Friday, March 1 marked the beginning of Women’s History Month, which, this year, is nationally themed,  “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.” Wake Forest’s Women’s Center, in collaboration with several on-campus organizations, is hosting events throughout the month to promote gender equity across campus. 

“I definitely think it’s important, not only in the grand scope of our society [but also at Wake Forest] to lift up the experiences, voices and work that has been done by women,” Hannah Rehm, assistant director of the women’s center, said. “So, whether that is a faculty member, staff member or student, our hope is to highlight the different identities that exist within the umbrella of ‘woman.’”

The month-long celebration was originally “Women’s History Week” until 1987, when the National Women’s History Project petitioned for Congress to designate the entire month of March as Women’s History Month. 

The Women’s Center, which first opened in 2013, is open to all students and targets four outcomes for those who are involved: learn, belong, grow and celebrate. Their mission is to create a community on campus that supports anyone for whom “woman” is a meaningful identifier or experience. 

Lexi Smith, sophomore and student assistant at the Women’s Center, emphasized how important it is to have events that unite women with activities that celebrate different backgrounds. 

“It’s important to celebrate the essence of women,” Smith said. “As a feminist, there are so many perspectives of what each and every individual’s journey may look like. However, it is essential to realize that what we are enduring as women has been a movement, and it is important to recognize those who came before us.”

The Women’s Center is collaborating with many on-campus organizations, including Delta Xi Phi, the LGBTQ+ Center and the Muslim Student Association to host events throughout the month. 

Rehm explained that the number of collaborations with other organizations is in an effort to reach a larger portion of the Wake Forest community. Some of the organizations have done events with the Women’s Center in the past, while others proposed event ideas and are collaborating for the first time. This, Rehm said, reflects the large number of experiences and topics that encompass womanhood. 

“We are open to collaborating with anyone and everyone whose programs align with our mission,” Rehm said. “As you can imagine, that is a large spectrum as to what womanhood is to many different people.”

Shell Sizemore, director of the Women’s Center, said that collaboration helps foster greater understanding of the many facets of womanhood. 

“Our goal for the Women’s Center is to be a space where members of our community can connect, reflect and find belonging,” Sizemore said in a statement via email. “We want to cultivate a deeper, more nuanced, and more critical understanding of women’s identities for our campus community.”

Rehm also emphasized how important it is to balance community building and educational activities in order to ensure that all women on campus feel supported. 

“The experience of womanhood also lands on many different topics that would be covered in an educational space, like discussing gender, or talking about unique challenges that women experience in Ramadan,” Rehm said.

Rehm continued: “If you take our drag brunch, for example, that is an event focused on celebration and gender expression. Salary negotiation, though, is touching on the reality of what it is to be a woman in industry. I think it’s important to take the time and effort to piece together these programs so that we make sure that people’s experiences are being valued and highlighted.”

During the month, there are several events a week for Women’s History Month, some of which are listed below. The full calendar of events can be found here. 

A few events have already been hosted on campus, including a student mixer, the second annual Daring Deacon Drag Brunch, panel discussions and speaker events hosted in collaboration with numerous campus and student organizations. 

Several events are still available for students to participate in throughout the month. 

• March 11 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Parental leave workshop in the Wellbeing Center 
• March 12: Mobile mammography clinic 
• March 18 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.: Office of Diversity and Inclusion office hours at the Wake Forest School of Medicine 
• March 19 at 3:30 p.m.: Women of Color Collective event in the Women’s Center
• March 19 at 7 p.m.: Bowling night at Northside Lanes 
• March 20 at 4 p.m.: Women-owned business market in Farrell Hall 
• March 20 at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.: Equal Pay Day fireside chat at the Farrell Hall fire pits 
• March 20 at 7 p.m.: Salary negotiation workshop in room 151 in Farrell Hall 
• March 21 at 5 p.m.: Deacon Dialogue: Let’s Talk Sexism event in the Women’s Center 
• March 22 at 2 p.m.: The Intimacy Experiment event with Rosie Danan in the Women’s Center
• March 22 at 3:30 p.m.: Delta Xi Phi’s professional skills series in Pugh Auditorium 
• March 22 at 4 p.m.: Conversation with Rosie Danan in Z. Smith Reynolds Library 
• March 25 from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Past, Present & Future Me: Art Therapy event in the Women’s Center 
• March 26 at 5 p.m.: Yes, please! A Guide to Female Pleasure event in the Women’s Center 
• March 27 at 12 p.m.: Queer Health Series in the LGBTQ+ Center
• March 27: SMASH the Patriarchy rage room 
• March 28 at 7 p.m.: Grace Valentine: A Women Empowerment Talk in Pugh Auditorium 
• March 29 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Women in Tech event in the Women’s Center 

Throughout March, the Women’s Center is also raising money to endow the Lu Leak fund in honor of the former dean’s 60th anniversary of arrival at Wake Forest. They are hoping to raise $100,000 to help benefit the work of future generations of women. 

Smith and Rehm recognized how beneficial the Women’s Center is for creating spaces in which women can learn about and celebrate their identities. 

“I think it is so important to have spaces that promote creativity, comfort and growth internally and externally on campus,” Smith said. “I’m in many spaces where sometimes my emotions are not validated. Many people don’t realize that we are on a campus that was built for the purpose of educating men. The journey of becoming a woman isn’t always necessarily the easiest.”

Rehm also said that it is equally important to recognize the positive and negative experiences intertwined with womanhood. She said the Women’s Center hopes everyone can benefit and learn from the events taking place for Women’s History Month. 

“It really is just about finding pockets where we can celebrate womanhood,” Rehm said. “We want to touch on where people may be seeking more community or information around being a woman.”