Images of notable women such as Maya Angelou, Audre Lorde and Harriet Tubman were dispersed throughout Butch’s Den. Students, faculty and staff gathered to recognize influential women in the past and in the community as a part of an International Women’s Day celebration on Wednesday.

Nitivia Jones, WSU International Programs advisor, said women can actively challenge gender inequality and make a difference in how society functions.

“We want to create an equal world because that is an enabled world,” she said. “We want to achieve the most spectacular thing we can as a human race.”

Social change is hard and slow to achieve, Jones said, so the acknowledgement of people trying to make those contributions is important.

Josie Cohen-Rodriguez, Carson College of Business career advisor, was one of many women to be recognized for her work in the community. She is involved in various resource centers on campus and is a committee member for the Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social, an organization for Latinx and gender non-conforming people.

Rodriguez said the social served as a way to connect with women on campus who she would not have met otherwise. 

“I’ve already met so many people and we’re coming up with ideas and how to collaborate,” Rodriguez said. “It just makes WSU better.”

There were fliers on tables that featured notable women throughout history such as Lucille Ball, Maud Wagner and Anna May Young. The fliers came in pairs, one in color and the other in black and white. Attendees were instructed to find their match in the room.

Attendees also wrote the names of honorable women in their lives on leaves, which they hung on a crafted tree. There were also books, such as “Women in Pants,” provided by the Holland and Terrell Libraries which featured historical photos of women.

Iris Alatorre, Women*s Center program coordinator, said International Women’s Day is meant to celebrate women around the world. The celebration is also meant to call attention to systems of oppression that still affect women every day. 

“Women all over the place are doing great work and that needs to be recognized, whether they are in a social organization or advocating for gender equity in their department,” Alatorre said.

She said people need to keep in mind how they can intentionally work toward gender equity as opposed to being performative. There will always be something to work toward, Alatorre said, it is just a question of whether people are willing to commit to that work.

The women who were addressed during the social included Hannah Martian, Mariela Frias, Pam Duran, Erika Serrano, Melanie Voorhees, Kelly Newlon, Jane Estocin-Kaliber, Sophia Gaither, Sam Reyes, Josie Rodriguez, Carrie Bullock Ben-Yisrael, Jackie Sedano, Amy Poirier, Marcela Pattinson, Jenna Polito and Cheri Nelson.

The event was sponsored by the International Women*s Day Committee, International Programs, ADVANCE and GPSA.

The Women*s Center organized a week-long set of events to mark International Women’s Day on March 8. Details for the events throughout the week can be found on the Women*s Center website.