Women's History Month
Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week.” In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month.” Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.” These proclamations celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields.
Resources
Rosie the Riveter
Since the 1940s Rosie the Riveter has stood as a symbol for women in the workforce and for women’s independence. Beginning in 1942, as an increasing number of American men were recruited for the war effort, women were needed to fill their positions in factories. Initially, women workers were recruited from among the working class, but, as the war production needs increased, it became necessary to recruit workers from among middle-class women. Since many of these women had not previously worked outside the home and had small children, the government not only had to convince them to enter the workforce, but it also had to provide ways for the women to care for their households and children. To accomplish this end, the U.S. Office of the War produced a variety of materials designed to convince these women to enter into war production jobs as part of their patriotic duty. Rosie the Riveter was part of this propaganda campaign and became the symbol of women in the workforce during World War II.
The first image now considered to be Rosie the Riveter was created by the American artist J. Howard Miller in 1942, but it was titled “We Can Do It!” and had no association with anyone named Rosie. It is believed that this initial drawing was part of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation’s wartime production campaign to recruit female workers. Miller’s drawing portrayed a woman in a red bandana with her bent arm flexed, rolling up her shirtsleeve.
In 1943 the song “Rosie the Riveter,” by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb, was released. This song touts the patriotic qualities of the mythical female war employee who defends America by working on the home front. Following the release of this song, Norman Rockwell’s drawing of his version of the female defense worker appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, on May 29, 1943. This version of Rosie was a much more muscular depiction of a woman in a blue jumpsuit, with a red bandana in her hair, eating a sandwich. Rockwell placed the name “Rosie” on the lunch box of the worker, and thus Rosie the Riveter was further solidified in the American collective memory.
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica
Microsoft Plays Role in Ukraine War
Last Wednesday, a few hours before Russian tanks began rolling into Ukraine, alarms went off inside Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence Center, warning of a never-before-seen piece of “wiper” malware that appeared aimed at the country’s government ministries and financial institutions.
Within three hours, Microsoft threw itself into the middle of a ground war in Europe — from 5,500 miles away. The threat center, north of Seattle, had been on high alert, and it quickly picked apart the malware, named it “FoxBlade” and notified Ukraine’s top cyberdefense authority. Within three hours, Microsoft’s virus detection systems had been updated to block the code, which erases — “wipes” — data on computers in a network.
Then Tom Burt, the senior Microsoft executive who oversees the company’s effort to counter major cyberattacks, contacted Anne Neuberger, the White House’s deputy national security adviser for cyber- and emerging technologies. Ms. Neuberger asked if Microsoft would consider sharing details of the code with the Baltics, Poland and other European nations, out of fear that the malware would spread beyond Ukraine’s borders, crippling the military alliance or hitting West European banks.
Before midnight in Washington, Ms. Neuberger had made introductions — and Microsoft had begun playing the role that Ford Motor Company did in World War II, when the company converted automobile production lines to make Sherman tanks.
Source: New York Times, 02.28.22
To understand the potential impact Microsoft can have on Atlanta, you have to make time to understand this company. Microsoft is an extraordinary organization on many levels. — ATLsherpa
Atlanta’s Women of Distinction
Adventure-Driven Learning System
Multimedia Website — ATLWOD.com
Interactive Map — Google My Maps
Quiz — Establish a baseline
Passport — Explorer’s Log to track your activities
Celebrating Women’s History Month
Daily post on ATLsherpa Facebook page
Website orientation video
Virtual tours