By Women’s Center Intern, Hannah Toth
As Women’s History Month comes to a close, we want to highlight some of the amazing events that took place this month. Women’s rights are constantly evolving and vary from country to country, which is why it is so important to include multiple voices and perspectives when working toward gender equity. Freedom for women can not happen without including all women. Or, in the words of Civil Rights Activist Fannie Lou Hammer, “Nobody’s free until everyone’s free.”
On March 8th, which is also International Women’s Day, the Women’s Center held an event at the Center for Undergraduate Excellence in collaboration with the Gerald H. Read Center, Office of Global Education, Office of International Student Affairs, and Community Engaged Learning. This event celebrated and highlighted women internationally and included a panel of 5 women from different countries to share their experiences as a woman in their country.
The panelists were Dr. Muazzam Abdu representing Uzbekistan, Mercy Omohoro representing Nigeria, Dr. Vaneet Kaur representing India, Ogulkeyik Hudayberdiyeva representing Turkmenistan, and Chanpanha (Panha) Kea representing Cambodia. The panel facilitator, Namrah Khan, was also an international student from India. Ms. Khan asked each panelist questions that allowed attendees to learn a bit more about gender equity in countries outside of America.
The event also included over twenty tri-fold presentations representing feminism and women in a specific country. For example, Women’s Center intern Andrea Bonamico presented on Cambodia, delving into the country’s challenges and advancements and powerful women inspiring change.
The goal of this event was not only to celebrate women on International Women’s Day but also to educate attendees about the many different cultures and countries that are advancing in equity beyond America and countries that are still struggling to find parity like America.
After the panel, the Women’s Center collaborated with Days for Girls in Solon for a service project, where donated materials like fabric were used to create sustainable menstruation products for women who otherwise may not have access to them.
On March 13th, the Women’s Center and Women’s Studies held a community gathering at the Williamson House to connect with the center, friends, and colleagues. This event is held each semester to help break down barriers and foster collaboration between academic and co-curricular departments on campus. We enjoyed light refreshments and quality discussions of the semester’s upcoming events.
On March 15th, the Women’s Center facilitated an AAUW Salary Negotiation Meeting for interns and staff to educate about the gender pay gap and explore ways to take action. We discussed interviews, job hunting, negotiation techniques, and how gender has affected participants as individuals in the workplace. That evening, we hosted the Transformation Closet Style Swap in collaboration with KSRUGE, the LGBTQ+ Center, and the Office of Sustainability. For that event, the Women’s Center transformed the Williamson House into gender inclusive and affirming thrift store with plenty of free clothes to look through and take home! We also had dressing rooms, a photo booth, and a mocktail bar for refreshments while shopping. We received nearly 200 clothing pieces and watched many attendees walk out with bags full of clothes!
We held this event in preparation for closing our Transformation Closet at the end of April. Career Closets will continue to be located at the College of Business and Career Exploration and Development at the Michael Schwarz Center.
On March 21st, two Women’s Center interns, Mallory Good and Andrea Bonamico, presented our March Gather and Giveback about the HB 68 House Bill and Trans rights. They presented with guest speakers on the dangers the HB 68 House Bill will have on healthcare and Trans individuals. They also provided information on how to help advocate for Trans individuals and prevent harmful laws from being passed. There was also an activity where attendees created pride pronoun bracelets with colorful beads and letters to express themselves freely.
We concluded the month with our first annual G.E.A.R Awards. The G.E.A.R Awards (Gender, Equity, Advocacy, and Representation) celebrate and elevate individuals on campus and part of the community who are constantly advocating for gender equity and social change. The first award ceremony took place on March 19th at the Kent State Hotel and Conference Center. We were able to honor many awardees and nominees in person while hearing from Keynote speaker and Women’s Center program coordinator Sonia Karkare, who shared her inspiring stories of leadership and representation throughout her life.
The G.E.A.R Awards included five nomination categories: Staff, Faculty, Students, Alumni, and Community. All nominees were recognized, and winners were honored with a presentation of their awards at the event. The winners highlighted many different areas and opportunities to advocate for gender equity. Staff winner Amy Densevich is from the Academic Services, Athletics department, making incredible strides toward gender equity in Athletics. Faculty winners Suzanne Holt, Women’s Studies, and Dr. Charmaine Crawford, Africana Studies, are two women who are actively teaching classes and students who are seeking change and growth in the world. Community winner Cathy Hackney is an integral part of the American Association of University Women, which is a non-profit organization with the goal of empowering and advocating for women and girls. Student winners Sohela Rojas– a core part of student organization KSURGE– and Ruth Miller and Haley Dees– President and Event Coordinator of Women in Engineering– are three students who are using their four years at KSU to champion groups at Kent State that are often underrepresented. Each one of these individuals is making a difference in their communities, which moves a gear, promoting the movement of the next.
Guest award presenters included Dr. Talea Drummer Ferrell, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students (the first Black Woman Dean of Students at Kent State), Kristin Williams, Director of Career Services at the Ambassador Crawford College of Business (collaborator and co-facilitator on the AAUW Salary Negotiation Workshops), and Tiera Moore (Local School Board Member and KSU Alum).
Also presented at this event was the Heather Adams Impact Award in honor of the former Executive Director of the Women and Gender Center and her work with gender equity and supporting survivors of power-based personal violence. Jennie O’Connell, Director of the Center for Sexual and Relationship Violence Support Services, presented this year’s award to Christopher Jenkins, Assistant Director of Public Safety and Assistant Chief of Police. She also took this opportunity to recognize Dr. Joanne Dowdy, a retired faculty member who received the award in 2020 but was unable to be recognized at the event that year due to the pandemic.
Events like these are necessary to recognize those who are encouraging change within our communities and the world. Without honoring and appreciating the people who often go unrecognized, more people are able to gain inspiration through their stories and efforts, moving to the next gear and the next…
The Women’s Center’s mission is to advocate, educate, and empower those willing to learn and join the movement toward gender parity. Women’s History Month is a month full of opportunities to truly emphasize the overlooked work that women around the world and within the community of Kent are doing.
Women's Center 