Monday, March 2, 2020: Honoring Women’s History Month
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
EEOC Chair, Janet Dhillon, released a statement honoring the work and resilience of “Hidden Figure” Katherine Johnson for National Women’s History Month. Her mathematical brilliance was instrumental at NASA during a time of deep segregation and gender bias.
By the time John Glenn was set to take his spin around the planet in February 1962, Katherine Johnson was already a well-known, essential member of the space program team. NASA was using electronic computers for the first time to calculate Glenn’s orbit, but the astronaut asked for Johnson specifically – and refused to fly unless she personally verified the numbers. “If she says they’re good, then I’m ready to go.”
As Hidden Figures author and Johnson biographer, Margot Lee Shetterly recounted, “So the astronaut who became a hero looked to this black woman in the still-segregated South at the time as one of the key parts of making sure his mission would be a success.”
Johnson and her colleagues were awarded Congressional Gold Medals in November 2019.
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and the Women’s Bureau
The OFCCP and the Women’s Bureau invite you to participate in the “Our Purpose. Your Work.” initiative. This initiative encourages women of all ages to share their work stories, touch on the future aspirations of young women entering the workforce, and talk about how the Women’s Bureau has helped advance their purpose.
The President
President Trump issued a Proclamation on Women’s History Month in which he highlighted that this year marks the centennial anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, securing the right to vote for women.