The San Mateo County Commission on the Status of Women was going to host their second ever biannual Women’s Leadership on March 2, at Skyline College in San Bruno. The conference included several speakers such as Captain Marie B. Byrd, Aimee Allison, Aila Malik and other community members. It also had resources for women, including space for networking and leadership exercises.
The Women’s Hall of Fame ceremony will take place later this year to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 virus’s impact on the San Mateo County community.
The Women’s Hall of Fame event has a long history in San Mateo County. The Hall of Fame was the first of its kind in California and its first ever inductions took place in 1983. Since its onset, the community has honored over 200 San Mateo County women for various services to the community.
“It’s an annual recognition event that really [gives] spotlight to women around the county,” said director of the Commission on the Status of Women at the San Mateo County office and organizer of the event, Tanya Beat. “[It was made] with the hope that it would make it more normal for women to be recognized for their achievements, which it wasn’t at the time.”
Women lacked spaces to be applauded for their work and sacrifices. This was reflective of the cultural and political atmosphere at the time of the event’s conception. Today, the nature of the event has persisted, though the political climate it operates within has changed.
“It just is one of those aspects of we shouldn’t have to continue to highlight women in a world that is equitable,” Beat said. “Promoting the idea of women doing their everyday thing is amazing. You don’t need a Hall of Fame to recognize that.”
This year’s inductees are Dr. Belinda Hernandez Arriaga and Judge Beth Labson Freeman.
The Young Women of Excellence nominees include Aragon junior Celine Wen and Lydian Academy’s Sarah Pistorino. Pistorino was selected based on her extensive experience within the mental health community, acting as chair of the San Mateo County Youth commission and her work as a volunteer. Wen’s work at Aragon as well as her experience in volunteering at Friends for Children with Special Needs highlighted her as a candidate for the honor. Her private tennis coach Jackie Nachtigall nominated her for the award. Wen is also a varsity singles tennis player at Aragon.
Wen immigrated from China to San Francisco in 2016. Her experience in San Francisco inspired her to take action.
“I saw a lot of homeless women in San Francisco, and I wondered how they dealt with their periods,” Wen said. “I [did research] and found out that they were using really unhygienic methods, and I wanted to help.”
This discovery led her to found the Women of the World club at Aragon, which meets once weekly to plan fundraising opportunities for people affected by period poverty in the Bay Area. The group uses their funds to provide Bay Area people with menstrual products and education that they would not otherwise have access to.
Wen cites her use of initiative as why she has been recognized.
“I feel like a lot of people are aware of global problems, but they don’t do anything about it,” Wen said. “I won this award not because I saw these issues, but because I did something about them.”
Wen hopes that the publicity surrounding the Women’s Leadership Conference will bring exposure to the Women of the World club.
“My work isn’t done. I want it to continue, if it’s over [because it was recognized] then it never meant anything.”
Wen aims for more students to become active in helping their communities.
“I want other clubs like ours to see what we’re doing and for more people to become involved,” Wen said.
