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1 <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: March 1, 2022 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 8-i <br /> SUBJECT: Women's History Month Proclamation <br /> DEPARTMENT: County Manager <br /> ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Bonnie Hammersley, (919) 245-2300 <br /> Proclamation <br /> PURPOSE: To approve a proclamation recognizing March 2022 as Women's History Month in <br /> Orange County. <br /> BACKGROUND: Celebration of Women's History Month had its roots in the socialist and labor <br /> movements in New York City. The first "Women's Day" took place on February 28, 1909. The <br /> day honored the one year anniversary of the garment worker's strikes that had taken place in New <br /> York, where thousands of women marched for economic rights. That strike followed another strike <br /> that occurred in 1857 when garment workers marched for equal rights and 10-hour work days. <br /> Within two years the event grew into an international event. In 1975, the United Nations officially <br /> began International Women's Day; which will be celebrated on March 8` this year. <br /> At the inception of Women's History Month, feminists in the United States saw the designation of <br /> the month as a way to celebrate a history that had largely overlooked the contributions of women <br /> in America. Women's History Month has its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when <br /> Congress authorized and requested President Jimmy Carter proclaim the week beginning March <br /> 7, 1982 as "Women's History Week." In 1987, the Women's History Month Project petitioned the <br /> US Congress to designate the month of March as "Women's History Month." President Ronald <br /> Reagan was the first president to proclaim March as Women's History Month. <br /> Currently, local, state and federal governments annually proclaim March as "Women's History <br /> Month." Each year the National Women's History Alliance declares a theme. The 2022 theme is <br /> "Women — Providing Healing, Promoting Hope." <br /> FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with consideration of this <br /> proclamation. <br /> SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goals are applicable <br /> to this item: <br /> • GOAL: FOSTER A COMMUNITY CULTURE THAT REJECTS OPPRESSION AND <br /> INEQUITY <br />