Did you know our government designated March as Women’s History Month? As a woman, it surprised me to learn of this celebration. So, I asked a few of my fellow females. They, too, were unaware of our celebratory month. Our month apparently engenders no speeches, essay contests or rallies. Perhaps a bake-off is in order? We could have quite a party! How appropriate that Martha Stewart was released from jail this week. She should be the Grand Mistress of our parade.
According to the US Census Bureau, Congress passed the resolution to establish this celebration way back in 1981. It’s comforting to know our elected officials put their time to good and productive use. Originally, they established it as a week of celebration; but, changed it to a month in 1987. (Seeing how the rousing celebration spilled over its week-long time frame, one can surely justify the extension.) It was designed to coincide with International Woman’s Day on March 8. To think I’ve missed 24 years of celebration!
As of the latest census figure (7/1/03), there were 147.8 million women in the US and 143.0 million men. We outnumber the stronger sex by 4.8 million. It may be quite true that a good man is hard to find. In a good news/bad news scenario, men outnumber women in every age group until the group beginning with 40. At 85, there are twice as many women than men. So, girls, get ‘em while they’re young. There will be a lot less of them later on. (Sorry guys, don’t kill the messenger.)
Women still earn less than their male counterparts. The fairer sex earns only 76 cents for every $1 a man earns – that’s down from 77 cents in 2002. This number is significant considering more women now receive Bachelor degrees than men at a rate of 31% to 26%. And, women have a 1% higher rate of completing high school: 85% to 84%.
In case you are the less-than-half of the population left out of this month of celebration, there are other celebratory months of which you may not be aware. I’ve provided a complete list so you won’t miss out:
African American History Month — February
Women’s History Month — March
Asian Pacific Heritage Month — May
Older American’s Month — May
Hispanic Heritage Month — September 15 to October 15 (Hmmm?)
American Indian/Alaskan Native Heritage Month — November
If you are a white male in your prime, that’s apparently celebration enough. So, sit back, shut up and let the rest of us enjoy what is rightfully ours!