March is Women’s History Month and follows another important month, Black History Month. During March, we celebrate the important and rich history of strong and amazing women that have paved the way for other women.

 Our campus has many female students, and we got to talk to one of the great women at Castaic, Emily Alvarado. Emily has expressed that being a woman has blessed her in life as much it has challenged her and has given her insight into life. She believes being a woman means you have to work hard and overcome stereotypes. When asked about her opinion on how women are treated, Alvarado responded, “Throughout the years, women’s rights and treatment have improved, but there’s always room for improvement. There are still wage gaps to be filled, and stereotypes to be broken.”

Emily believes that women should take it upon themselves to prove that they can do more and that older women should inspire the younger generations to prove society wrong. Alvarado looks up to many women such as Michelle Obama, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and most importantly, her mother. Emily put across her opinion on some troubles women face such as the constant stereotypes put on them, such as not being able to attain certain jobs. Alvarado believes people should approach these issues by working to create new jobs for women, eliminating discrimination against women in the workplace, and supporting feminism and woman’s rights.

Other students had similar views on the importance of being able to embrace their womanhood despite the shadow that society has put them under. Enya Membrillo, Nadia Membrillo, and Gabby Braham shared how their families had to fight discrimination and poverty but were still able to make a living from their humble beginnings. “My mom came to the country as an immigrant, and she was able to educate herself, and now she’s well respected where she works,” Braham explains. 

Enya and Nadia also shared that they both look up to their own mothers, grandmas, and aunts because they were able to provide for themselves, regardless of being discriminated against and not having the equal opportunities that others had. They all believe that being a woman means being strong, empowered, and just as capable as any other person. But, in order to be able to achieve equality and change, we must all work together to raise awareness through campaigns and peaceful protests. Then, we may be able to change unfair challenges women face such as the wage gap. 

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Castaic also has many important women in charge of the school. We were lucky enough to get the time to sit down with Mrs. Sosa, who has filled in for the assistant principal position. She believes that women are more than just their bodies, it’s how women are sensitive, and how they assess a lot of situations. Mrs. Sosa believes there are different ways of stereotypical multi-tasking, and believes that women have evolved from more than just being caretakers. Mrs. Sosa expressed that she believes there were big improvements in the way women are treated, but there are still important steps to take, such as closing the wage gap between women and men, and changing how they are treated. When asked how people can help how society views women, Mrs. Sosa explained that people could stand up more for them. There is already a big effort to change society’s views. Some women she looks up to are ones such as Maya Angelou, and Oprah Winfrey. In the community of Castaic High School, she looks up to our very own principal, Mrs. Hagmann, and vice-principal Mrs. Delawader. She believes that they are not letting their gender deter them from their position. When asked about what problems women face nowadays, Mrs. Sosa said women still struggle with stereotypes such as being weak and the stereotype that they can’t handle tough roles. She believes that men should equally empower women just as much as women should empower themselves.