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On March 8, Grand View University staff, students and members of the Des Moines community came together to celebrate International Women’s Day. Held in the Luther Memorial Church, the event was an opportunity for women to connect and discuss women’s experiences as well as the many different issues they face. 

In her introduction, GVU President Dr. Rachelle Keck summed up the purpose of the event.  

“We wanted to celebrate not only how far we’ve come, but how far we’re going to go,” Keck said. 

Thinking of the past, present and the future was important. The three panels focused on those three ideas. The first panel, “Honoring Your Journey”, looked to the past and explored the personal journeys of three women with long and varied careers. 

One of these was Polk County District Attorney Kimberly Graham. After more than 20 years in law representing low-income defendants, children and families, Graham was inspired to become involved in politics after the results of the 2016 election. She ran for Iowa’s Democratic Senate seat in 2020 and came in third in the Democratic primary before running and winning the position of District Attorney in 2022.  

“Representing poor people for twenty-three years showed me a lot of what needs to change in this country,” Graham said. 

Though she did explain how she came to be where she is, Graham was also intent on looking forward. When asked about what young people could do to create positive change on women’s issues, her advice was succinct yet powerful. 

“They need to run for office,” Graham said. “That’s the only way we’re going to change things, is to get people in positions of power that share our values,” Graham said.  

Undertaking a political campaign is not feasible for everyone. It requires money and time that many do not have available. Nevertheless, Graham stressed that active political involvement is crucial for anyone who wants to see themselves properly represented. 

“Some people, understandably, think ‘I’m not going to contact my legislator, it won’t matter…’ It matters. The one thing politicians are responsive to is the people that vote for them. There have been times when people contacting their legislators has actually made a difference,” Graham said.  

Graham’s words, along with those of the other panelists, were a reminder that there is still a long way to go in achieving gender equity in Iowa. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women are still paid, on average, 83.7% of what men are paid. Attempts to restrict reproductive rights have been a frequent mainstay in the statehouse. Though it is not an issue solely affecting women, affordable quality childcare is as difficult to find as ever. 

One of the panelists on the future-oriented panel, Barb Bremner, had unique insight into the state of childcare accessibility in Iowa. She works as an Executive Director at Early Childhood Iowa, a state organization working to support education and care for young children. 

“Iowa has consistently been at the top of the fifty states in the percentage of working parents. We’re typically at seventy-six percent of parents with children in the home are working, so the kids have to be somewhere,” Bremner said. 

The burden of figuring out childcare often falls on mothers and can be made even more problematic if they are single. Expensive and inaccessible childcare limits the options of working mothers and can mean they have to turn down opportunities for promotion or further education in order to take care of their children. 

“If you have an infant that you have to put in childcare and enroll them in a childcare center, the cost will be slightly higher than attendance at one of the state universities,” Bremner said. 

Early Childhood Iowa is aiming to change this by providing parents with better childcare search tools and offering assistance programs for low-income families. Through these programs they hope to not only assist current working mothers, but also give the next generation the necessary resources to succeed. 

Another panelist on the future-oriented panel, Juanita Donahue, offered advice to young women thinking about where their own paths might lead them. 

“Look for a mentor…Someone who is going to reach back and make sure that you are prepared to take that next position. We’re not going to be here forever, we’re going to retire, so we need to have women in places of empowerment.” Donahue said.  

Donahue stressed that while it is often difficult for women to work their way into these places of power, it must be done. 

“Who has a seat at the table? As a woman of color, I’ve literally had to build my own chair and bring it to the table. Oftentimes I’ve been the only person in the room who looks like me,” Donahue said.  

As Donahue explained later, women and women of color specifically are often expected to be exceptional to succeed. Not only must they be good at what they do, they must be better than everyone else to merit recognition. These expectations can be almost crushing, but Donahue had advice on that too. 

“Don’t be afraid of the ‘onlyness’, because that’s how you create change,” Donahue said. 

The idea of that “onlyness” is something that many women face, but it did not seem present in the crowded room at the event. The thoughtful conversation and dialogue between attendees was energetic, hopeful, and jovial. 

GVU student Rae Beebe said her thoughts looking forward were centered around creating the same kind of trust and community that flowed through the room. 

“I want all the women in my life to know that I am in their corner. Nobody has to feel like they’re alone or they’re less than or anything,” Beebe said. 

Despite certain recent setbacks on women’s issues, or maybe even because of them, Beebe stated that it was especially important for women to fight for their rights at the present moment. 

“I feel like now is the time to be stronger than ever, as a gender and with each other. And, I think we’re rising to the occasion,” Beebe said.  

That appeared hard to argue with, seeing the work that the women in the room were doing or training to do.  

While the event was definitely celebratory, the words of the panelists and attendees put a palpable current of action in the air. 

Throughout, attendees asked themselves what they could do to create movement on women’s issues. They questioned how they could use their experiences to help others. They considered what the best ways were for them to be active politically. And, perhaps most importantly, they asked who they were and what that meant to them.  

None of these answers are simple, but they are the first steps to change from International Women’s Day and beyond.