Throughout history, women have had an uphill struggle to achieve gender equality. In early times, some philosophers and theologians asserted that the inferiority of women lay not just in bodily strength but in the force of intellect. Some further maintained that feminine intellectual inferiority actually contributed to the order and beauty of the universe. It is against this cultural and intellectual backdrop that women began to work for equal rights.

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, women began to organize and lobby for equality in education, politics, and economics. With the onset of Word War II, economic conditions and societal attitudes began to change. From 1940 to 1944, millions of women supported the war effort by working in positions that previously had been exclusively reserved for men. Women were given an opportunity to demonstrate their talents and capabilities to earn wages and have professions as they worked in steel mills, aircraft factories, and shipyards.

In the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, there was a groundswell of changing political consciousness and organized activity by women. Women pushed for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972. During the 1980s there were massive cutbacks in human services and the movement was again challenged to develop new strategies for service and survival. The women's movement created a platform for women to speak out against social injustice, discrimination, low wages, and limited employment opportunities. The movement gave rise to awareness about abused and battered women, the establishment of hotlines, women's shelters, and crisis centers.

Women have made substantial progress in the quest for equality. This month is a time to reflect on and celebrate the achievements of great women whose pioneering spirit, courage, persistence, and vision have advanced the cause of equal rights. One such woman was Alice Paul, the leader of the National Woman's Party, who originally proposed the Equal Rights Amendment in 1921. Linda Chavez-Thompson worked as an agricultural laborer before joining the labor union and eventually rose to the ranks of the AFL-CIO executive vice president. She was the first woman--and the first person of color--to serve on the Executive Counsel. Harilyn Rousso, a disability rights activist, educator, and social worker, pioneered activism for women with disabilities.

Congressional Representative and Senator Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman elected to both House and Senate. Barbara McClintock established herself among the great geneticists of the century and was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1983 for her discovery of mobile genetic elements. Pulitzer Prize winner Willa Cather was one of America's finest novelists, whose strong female characters extol the values of human courage and dignity.

There are many unsung heroes in women's history who have gained neither fame nor recognition, yet their contributions have a profound affect on the culture of this nation. As Emily Dickinson said: