Each March, celebrations take place across the country in recognition of Women’s History Month. At the University, however, the month of March should serve as a reminder of the fact that more can still be done to invest in women’s success — necessitated by its unique history surrounding the accessibility of women in higher education. Seventy-one percent of U.S. colleges and universities were coeducational by 1900, and yet, before 1970, women at the University could only study under certain programs like education, nursing and law. The first coeducational class did not arrive at the University until 1970. Given how delayed the University implemented coeducation compared to other schools, the responsibility to continually look for improvements in uplifting women’s history and supporting women’s success is particularly important.
There are a number of ways that the University could continue to embrace Women’s History Month and support women’s issues beyond March, from highlighting legacies of women integral to the University’s history to providing tangible resources to support women’s experiences. It is important that both the University as a whole and each program and school within it embrace their unique histories. Not only did the University have an especially late inclusion for women in coeducation, but it advertises its reputation for being a place where women succeed in historically male-dominated fields — the University has a higher concentration of women in engineering than the national average and has a high ranking for women seeking engineering and computer science degrees. This reputation should be celebrated, but only alongside continued efforts to tell women’s stories and further their positive experiences.
The School of Nursing serves as a strong example for how individual schools can highlight their own history through historical work, spotlighting women’s stories that could have otherwise been overlooked. For instance, about 150 Black women and some men earned nursing licenses through the U.Va.-Burley High School program in the 1950s and 1960s before coeducation. While these students experienced segregated education and were not initially given recognition as alumni, Nursing has made efforts to give the nurses in this program ]recognition through initiatives such as displays that show the program's graduating classes. Yet Nursing was not the only segment of the University to have female participation even before the shift to coeducation — all in all, more than 30,000 women took classes at the University before 1970. The celebration of the specific history and associated stories of women in Nursing is a model that each and every school at the University should mimic to continually recover and highlight the contributions of women to the University before coeducation.
Beyond remembering the history of women at the University, March reminds us that more action can be taken by uplifting existing institutions that support women’s health and wellbeing. The Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center is a prime example of a resource hub that the University and donors should continue to invest in, serving as a blueprint for how women within the University and in the greater Charlottesville community can be supported. The Women’s Center boasts a wide range of programs and resources, from community-based mentoring programming like the Young Women Leaders Program to resources like a food pantry, all while keeping resources open to individuals of all gender identities. The Women’s Center has also been a leader in recognizing Women’s History Month at the University. This has been particularly evident since its 2022 launch of a tradition of collaboration with various offices and student organizations every March, leading to events such as a book talk about the book, “The Things She Carried: A Cultural History of the Purse in America,” by Dr. Kathleen B. Casey. This cross-University collaboration has introduced students and the wider community to the center’s resources and has improved broader community education on women’s history. Thus, their support is both targeted and inclusive, and provides a model for other University schools and organizations to follow.
Beyond the events in celebration of women’s history during March, there are still tangible improvements the University can make to support women’s wellbeing — starting with free menstrual products. While Women’s History Month is important, it is crucial that support extends beyond March to instead be everpresent. Student Council recently announced a pilot program where students in dorms can request free products through their resident advisor. Efforts like these are progress in the right direction of uplifting women’s experiences, but reveal a larger problem — students are experiencing a residential gap that could be addressed at an institutional level. While Student Council has introduced an effective program which is sure to garner student engagement, it demonstrates a gap in University provisions of women’s health resources which must be amended. For instance, the U.Va. Health system offers free period products to employees at a variety of locations, recognizing how access to these products is essential to health and wellness. In effect, providing menstrual products in dorms is feasible and necessary. In this way, providing free menstrual products to students in dorms is one straightforward means by which the University can embrace the spirit of Women’s History Month beyond March.
The University already makes efforts to honor Women’s History Month, but it is important to continually remind ourselves why this month is necessary in the first place — it ensures that the powerful actions of women throughout history are never forgotten and that the crucial endeavors of women today are forever remembered. Further, March should encourage institutions, such as the University, to tie celebration with action in areas where improvements can be made. The fact that women have only been fully integrated into coeducation at the University for roughly half a century is a hard but necessary truth to grapple with, and Women’s History Month poses a unique opportunity for the University to further its newfound reputation as a place where women thrive.
Emma Nero is an opinion columnist who writes about economics, business and housing for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the authors alone.
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