March is Women's History Month, Women's International Day is March 8, Medical Scientist Dr. Juanita Merchant #womenshistorymonth # internationalwomensday

Hello and welcome! March is Women's History Month. Every year on March 8, we celebrate International Women's Day. 

International Women's Day

According to the International Women's Day website, this special day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day is also a call to action for accelerating women's equality.

The National Women’s History Alliance formerly, the National Women’s History Project, is a leader in promoting Women’s History and is committed to the goals of education, empowerment, equality, and inclusion. 

The 2022 National Women’s History Theme
“Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope”

Honoring Women

From the National Women's History Alliance website-- "The 2022 Women’s History theme, “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history.

The 2022 theme proudly honors those who, in both public and private life, provide healing and promote hope for the betterment of all."

Celebrating Women's History in March
International Women's Day is March 8
****

It was my privilege to interview sixteen remarkable women for my non-fiction book for girls, Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women. The stories shared by each woman reveal  how she aspired to a career when she was a girl and worked to make that dream come true. Middle School age girls will be inspired and entertained as they interact with the eBook filled with online links to videos and resources about each career. The paperback is available for classroom teachers and  home school educators with a Reader's Guide included at the end of the book.

The theme for the Women's History Month is caregivers and those in the front lines of health care during this dangerous pandemic.

Below is an excerpt from the book about Dr. Juanita Merchant. We celebrate her work in providing healing and hope as a medical scientist in the field of gastroenterology and as a woman of color who blazed trails in the field of medicine for all women.

CHAPTER 9, DR. JUANITA MERCHANT, MEDICAL SCIENTIST 

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut Dr. Juanita Merchant Confidence Counts 

Dr. Juanita Merchant

Understanding and Overcoming Our Differences 

When Juanita was in college in the 1970s, she almost did not get a chance to become a doctor. She had to struggle against those in authority who thought she was not capable of handling all the demands that come with being a doctor because first, she was a woman and second, she was an African American woman. 

At that time, many folks did not believe a woman could manage to work at a job that was considered a man’s job and deal with the responsibilities that came with it. 

Because of racism, some people believed an African American was not equal to them and therefore could not handle such a demanding job. One person interviewing Juanita for acceptance into a graduate program was surprised that she did not talk in street slang. He had jumped to that conclusion because of her skin color. Because he did not know any African Americans, he believed the untrue, simple generalizations about a group of people who were not like him. 

When someone is different from us, we may not understand the person. But instead of bullying or mistreating her, the choice should be to find out about and get to know the person. We are all more alike than different from each other no matter what color our skin, our religion or where we live. To prove the low expectations of her were incorrect, she confidently worked harder than the other students to confirm she was capable and worthy of achieving her goal to be a medical doctor and scientist.

Read the entire chapter in Girls Succeed!

****

Girls Succeed: 

Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women

by J.Q. Rose

Girls Succeed: Stories Behind the Careers of Successful Women is available at major online booksellers.

Click here to download the eBook.

Click here to download the Paperback in color

Thank you for visiting. Have you heard of Women's International Day or Women's History Month? Did you have a mentor when you were growing up? Now? Please leave your comment below.