Saturday, March 1 marked the beginning of Women’s History Month 2025. The Wake Forest Women’s Center, in collaboration with campus partners and student organizations, hosts
events throughout the month to educate and uplift female students across campus.
“These events give our campus community an opportunity to engage with and reflect on women’s history, as well as an opportunity to celebrate that history together,” said Director of the Women’s Center Shell Sizemore. “The focus of our programming is on increasing awareness and understanding across our campus all the time.”
This year, Women’s History Month is nationally themed “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating and Inspiring Generations.” The theme honors and celebrates all the women who have committed their lives to education, mentorship and leadership and have built bridges for generations of women to come.
Sophomore Aria Baken said she felt empowered when hearing from mentors who had the courage to create their own paths.
“It is important for any college campus to uplift and highlight the contributions of women because it promotes a culture of equality and recognition,” Baken said. “Acknowledging their achievements motivates students to challenge societal norms and fosters a sense of empowerment that can hopefully inspire future generations.”
The Women’s Center works to support and build community among the women of Wake Forest through programming and initiatives. Led by Sizemore and Assistant Director Hannah Rehm, the center aims to educate, create belonging, support growth and celebrate the work and history of women during Women’s History Month and beyond. Sizemore emphasized the importance of recognizing as many of the unique experiences of womanhood as possible.
“We know that women’s contributions throughout history have often been overlooked or minimized,” Sizemore said. “March is an opportunity to highlight the ways that women have contributed to our world and to celebrate those accomplishments. In the Women’s Center, it is particularly important to us not to fixate on one narration of women’s history, but instead to bring in as many understandings and experiences of that history as possible.”
Leading up to March, the Women’s Center collaborated with over 20 campus partners to create a calendar of events focusing on gender equity. This is the first year that every event on the Women’s History Month calendar is co-sponsored by the Women’s Center and another administrative department, academic department or student organization. In addition, a planning committee of staff and students was created to review proposed programs and provide feedback.
Senior Grace Ayzanoa serves as a Wellbeing Ambassador for the Office of Wellbeing and believes in the importance of these events in creating a culture of shared knowledge and support across campus.
“Women have played pivotal roles in various professional fields and actively showcasing their voices helps ensure inspiration for future generations within these fields,” Ayzanoa said. “[The Reproductive Health and the Law] event specifically was important because it was a collaborative effort between multiple offices, including the Women’s Center, SHAG and The Office of Wellbeing, which demonstrates many of the support systems on campus.”
In the first half of the month, the Women’s Center has partnered with organizations including the Student Union, the Intercultural Center and the Department for Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies. The events kicked off on Feb. 28 with the annual Student Union Drag Show. In addition, there was a talk on reproductive health and the law led by a Wake Forest alumna OB-GYN and a webinar panel titled, “Black Women and Democracy: An Intergenerational Conversation”, among other events.
Ayzanoa helped plan the reproductive health and the law event and shared that the importance of the discussion stemmed from a growing need for discussion surrounding issues in the current political climate.
“Given the ongoing legal changes surrounding reproductive health, it is essential to explore how these policies impact both medical professionals and patients,” Ayzanoa said. “By fostering an informed dialogue, we hoped to create a space where students could better understand the complexities of this issue, including the legal, ethical and medical dimensions, from Dr. Colleen Cardella herself.”
In the second half of March, events will include a blackout poetry event sponsored by the LGBTQ+ Center on March 19, a women-owned business market on March 26 and a Deacon Dialogue event on women’s leadership on March 27.
The final event of the month will take place on March 31 in Farrell Hall, featuring a panel discussion titled, “There’s No Roadmap: Women Navigating Their Careers”, which will discuss the unique challenges and opportunities women face in the workplace and in navigating their leadership journeys.
“These events play a crucial role in fostering a culture of awareness and inclusion on campus,” Baken said. “By creating an open space for students to discuss and explore diverse perspectives, they provide a platform for students to engage in meaningful conversations about the broader community.”
