March is a powerful month for gender equality. As we celebrate Women’s His-tory Month, International Women's Day, and convene alongside global leaders at the 70th Annual Commission on the Sta-tus of Women (CSW).

During this month, we are also reminded that progress for women and girls is nei-ther automatic nor guaranteed, but is driven by consistent, strategic, and cou-rageous advocacy.

Your advocacy committee has been working non-stop to create tools and op-portunities to flex your advocacy skills, and we hope you take advantage of the ample opportunities for action this month.

International Women’s Day: More Than a Celebration

International Women’s Day (March 8) calls on us to reflect not only on how far women have come, but also on the structural barriers that remain. From wage inequality to gender-based vio-lence, from underrepresentation in lead-ership to attacks on reproductive autono-my, the fight for equality requires coordinated action at every level.

This month, we encourage every member to:

• Contact one elected official about an is-sue affecting wom-en in your state.
• Share a fact or call-to-action on social media.
• Support women-owned businesses in your community.

Small actions, taken collectively, create systemic change.

The Equal Rights Amendment: The 28th Amendment Campaign

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) meets the constitutional requirements for ratification, yet it has not been for-mally recognized as the 28th Amend-ment to the U.S. Constitution. As advo-cates, we know that equality under the law should never be up for debate.

NFBPWC continues our “28th” campaign by calling for a financial boycott on the 28th of each month. You can participate by skipping any non-essential spending, and if you must make a purchase, try to buy from a small business.

We also call on members to engage in advocacy efforts by contacting legisla-tors, educating others, or sharing our graphics online.

Advocacy Tools: Strengthening Our Collective Impact 

Earlier this year, the Advocacy Commit-tee launched new tools designed to help members take action with confidence and clarity:

• How to Advocate Guide – Step-by-step strategies for engaging elected officials and policymakers. (You will find a reproduction of the slides for a presentation on this guide on pX.)
• Legislative Screening Team Guide – A roadmap for forming state or local teams to monitor and evaluate legisla-tion.
• Legislative Tracking Sheet – A prac-tical tool to help clubs stay orga-nized and informed.
• Advocacy Hub - The next pages of the Advocacy Hub have been completed, and we are one step closer to unveiling this tool to our members. Stay tuned for updates!

Advocacy does not require a law degree. It requires information, coordination, and commitment — and we now have the infra-structure to support every member who wants to lead. A workshop outlining these tools was held in January - the recording is available on the website.

If you have not yet accessed these re-sources, March is the perfect time to begin.

Global Conversations, Local Action

As we engage with conversations happen-ing at CSW, we must remember that inter-national frameworks only become mean-ingful when translated into local change. Policies affecting pay equity, childcare, workplace protections, and violence pre-vention are shaped in state legislatures, city councils, and school boards.

NFBPWC members are uniquely positioned to bridge global commitments and local implementation. We are professionals, community lead-ers, and advocates with both exper-tise and lived ex-perience.

Endometriosis Awareness Month

Among all the events happening during March, we also observe Endo-metriosis Aware-ness Month. This offers an oppor-tunity to bring awareness to this debilitating condition that affects over 1 in 10 women glob-ally and takes years to diagnose. The color yellow is the official color to represent en-dometriosis awareness, and we encourage members to post a photo on their social media platforms of themselves (alone or with friends) wearing yellow with the hashtag #EndometriosisAwarenessMonth.

However you plan to commemorate the month of March, please take a moment to advocate for gender equity. Whether it’s through attending a CSW event, sharing a campaign on social media, or contacting your elected officials, small actions make all the difference.

Make sure to check out our social media pages throughout the month to review our Women’s History Month posts honoring his-toric women of note.

Emily VanVleck
National VP Advocacy
2024-2026
vpadvocacy@nfbpwc.org