Women’s History Month: Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Women’s History Month for 2024 celebrates “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.” The theme recognizes women who understand that we need to eliminate bias and discrimination entirely from our lives and systems.
As a youth worker, you have an opportunity to introduce young minds to the inspiring stories of women throughout history who have shaped the world. And introduce them to young women of today, following their footsteps and just beginning to make their own mark on history.
You can highlight women in your organization, community, and around the world who are advocating and working toward a better world for all. Women’s History Month is your invitation to explore and learn more.
Find many ways to include the youth you serve in this learning journey. Doing some Women’s History Month activities in your programs is a fun way to inspire young women you work with to become advocates for an equitable, diverse, and inclusive world now and into the future.
Let’s explore how you can provide meaningful Women’s History Month experiences that will encourage young people to be the history-makers of the future.
- Live Online Training
- Thursday, May 30, 2024
- 10:30 am to noon Central Time
- FREE for YIPA members
Celebrate women who have paved the way forward
A great way to help young people get started is to learn through stories. During Women’s History Month, encourage young people to share stories of women who inspire them.
By involving young people in Women’s History Month stories, you are building connection as they learn about the diverse accomplishments of women from different backgrounds and experiences.
Hands-On Herstory Activity
- Ask young people to create a timeline of influential women who have worked for equity, diversity, and inclusion
- Let them explore information and photos of a variety of women from many time periods
- When they arrange their learning in chronological order, they can visualize the progression of women’s impact to our world over the years
Honor women who are leading by example now
Look around your organization and your community and you’ll find women who are tirelessly working right now on creating a better world. It will always be easy to find famous women who young people look up to. But you can also help them discover women they know in their world.
Inspirational Women Role Model Collage Activity
- Provide a creative space for youth where they can create a collage of their own female role models
- Give them magazines or have them print off photos and quotes from women they admire
- Discuss what they admire about each of them
- Reinforce positive role models
Empower our future Women’s History Month leaders
Once you have explored stories of women who have paved the way for others by advocating for an equitable, diverse, and inclusive world, it’s time to empower young people to follow their lead.
Here are a couple of easy activities you can try in your programs:
Leadership Exploration Workshops
- Organize workshops around leadership skills
- Discuss how women overcame barriers to create change in their communities and the world
- Encourage young people to discover their own leadership qualities
- Help them develop their own goals to advocate for an equitable, diverse, and inclusive world
Community Engagement Projects
- Engage young people in community projects that promote equity, diversity, and inclusion
- Help young people participate in volunteer activities for a cause that is important to them
- Have them create awareness campaigns for something that is meaningful to them
Women’s History Month is an excellent opportunity for you to integrate meaningful learning and empowerment activities for young people. You are inspiring young people to appreciate what women have done in history and continue to do now. You are also encouraging them to grow into their own advocates for equity, diversity, and inclusion to create a just world.
If you haven’t already listed to The Passionate Youth Worker podcast, you are missing out on incredible stories of women youth workers from around the world. Each story is unique and yet you'll hear a common theme about how they each advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion. Each one will inspire you to be a stronger advocate as well.
About the author
Joanne Rice is the member satisfaction specialist for the Youth Intervention Programs Association (YIPA), a non-profit association of youth-serving organizations. We're your source for exceptional, affordable, personal and professional online learning via The Professional Youth Worker. Join us!
To ask Joanne a question or share your feedback about this blog, email joanne@yipa.org.
