By In honor of Women’s History Month, Long Beach State’s Women’s Gender & Equity Center promoted inclusivity and several female-led organizations at the University Student Union (USU) southwest terrace on Wednesday.
Several programs such as CSULB Women in Coding, Panhellenic, the CSULB Multicultural Affairs center and the University Writing Center displayed their opportunities for students to become involved.
Liza Escún, a student leader with the Women’s Gender and Equity Center and CSULB fourth-year sociology major spoke during the women’s history month event.
“To all women, remind yourself that we are not here to compete with other women,” Escún said. “We all benefit from our collaboration rather than competition.”
Liza Escún speaks during the Women Gender and Equity Center's celebration of Women's History Month on Wednesday. Photo credit: Vincent Medina
The sociology major’s message was echoed throughout the event, as other gender-inclusive programs such as the CSULB Women in Computing (WIC) that showcased their program to motivate more women to join the STEM field.
CSULB WIC co-president and third-year computer science major, Han Pham said the organization has helped build strong relationships.
“Being in STEM, there are usually three to four girls in your class, so it’s hard to talk to other people,” Pham said. “Sisterhood came about to bring different women together and to grow technically and professionally.”
Pham also mentioned the Marina Hacks competition, one of the few female-centric events in May 2022 dedicated “to bringing together women to hone their skills, develop confidence and fill the gender gap within the competitive tech industry,” according to their website.
“It’s a beginner-friendly competition, like a marathon plus a coding competition,” Pham said. “You get 24 hours to build a project, meet up with teams and during that time you can also attend workshops and meet sponsors.”
Sofia Santoro, vice president of recruitment on the Panhellenic council and CSULB second-year communications studies major said their organization “help the eight sororities within the organization emphasize their philanthropy.”
“One of our sororities, Alpha Phi, emphasizes women’s cardiac care,” Santoro said. “[They] hold events to help raise money for people in need.”
Santoro also said it’s important for organizations to be led by strong women.
“Being part of an organization surrounded by women all the time is really cool because we get to see how empowering it can be,” she said. “It’s great to be around a group of women who encourage you to exceed that.”
