in society especially women. Until true equality, women will continue to feel undervalued. There is still a long way to go.