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March 4, 2009 – Gov. deJongh has proclaimed the month of March 2009 as "Women's History Month" in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The territory has a rich history of noteworthy women whose achievements helped to shape and improve the quality of life for the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands socially, economically, culturally and politically.
The contributions women have made in classrooms, boardrooms, courtrooms, political arenas, the military, and in homes and communities, have been overlooked and undervalued. Women such as Queen Mary, Queen Coziah, Anna Heegaard, Edith Williams, Enid M. Baa, Anne de Chabert, Pearl B. Larsen, Jane E. Tuitt, Bertha C. Boschulte, Elizabeth Hendrickson, Elaine I. Sprauve, Ruby M. Rouss, Gertrude Lockhart-Melchoir, Lucinda Millin, Eldra Schulterbrandt, Gwendolyn E. Kean, Bianca Maduro-Andre, Clarice Thomas, Geraldine Heath, Irene Bayne, Muriel Newton, Alicia Ortiz and many others, helped open the doors to empowerment for women in our territory.
The Commission on the Status of Women was established pursuant to Title 3, Section 359, Virgin Islands Code, to work to improve the status of the territory's women in the areas of health, housing, justice, pay equality, family relations, legislation, employment and political status.
Gov. deJongh urges all residents and community organizations to join him in the observance of Women's History Month.
