March is Women's History Month, which celebrates the achievements and vital contributions women have made throughout American history. Women’s History Month began in March 1982 as “Women’s History Week,” and was later petitioned by the National Women’s History Project to become a month-long celebration.
The Women in IT (WIT) community has been active in various events to commemorate Women’s History Month, including a special #IAmRemarkable session, the Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE) Women’s Leadership Summit, and the Women in Data Science (WiDS) Conference.
Personal Reflections on Women’s History Month
As March comes to a close, we asked several women in the Stanford IT community to reflect on what Women’s History Month means to them. Here are their thoughts:
“Women's History Month represents an opportunity to explicitly call out and reflect on what I think is important to carry with us and honor every day of the year: the power of the feminine in all of its forms, in all of the ways we identify with it. From notable women in history to the quiet energy that can flow through us all when we connect with and integrate the masculine and feminine, and the part of our spirits that defy labels, within us. It makes me think of the power of the individual and the collective to love, to come together in community, and to strive for what we know is right.”
– Teggin Summers, assistant dean and director of educational technology, Stanford Health Care
“Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate our accomplishments, honor those who paved the way, and reflect on how we continue to make progress.”
– Maria Maravilla, director of solutions management service strategy operations, University IT
“The great achievements of those who have come before us have pathed the way for us and future generations to have opportunities, that at times before may not have existed.”
– Leda Muller, chief information security and privacy officer, Residential Dining & Enterprises
“Women’s History Month is a time to honor and highlight all the incredible women that helped pave the way for me. It's a great opportunity to take a moment and learn about our great leaders, activists and pioneers who worked hard to ensure women are recognized. One of my favorite fun facts is that 1940s actress Hedy Lamarr, ‘the most beautiful woman in Hollywood,’ helped develop and has a patent for ‘frequency hopping spread spectrum,’ a method of transmitting radio signals in such a way that would prevent the signals (like those of a torpedo) from being jammed.
While women have come a long way in our path toward recognition and equality - there’s still a long way to go. It’s important for me to help the next generation of women through mentoring and sponsorship.”
– Tina Underwood, technical project manager, Stanford Graduate School of Business
Learn More
Even though Women’s History Month is coming to an end, WIT continues to celebrate and highlight the achievements of women across the Stanford IT community. Be sure to stay tuned for future events. For more information about IDEAL IT Women in IT, visit the WIT webpage.
To learn more about Women’s History Month, check out this website. To learn about some of the remarkable contributions of women at Stanford, read this Stanford Report article.
