UWM Celebrates International Women’s Day

UWM showed its support for this years International Women’s Day by holding an event in celebration of the holiday on March 8. The event, which was made to inspire women and bring attention to the day of celebration, caught the attention of women passing through campus.

The Women’s Day celebration event, which was held in the Union Concourse from 9 a,m, to 2 p,m,, was filled with students and Milwaukee residents who stopped to learn about the event. Here, they were able to learn about what International Women’s Day is and how groups on campus support it and the women it empowers.

The event was a partnership between Sociocultural Programming, the Women’s Resource Center, and the Center for International Education.

The Union Concourse was filled with purple graphics, balloons, and organizers wearing the color in order to show their pride.

Purple was used for the event as a way to signify women’s justice from around the world such as equality for women and the goal to achieve gender parity.

International Women’s Day, celebrated around the world each year on March 8, is a day devoted to inspiring and motivating women. Women from varieties of cultures and communities are recognized for their hard work and determination.

International Women’s Day, according to internationalwomensday.com, is “A global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.”

Sociocultural Programmer and head of the event Meghan DuFrane organized the event, putting together visual aids and giving information to those who attended.

DuFrane believes that events like these help bring attention needed towards women and their equality.

“I think this helps bring it to our community, the city, and the worlds attention, because it is an international day. It helps to bring attention in any way possible,” said DuFrane.

On campus DuFrane said she doesn’t see much gender inequality. Instead, she wants more women to speak out.

“I just want more women’s voices or stories to be told,” said DuFrane.

One of the visuals created by DuFrane and club members was a board with 200 leaf-shaped spots for those who wanted to write their name on a leaf to show support of women. Each leaf had a different name on it, and not all of them were students.

Some of the names written on the leaves were celebrities, or were those who were honoring women close to them. One visitor at the event had written their grandmother on a leaf and hung it proudly on the board.

In addition to the signature board, there were boards displaying how the holiday is celebrated around the world and untold stories of prominent women around the world.

Although it was International Women’s Day, the event was not only geared towards women.

Along with supporting women at the event, there was also information on international students. One of the visual boards at the event displayed international student profiles, consisting of their ethnic background and how UWM has helped support their academic goals.

While passing through campus, women of different ages and races stopped to learn and talk about the empowerment and celebration of women.

Local Milwaukee resident Karen Fox was attracted to the event while passing through the union on her way to a class at the Methodist Church.

When asked about women and their rights, Fox said there isn’t enough attention towards women because of the imbalance between the sexes.

“In our country, things just aren’t balanced. I know when my daughter was in college, I told her ‘You can be anything, just don’t be a nurse or a teacher.’”

After four years, her daughter graduated with a nursing degree, and Fox said it just doesn’t pay as much as her husband, who’s an artist.

Fox herself has experienced such inequality with work and pay, saying that when she applied for a job, she wasn’t chosen because she was a woman.

Although Fox had a higher education, the employer told her they really wanted a “black man” for the position.

Attendees like Fox were able to learn about goals of women everywhere, while also sharing their stories and spreading empowerment.