Senate Concurrent Resolution 553

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION DESIGNATING MARCH 2013 AS "WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH IN MISSISSIPPI" WITH ITS THEME "WOMEN INSPIRING INNOVATION THROUGH IMAGINATION: CELEBRATING WOMEN IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS HONORING WOMEN IN THE FIELDS OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS (STEM)."

WHEREAS, March 2013 is National Women's History Month with its theme "Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)" honoring women in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); and

WHEREAS, in National Women's History Month, we honor all women who have touched this Nation's history and our own personal history, women who contribute to the people and ideals of this great country; and

WHEREAS, although women now outnumber men in American colleges nationwide, the reversal of the gender gap is a very recent phenomenon. The fight to learn was a valiant struggle waged by many tenacious women, across years and across cultures, in our country. After the American Revolution, the notion of education as a safeguard for democracy created opportunities for girls to gain a basic education, based largely on the premise that, as mothers, they would nurture not only the bodies but also the minds of (male) citizens and leaders. The concept that educating women meant educating mothers endured in America for many years, at all levels of education. While Harvard, the first college chartered in America, was founded in 1636, it would be almost two centuries before the founding of the first college to admit women, Oberlin, which was chartered in 1833; and

WHEREAS, the equal opportunity to learn, taken for granted by most young women today, owes much to Title IX of the Education Codes of the Higher Education Act Amendments. This legislation, passed in 1972 and enacted in 1977, prohibited gender discrimination by federally funded institutions. It has become the primary tool for women's fuller participation in all aspects of education from scholarships, to facilities, to classes formerly closed to women. Indeed, it transformed the educational landscape of the United States within the span of a generation; and

WHEREAS, American women have played and continue to play a critical economic, cultural and social role in every sphere of the life of the nation by constituting a significant portion of the labor force working inside and outside of the home. American women have played a unique role throughout the history of the nation by providing the majority of the volunteer labor force of the nation. American women were particularly important in the establishment of early charitable, philanthropic and cultural institutions in our nation; and

WHEREAS, American women of every race, class and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our Nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways. Women's history becomes a story of inspiration and hope, a story of courage and tenacity, a story of possibility and purpose. Women's history is our Nation's story. It is the story of how women built communities and inspired and nurtured dreams and how they will continue to do so; and

WHEREAS, to emphasize the role of women in our state, the Legislature in 2001 established the Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women to advise and consult with the Legislature and the executive branch on policies affecting the political status and other concerns of women in Mississippi, and it is with great pride that we recognize women who serve as role models in pioneering Mississippi's future:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby designate March 2013 as "Women's History Month in Mississippi" with its theme "Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)."

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be forwarded to the Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women to observe appropriate programs, ceremonies and activities, and a copy be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.