Today, all across the United States, women are celebrating Women’s Equality Day and the enactment of the 19th Amendment, which declared, among other things, that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” This event was the summation of the decades-long struggle of courageous suffragists determined to shape the course of our Republic.
Yet, 50 years after passing the 19th Amendment women still saw a need to fight to equality and in 1970, the National Organization for Women (NOW) called upon women to demonstrate for equal rights in a nationwide “strike for equality.”
Several demonstrators hung two 40-foot banners from the crown of the Statue of Liberty, while others drew attention to the strike by stopping the ticker at the American Stock Exchange. More than 100,000 other women participated in demonstrations and rallies in more than 90 major cities and towns across the country, making the strike the largest gender-equality protest in the history of the United States. In New York City 50,000 women marched down Fifth Avenue in support of the women’s movement and equal rights; former NOW president Betty Friedan, feminist author Gloria Steinem, and U.S. Rep. Bella Abzug addressed the crowd. The women demanded equal opportunities in both education and employment, as well as access to 24-hour child-care centers.
Although the strike did not bring about immediate change, it was extraordinarily successful in demonstrating the breadth of support for women’s rights, and the press coverage it received drew significant attention to the feminist movement. In fact, in 1971, Rep. Bella Abzug introduced a proclamation, which would officially designate the August 26 as Women’s Equality Day, and year later, President Richard Nixon signed a proclamation designating the day as Women’s Rights Day. Congress would later approve this resolution in 1973 and August 26 officially became Women’s Equality Day.
Is it though? Is everything really equal?
That depends on who you ask and what area of expertise you ask about. In the field of engineering, Kasey Barndt, an engineering intern at the Naval Ordnance Test Unit, says she believes there is a better representation of women today but that according to the Society of Women Engineers there is still only 13% of women making up the engineering field.
But that is not discouraging Barndt from pursuing her goals and dreams of becoming a mechanical engineer.
“I love how many creative outlets we have access to as engineers,” she said. So, she hopes to inspire other young ladies to pursue careers in engineering as well.
“I have always been someone who loves challenging social standards,” Barndt says. “Just because something is ‘normal’ doesn’t mean it is the best way” she adds referring to face that the engineering field and many STEM degrees are still predominately dominated by men.
“There is a learning curve to working with many men,” she says, “because men and women usually think in different ways. I’m still learning how to work with a group of diverse people, but it doesn’t deter me from wanting to take up space in places women aren’t usually in.”
Becoming an engineer is after all a childhood dream. Growing up in Sarasota, Florida, Barndt says, “I went to theme parks a lot as a kid and I have always been fascinated by how the rollercoasters worked. I was also fascinated at how much joy they brought people,” she said. As she got older, Barndt said her attention focused more toward automotive fields like NASCAR and Formula-One racing, which consequently got her involved with the Women’s Baja SAE Team at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where she currently enrolled.
Speed, maneuverability, aerodynamics all seemed to be a key factor. So, it seems fitting she accepted an internship involved with the nation’s fleet ballistic missile program. Despite the fact, she admits she knew nothing about the program before talking to a NOTU representative at a job fair at Embry-Riddle. Even then, she didn’t fully understand the program until she came to work for the Navy.
“I don’t have any family in the military, so I really didn’t have any idea what I was getting in to,” she says. “But now that I’ve had a chance to see we NOTU does, I’m looking forward to coming back during my winter break and summer break.”
For now however, Barndt heads back Embry-Riddle to start her sophomore year of college. But not without some long-term goals in mind. Barndt says she can truly see herself working as an engineer at NOTU or somewhere else within Strategic Systems Programs.
Perhaps one day, there will be more young women with the courage and fortitude to go against the grain like Barndt and venture into career field predominately dominated my men, especially like engineering, to create a better balance.
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.26.2024 10:25 |
| Story ID: | 479399 |
| Location: | FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Meet Kasey Barndt: branching off into the next generation of woman in engineering, by Bob Hall, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
