From full-time homemakers to potential presidential candidates, women have made leaps and bounds for themselves in the last century.
For one month of the year, the history of man’s better half is celebrated.
March marks Women’s History Month, a time to reflect on the ever-changing role women have played in the past and will play in the future.
The standings of women and men in society are as equal as they’ve ever been today, but that wasn’t always the case.
“Men used to be the primary breadwinner, and women were expected to stay at home with the kids,” said Catherine Hopkins, director of the University’s Women’s Center.
The stay-at-home-mom role was also strongly advocated on campus, Hopkins said. Before the tenure of Helen Carter, a former head of the home economics department, all female students were required to take a home economics class, no matter their major.
Carter convinced the University and LSU Board of Supervisors to abolish the rule forcing women to take home economics. “That was pretty pivotal to the history of women at LSU,” Hopkins said.
During World War II and the Vietnam War, women escaped from the confines of the household to join the workforce, she said. The government said it was a woman’s patriotic duty to her country to replace the men who were fighting as soldiers.
Hopkins said many women continued to work even after the men returned from war, and eventually more women began going to college. Households with two working parents became more common.
In today’s society, more than ever, the domestic duties of men and women are balanced, Hopkins said.
Though a gender equilibrium is on the horizon, women still face numerous challenges in the 21st century.
Hopkins said women only earn about three-fourths of the pay that men earn for performing the same jobs. She said the wage disparity is unfair because there are the same number of, if not more, women earning degrees at all levels of education than men.
Wages aren’t the only work-related issue that women face. Sexual harassment still exists at many jobs today, she said.
“Women are still subjected to that all of the time,” she said. “Violence against women in general is a big problem.”
Despite oppression, women have made major contributions to the world.
Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray images of DNA led to the discovery of the double-helix shape. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” fueled anti-slavery ideals and Margaret Thatcher was the first female British prime minister.
“[Thatcher] greatly shaped world politics for two or three decades,” Hopkins said.
The Women’s Center is holding a number of events to celebrate the month.
The center is hosting a community service project titled “Women Chefs’ Show Off” benefitting the Capital Area Family Violence Intervention Center on Thursday. The event will be held at the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino and will include a live auction and other activities, Hopkins said.
A women’s networking and business etiquette dinner will be held at the Faculty Club on March 20, where a facilitator will teach etiquette and students will be paired with professionals to discuss the challenges women face in particular jobs, Hopkins said.
A “Women in the Arts Night” and the “Esprit de Femme Award Presentation” will take place March 22 with performing arts, an art gallery and a panel discussion at the Union Theatre. “It’s kind of our capstone experience for the month,” Hopkins said.
The celebrations wrap up March 27 with the “Gender and Justice For All Panel” in the Broussard Hall Assembly Room. Hopkins said she hopes the day will come when women’s history is taught every day of the year rather than during one month.
“It’s important because we’ve got to increase the consciousness and knowledge of women’s history,” she said.
 
____ Contact Ferris McDaniel at [email protected]