By DIANE DENISH
Corner To Corner
diane@dianedenish.com
This was the week to celebrate International Women’s Day, designated March 8. Honestly, I hadn’t paid much attention beyond reading headlines about observances. But I was drawn in after reading a story in The Santa Fe New Mexican about a young Navajo woman recently elected to the Gallup City Council.
Sierra Yazzie Asamoa-Tutu defeated an incumbent council member with 60% of the vote. She’s not the first woman to serve on the City Council, but she is the first Navajo woman to do so—a milestone in a city that calls itself “The Indian Capital of the World” or “the Heart of Indian Country.” Just under 50% of Gallup residents are Native American, and estimates suggest 80–90% of those are Navajo. Navajo representation is a long time coming.
Reading about her campaign—using bake sales to fund literature, visiting underserved neighborhoods, and listening to constituents—reminded me of what International Women’s Day is about: giving voice to the otherwise voiceless. It also reminded me that women’s leadership can take many forms, from the grassroots level to the highest offices in the state.
International Women’s Day traces back 125 years to the early 1900s, rooted in labor, socialist, and women’s rights movements. One notable event was in New York City, where 15,000 women garment workers demonstrated for shorter hours and better pay. In 1909, the first National Women’s Day was organized in the U.S., and in 1911, over a million women participated in the first IWD events in Austria, Denmark, and Germany, rallying for suffrage and workplace protections.
The March 8 date became permanent in 1917 after women textile workers went on strike in Russia—a movement that helped spark the Russian Revolution. Around the globe, socialist movements adopted this date. The U.S. continued to commemorate National Women’s Day until 1975, when the United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day. Since then, IWD has been marked by marches, university events, nonprofit initiatives, and political discussions about women’s rights.
New Mexico has much to celebrate regarding women’s achievements, particularly in political leadership. Patricia Madrid blazed a trail when elected New Mexico’s first (and only) Attorney General and I remember the shared exhilaration when I was elected New Mexico’s first female lieutenant governor. Since then two women have been governor Susana Martinez and Michelle Lujan Grisham . We also elected the first woman Land Commissioner and have long held the office of Secretary of State. The New Mexico Legislature has a majority of women, and for a time, all three of the state’s congressional representatives were women. Women also serve on the state Supreme Court, city and county councils, and on school boards.
In higher education, Garnett Stokes has been the only permanent woman president of a four-year public institution, New Mexico State University having yet to have a permanent woman president. At community colleges, including Central New Mexico Community College and Dona Ana Community College, women have served as presidents, leading innovative two-year programs that respond directly to community needs.
New Mexico also led the way in establishing the Commission on the Status of Women in 1969. Over the years, the Commission has been a strong advocate for pay equity, access to capital, and increasing women’s voices in the political process. It has supported leadership programs, research, and initiatives that help women step into positions of influence across the state.
New Mexico can be proud of these achievements, but Gallup and Sierra Yazzie Asamoa-Tutu remind us that the work is far from finished. Women’s leadership continues to grow, from city halls to the governor’s office, from community colleges to the legislature. Each milestone builds on the last, and each new voice adds to the chorus demanding fairness, opportunity, and representation. That is the true spirit of International Women’s Day—celebrating progress while recognizing there is always more to do.