In a discussion that went more than an hour over the pre-decided end time, 23 female students, teachers, and administrative staff opened up and revealed the extent to which the women and girls of North Allegheny have been affected by sexism. 

Monday’s International Women’s Day event, planned by junior Victoria Ren, sophomores Elise Britton and Savannah Guzzi-Graber, and freshman Thrisha Kalpatthi, was constructed with the purpose of igniting a desire to create a more equal environment here at NA and in the community at large. Pulling in rich testimonies from both teachers and students, it did just that. 

Senior Jenny Zhu recounted a time in which her friend in graduate school was indecisive about pursuing a PhD because of the comments she had received about how difficult it would be to simultaneously pursue a family life and a higher degree.  Her friend was told that the key to being successful in both was “finding the right partner”. 

Event organizer Thrisha Kalpatthi expressed the isolation she felt when often being the only female face in STEM spaces. She felt that the lack of community or connection girls found in these spaces could become a deterrent to other girls from pursuing STEM. 

The exchange also veered into conversations about intersectionality in feminism, as well as the frustrations felt when men were motivated to educate themselves and listen to women’s stories only when the issue affected them personally.

As sophomore Madi Eschenbach fervently put it, “[People] always say ‘Think about your mother, think about your daughter.’ Think about if this were you, if your sex was constantly attacked like.” 

Prior to the discussion, the stage was given to the event’s three guest speakers: NAI’s World Cultures and History teacher Mr. Warner, NAI’s Biology teacher Mrs. Ochs, and incoming Superintendent Dr. Melissa Friez. 

Mr. Warner, who had been invited to speak on women’s history, stated that this “wasn’t his story to tell” and that “all too often, white male voices have been over-represented in history.” Instead, he decided to pass his mic to student Madilyn Eschenbach, who gave a poignant speech on women’s achievements despite continuously being left out of history.

Mrs. Ochs spoke on the role of women in STEM, as well as her own experiences of working in a male-dominated field. She described how her old university’s physics building consisted of seven bathrooms, six of which were for men, saying that it had been as if “[w]e were invited into these spaces that were not designed for us.” 

Dr. Friez, who is currently the first woman Deputy Superintendent of Secondary Schooling in North Allegheny history, recounted her career path and the challenges she faced to get to where she is today. In one of her first jobs as principal of Allderdice High School, she often faced doubts toward her capabilities due to her gender and age. After a 45-minute presentation about her vision for the school, the first question she received was “How old are you?” to which Dr. Friez responded “I’m old enough to drive, old enough to vote, and old enough for this job. Next question.” 

Although most knew that such experiences and feelings were not isolated events, the seeing and hearing of how discrimination had affected each person there led to a greater sense of solidarity among the students and staff. There was also the glaring realization that everything that had been discussed that day needed to reach a larger audience. As two hours of excellent conversation came to a close, there were talks of expanding the event into a month-long discussion series.