Women’s History Month at Stanford

Since its inception, Stanford has been home to generations of women leaders and changemakers. World-renowned alumni include entrepreneurs, researchers, legal experts, scientists and artists, many the “first” in their respective fields.

This March, the university will celebrate Women’s History Month and recognize the many Stanford women who have made a difference at the university and beyond.

“Stanford has long celebrated the resilience and accomplishments of remarkable and determined female students, faculty, staff and alumni,” Provost Persis Drell said. “Their legacy continues to inspire and propel the women who work and study at Stanford today, many of whom will also become the ‘first’ in their communities, leading the way for change in our world.”

When Stanford opened in October 1891, female students made up about 20 percent of the student population. These days, the student population at Stanford is 51 percent female, and the university is home to dozens of Women’s Voluntary Student Organizations, also known as WVSOs.

“When it comes to women at Stanford, it’s important to know that there’s not one possible way of describing a universal for all women here because there’s so much diversity,” said Faith Kazmi, associate dean and director of the Stanford Women’s Community Center. “And it’s important to note that not all gender marginalized people are women, and the WCC has worked hard in the last decade to encompass and acknowledge the challenges of gender marginalized folks both at Stanford and beyond. It’s a dynamic and complex community.”

This month, various departments and entities on campus will host programming, including lectures and conferences that explore women’s history and feminist narratives and ideology.

For International Women’s Day on March 8, the Women’s Community Center will host an Instagram Live program with Maxie Villavicencio Pulliam, author of Fierce Filipina and great-great-granddaughter of Gliceria Marella de Villavicencio, who fought to overthrow Spanish and American colonists in the Philippines.

On March 9, the Clayman Institute for Gender Research will host Nicole Lynn Lewis, author of Pregnant Girl: A Story of Teen Motherhood, College and Creating a Better Future for Young Families and founder of Generational Hope as part of its Heteropatriarchy and Academia series.

On March 11-12, the Stanford Humanities Center will host Feminist History: A Conference in Honor of Estelle Freedman.

On March 17, Stanford religious studies scholar Alexis Wells-Oghoghomeh will give a lecture titled “The Ethics of Revenge: Enslaved Women and Poison in the American South.”