Women’s History Month is observed annually during the month of March to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of women to our nation’s past, present, and future. In recognition of the month, we encourage your engagement in the diverse slate of programs, listed below, being held across the University community.
Women's History Month Signature Event: HerStory Slam
6 p.m. March 28
Cathedral of Learning
Room 324
Tickets
The HerStory Slam brings together women storytellers from across the greater Pittsburgh community to share their personal stories that explore the breadth, depth, and diversity of being and becoming a woman. The event will be followed by a reception on the 31st floor.
HerStory Slam Submissions
All stories from all women are welcome. Want to tell your story? We want to hear it! Click the arrow below to submit your story.
Submissions: https://pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9GZlNy5rUrorkCa
Submissions are due by March 11. Stories will be reviewed by a committee and selected by March 15.
If your story is selected, you will be asked to attend a storytelling workshop and rehearsal the week of March 18.
The theme of the HerStory slam is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.” The theme recognizes women who speak up and are leading change in their fields.
In-person performance is preferred, but if you need an accommodation to participate (including a virtual recorded performance) please contact us at diversity@pitt.edu after you complete your submission.
Tips for Telling Your Story
You should prepare to present a roughly three-minute story about a personal experience on the theme of the slam. Please see the links below for some helpful hints about how to choose and prepare your story. Stories need not be narrative, should you prefer to tell your story through song or poetry.
http://firstpersonarts.org/storytelling/storyslams/storytelling-tips/
http://themoth.org/tell-a-story/storytelling-tips
Upcoming Events
View additional events on the university calendar.
Monday, March 4
Event: “Climate Change and Jewish Thought”
Description: In this talk, Dr. Zoloth re-examines biblical and rabbinic narratives of Eden to create a new language for how to act in times of environmental crisis. She will draw on philosophic and historical ethical arguments to call for a collective—not just an individual—solution to climate change.
Tuesday, March 5
Event: “Lunch & Legislation: Q&A Session with PA State Representative Jessica Benham”
Description: Hosted by GSPIA's newly formed graduate LGBTQ+ student group, Pride in Public & International Affairs (PIPIA), and co-sponsored by the Ford Institute for Human Security and the Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies, we are excited to welcome University of Pittsburgh Alumna and PA State Representative Jessica Benham (she/her) of District 36 for a discussion focusing on her experiences as a state legislator and the policymaking process. Representative Benham is the first openly LGBTQ+ woman elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly and currently serves on the Pennsylvania LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. She advocates for healthcare, environmental sustainability, and high quality education.
Tuesday, March 5
Event: “A Woman's Life is a Human Life: A Conversation with Felicia Kornbluh”
Description: We will welcome Felicia Kornbluh for a discussion of her new book, A Woman's Life is a Human Life, especially focusing on the relationship between the effort to legalize abortion in New York and the campaign to end forced sterilization in Puerto Rico.
Wednesday, March 6
Event: Women in the Windows Tour
Description: In celebration of Women's History Month, attend a tour highlighting women depicted in the 73-foot stained glass transept windows. This year's theme is "Women Who Advocate for Fairness and Inclusion."
Additional Dates:
- Friday, March 8 at 10:00am to 11:00am
- Wednesday, March 13 at 12:00pm to 1:00pm | 5:30pm to 6:30pm
- Wednesday, March 20 at 12:00pm to 1:00pm
- Friday, March 22 at 10:00am to 11:00am
- Wednesday, March 27 at 12:00pm to 1:00pm | 5:30pm to 6:30pm
- Friday, March 29 at 10:00am to 11:00am
Wednesday, March 6
Event: Screening: “The Neighborhood Storyteller”
Description: To commemorate International Women’s Day, the Communication Department is going to host a documentary film screening of “The Neighborhood Storyteller” on March 6, 2024, at 4:00 PM in the Cathedral of Learning 1414. Discussions follow the documentary film screening. Asmaa, forced out of her home country of Syria by war, rebuilt her new identity as the neighborhood storyteller at the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan. She used reading aloud to empower teenager girls to turn hardships into an opportunity for self-growth. It is a story of courage, human resilience, and the transition from girl to womanhood. The documentary is directed by Alejandra Alcala and has won numerous awards at international film festivals.
Wednesday, March 6
Event: “Difficult Dialogues: Naming State Violence Against Women in Different Contexts”
Description: The subject of women and state violence is complex and multifaceted, encompassing various issues related to gender-based violence, discrimination, and the impact of state actions on women. In this roundtable event, a panel of speakers will engage women’s lived experiences in the face of state violence in different geographical and historical contexts. The speakers will highlight the voices of women from marginalized and minoritized groups including Muslim women, Black women in the U.S., and women from indigenous communities in South America. The speakers’ experiences will reflect this year’s National Women’s History Month theme, “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.” A focus on this theme will facilitate an environment that encourages speakers and participants to have challenging discussions about state violence and women and conversations about how to create intersectional and transnational coalitions for women's rights. This interdisciplinary roundtable panel will include Jennifer Ponce Cori (Pitt, School of Education) Naima Mohammadi (Pitt, Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program), Jasmine Green (1Hood Media) and Fayezeh Haji Hassan. Moderated by Laura Lovett (Pitt, Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program and History).
Wednesday, March 6
Event: “Barbie: The Movie”
Description: Presented by PPGen, SAFE, and Alpha Sigma Kappa. Sleepover core: bring blankets and comfy clothes. Photobooth, crafts, and activities! Plus OCC credit. Food, candy and snacks provided.
Wednesday, March 6
Event: Screening: “Warrior Lawyer”
Description: “Warrior Lawyers: Defenders of Sacred Justice” is a one-hour PBS documentary that is particularly timely and relevant given our country's current reckoning with racial inequity and systemic racism. The program focuses on the stories of Michigan Native American Lawyers, tribal judges, and their colleagues who work with native nations, their citizens and mainstream institutions to achieve healing and sacred justice. These unseen role models strive daily to address, repair and resolve unique and complicated historical, governmental, legal, judicial and social welfare issues, which are most often rooted in discrimination, historical trauma and cultural destruction. Come take a journey into past and present-day Indian Country to learn of untold stories that shine a light on Native Americans rising up to create a new path for today and for the next seven generations. After the screening, there will be a question and answer session with director Audrey Geyer.
Thursday, March 7
Event: EPI Seminar: Police Brutality and the Well-Being of Black Women over the Life Course
Description: The focus of the Spring 2024 Epidemiology Seminar Series is Health Equity & Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Students and GSR’s attending in person should swipe their Panther ID at the bottom entrance to G23 to register their attendance. Students should come prepared with engaging questions for the presenters. Students not registered for the course, postdocs, & faculty are welcome to participate.
Monday, March 11
Event: Women's Leadership Council Informational Virtual Lunch & Learn
Description: Have you heard about the Women’s Leadership Council (WLC) here at Pitt? Would you like to learn more about how this group of Pitt women helps support our community through the United Way of Southwestern PA? Please join us on Monday, March 11th from 12:00-1:00 PM for a virtual lunch and learn about the Women’s Leadership Council. We will have Pitt panelists that have been active members in this unique women’s collaboration that is the third largest in the country! Join us to learn more about building connections, networking with leaders across the region, and attending exclusive WLC events throughout the year! Click this link to let us know if you would like to attend or if you would like us to send you more information.
Sunday, March 17
Event: Mizrahi Music, Feminist Perspectives: An Afternoon of Performance & Discussion
Description: After years of marginalization, exoticization, and misrepresentation, Mizrahi musician are reclaiming their musical roots. Mizrahi Music, Feminist Perspectives explores the histories and current revival of the diverse musical styles of Jewish women from the Middle East and North Africa. This symposium will include scholarly analysis of this musical movement, as well as performances that offer contemporary interpretations of ancestral musical traditions and bring forgotten women’s voices to the fore.
Monday, March 18
Event: ART Heals Pittsburgh Exhibition
Description: A photography and graphic illustration interactive exhibit, highlighting the intersection of art, mental health and community cohesion during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pittsburgh. ART Heals Pittsburgh is a project born from the creative collaboration of Sara Baumann and Jessica Burke, both faculty members in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences. ART Heals Pittsburgh invites viewers to contemplate the role of art in our lives. On display from March 18-May 31. Meet and greet with the artists and research team at the Opening Event on March 20 at 4:30!
Tuesday, March 19
Event: “Harnessing the Power of Art and Creativity: Kumari's Adventure with her Moon Cycle”
Description: Sophie Maliphant, a UK-based artist, designer and printmaker, narnesses the positive power of creativity and art for stortelling and serves as a conduit for weaving together thrads of health knowledge, concepts, dialogue and discourse through art. This seminar focuses on the process oand impact of the Kumari's Adventure project, an illustrated educational storybook (published 2022). The book involved challenges the common narrative around the introduction to menstruation.
Tuesday, March 19
Event: International Careers Mentoring and Networking Mixer
Description: Have you ever thought about working overseas? Taking your passions internationally? Come celebrate Women's History Month and network with women who have had international careers. Diplomat-in-Residence, Sherry Zalika Sykes from the U.S. Department of State.
Wednesday, March 20
Event: “Gender Diversity: Money and Women, Can We Close the Gap?”
Description: This session is to create knowledge, dispel myths and provide a workable and realistic game plan for women to be empowered by taking control of their money. Guest speakers, Dr. Audrey Murrell, professor of business administration in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and Pitt's Psychology Department will discuss Gender Diversity: Money and Women, Can We Close the Gap? Guest speaker Dr. Shari Payne, Ed.D. Dean of the School of Continuing Education and Professional Students and Acting Dean of Point Park University's School of Education will discuss The Glass Ceiling: What is it and Can We Break It?
Wednesday, March 20
Event: “Rock Paper Grenade” (2022)
Description: Come talk in person with Ukrainian filmmaker Iryna Tsilyk at a screening of her new film! Iryna Tsilyk is a prominent Ukrainian director and poet whose awards include the Documentary Directing Award at Sundance (2020). Based on Artem Chekh’s autobiographical novel Who Are You?, this new Ukrainian drama is an encounter in a provincial town between Tymofiy (a Ukrainian boy) and Felix, a charismatic veteran of the Afghan War, broken by PTSD. A difficult portrait of the generational difficulties between children and adults in the Ukrainian 1990s, this film is a coming-of-age story about the first lessons of kindness and cruelty.
Thursday, March 21Event: Black Health and Wellness Speaker Series: Dr. Stephanie Evans
Description: Black Women's Historical Wellness: Yoga, Tea, and Traditions of Collective Self-Care. In this presentation, Dr Evans will discuss the study of Black women's narrative histories of health, healing, and wellness. Dr. Evans discusses what she calls #HistoricalWellness: Black women’s traditions of simultaneously practicing inner peace and working to resist oppression. Specifically, she will answer the question, "How have Black women elders managed stress?" By illuminating histories of yoga and tea, Evans shows a long, and complex history of what Angela Davis calls collectives self-care. In more than 50 yoga memoirs, Black women discuss practices of reflection, exercise, movement, stretching, visualization, and chanting for self-care. Similarly, over 320 narratives create a historical tasting map of black tea, hibiscus, from the African Savannah to Savannah, Georgia and beyond. By unveiling the depth of a struggle for wellness, Dr. Evans explains how memoirs offer lessons for those who also are struggling today to heal from personal, cultural, and structural violence.
Saturday, March 23
Event: 60th Anniversary Free Film Series—“Rise of the Wahine”
Description: Following the passage of Title IX in 1972, Dr. Donnis Thompson (an African-American female coach), Patsy Mink (first Asian U.S. congresswoman), and Beth McLachlin (feisty team captain of the University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball team), battle for the rights of young women to play sports. Following the documentary screening, Dr. Julia Morgan, assistant professor of philosophy, will lead a discussion.
Tuesday, March 26
Event: Women in Medicine and Science Spring 2024: Using the Imposter Syndrome to Help You Excel in Your Career
Description: Have you experienced a persistent fear of being exposed as a fraud? Wondering if you measure up? Wondering how you’ve been clever enough to fake people out about your abilities for years? Many high achievers attribute their career success to luck, favor, or hard work, making them feel like frauds. These feelings are driven by an inability to internalize their accomplishments, and this set of feelings is referred to as the “imposter syndrome”. It is very common and can be debilitating. But I will argue that a healthy dose of the imposter syndrome — when understood and placed in proper perspective — can be beneficial. The first step is to understand what the imposter syndrome is (i.e., awareness), the second is to admit that you have these feelings (most people do!) and the third is to learn how to use them to your advantage.
Wednesday, March 27
Event: Pitt Business Women’s Leadership Breakfast
Join us for the Pitt Business Women’s Leadership Breakfast on Wednesday March 27th from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at the University Club Conference Room A. We will enjoy a full breakfast as we network with colleagues and participate in facilitated dialogue about the current state of women’s leadership. This event is open to all faculty/staff.
Wednesday, March 27
Event: SHRS Woman-to-Woman Empowerment Brunch
Description: Come celebrate Women’s History Month with us as we host our first annual Woman-to-Woman Empowerment Brunch on Wednesday, March 27 at 12:30 p.m. at the 4th Floor Forbes Tower Student Lounge. Open to SHRS faculty, staff, and students only. This significant event aims to acknowledge and commemorate the accomplishments and innovations that women have made to U.S. history.
Thursday, March 28
Event: HerStory Slam
Description: The event will bring together women storytellers from across Pitt and the greater Pittsburgh community to share their true, personal stories that explore the breadth, depth and diversity of being and becoming a woman.
- Submissions: https://pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9GZlNy5rUrorkCa
- Registration: https://pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8BKr9CGb7e1g4WG
Thursday, March 28
Event: Women in Public Safety Expo
Description: Learn about our roles and careers in public safety. There will be over 20 agencies attending including Law Enforcement, EMS, Fire, Homeland Security, FBI, ATF, Pre-trial Services and more. Stop by for resources, giveaways, games a,nd interactive activities.
Friday, March 29
Event: Women's History Month: “The Woman of Tomorrow”
Description: “The Woman of Tomorrow” (1914, directed by Pyotr Chardynin), silent film with live music. Enjoy a rare re-enactment of early 20th Century silent cinema: live piano accompaniment by the pianist and composer Tyler Stoner with an introduction by silent-cinema scholar Anna Kovalova, followed by a screening of Russia’s 1914 first feminist film.