Breaking the Bias: Women's History Month 2022 

Women’s History Month is celebrated this year from Tuesday, March 1st until Thursday, March 31st, 2022. It is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change, and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women, who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.

 

For International Women’s Day (IWD), Tuesday, March 8, 2022, the theme this year is #BreakTheBias. And the 2022 International Women's Day campaign slogan is as follows:

 

Imagine a gender equal world.

A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.
A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
A world where difference is valued and celebrated.
Together we can forge women’s equality.
Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.

 

Women should be celebrated all 365 days of the year, but take some time this month to send some love and appreciation to all the amazing women in your life. An easy way to do this is by wearing purple throughout the month of March. Historically, purple was a color that denoted justice and dignity, and now it is used to represent women worldwide!

 

The Committed Collective is proud to support and celebrate women today and every day.

Learn more about Women's History Month and how to celebrate here!

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May She Reign Supreme in HerStory

In honor of Women's History Month, The Committed Collective board members want to acknowledge and congratulate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on her herstoric Supreme Court nomination.

 

On February 25, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Judge Jackson to become the 116th Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and the FIRST Black woman appointed to the Supreme Court. Judge Jackson was born in Washington, DC, but grew up in Miami, Florida. She graduated from Harvard University and went on to complete her Juris Doctorate at Harvard Law School in the 1990s. Prior to this nomination, Judge Jackson has had quite a career and achievements. From her early role as a Public Defender to then serving as a Judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (D.C. District) and U.S. District Court (D.C. District) all while raising two daughters. Judge Jackson is currently awaiting approval before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Follow along with TCC on Instagram and in our Facebook forum as updates on Judge Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation.

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Women's History Month Podcast Takeover
The women of The Committed Collective board have taken over the airways once again for our annual Women's History Month podcast take over. All through March Dr. Emily Stone and Destiny Henderson will be hosting TCC's weekly podcast, interviewing some phenomenal woman who will be giving detailed insights into the woman's worlds of sports, film, tech and more! 

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Collective Contributions
The Committed Collective is devoted to making major change in all U.S. communities. Each month we will be highlighting our work with one an organization to donate, promote, sponsor or collaborate with. 

This month, in honor of Women's History Month and the women of the future we have made a monetary donation Girls Inc. Girls Inc. is a nationwide non profit organization that we focuses on the development of the whole girl. Their programs and mentorship teach all who identify as a girl to learn to value herself, take risks, and discover and develop her inherent strengths. Equipping young girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers, and grow up healthy, educated, and independent. Informed by girls and their families, Girls Inc. also advocates for legislation and policies to increase opportunities and rights for all girls!

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Ukraine vs Russia: The World is Watching
On February 24th, a conflict began in Ukraine after Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, authorized a full-scale military invasion of the country. Three weeks later, and sadly, we see no clear end to this senseless conflict. The invasion of Ukraine came after months of a Russian military buildup along Ukraine’s borders, and a diplomatic standoff between Russia and various Western state powers. The invasion is a major escalation of tensions between the two nations that have been growing since 2014, after Russia annexed Crimea, a small but strategically important part of southern Ukraine, which has led to widespread hardship and suffering in the area.

For historical context, it is important to understand the two countries relationship over the last century. Following the Russian revolution of 1917 that brought with it a communist regime, Ukraine was one of several countries to fight a brutal civil war before being absorbed into the Soviet Union in 1922. Eastern Ukraine came under Soviet control much faster than western Ukraine, and therefrom has perpetuated non-uniform attitudes about Russia across the country. In particular, the relationship between eastern Ukraine and Russia is much stronger than the relationship between Russia and the rest of Ukraine, who have in recent years been more willing to engage with western countries in diplomacy. The collapse of the Soviet Union weighed more heavily on Eastern Ukraine than it has the Western half of the country, who more easily transitioned into the free market economy of the world due to their proximity to world trade leaders in western Europe. “The sense of Ukrainian nationalism is not as deep in the east as it is in the west…. The transition to democracy and capitalism was painful and chaotic, and many Ukrainians, especially in the east, longed for the relative stability of earlier (Soviet) eras” said former ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer. Furthermore, the increased interest in diplomatic relationships with both NATO and the EU on part of Ukraine has worried Russia, leaving them paranoid about their diminishing power in a region that was once held under Soviet control a little more than 30 years ago. The paranoia stems in part from the entrance of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia into NATO and establishing democracies in recent years, all of whom are former Soviet republics.

The diminished power that Russia has in those three countries as well as Ukraine has intensified Russian feelings of being left behind on the world stage, characterized by the steady transformation from dominant world power to ‘b’ class country. It is this very sense of paranoia of diminishing power that has prompted Putin to attempt to take Ukraine by force. Yet, the strong condemnation of Russian aggression on behalf of the Western world has only furthered the Russian federation from the level of respect they once commanded as the Soviet Union. The brutality that the Russian army has shown as an occupying force by bombing and attacking civilian Ukraine centers will only further alienate Russia from the rest of the world and one can only hope that we as Americans will soon come to assist the people of Ukraine.