March 8, 2026, marks the 115th Anniversary of International Women’s Day. In light of the ever-changing landscape of our world, International Women’s Day is a time for us to intentionally pause and reflect on what is working well for women and girls. It's also a time to reflect on what we can do collectively to help women and girls around the world reach their full potential to build the common good. This is especially so in a world where, on the one hand, too many women and girls suffer disproportionately through war, physical and sexual violence, and human trafficking, while others are experiencing renewal and unparalleled success.
Regardless of where we find ourselves, in plenty or in lack, the wisdom of Gwendolyn Brooks is fitting:
“We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.” Brooks reminds us that flourishing is a collective endeavor.
As we move through our lives, how are we leaning into the opportunities to be each other’s harvest and to be each other’s business in ways that enhance wellbeing? How can we make ourselves available to be each other’s magnitude and bond? Brooks’ wisdom reminds us that when we remember the importance of our interconnections, we become active agents of redemption.
In the words of Adrienne Rich, redemption is essential to survival and transformation. Redemption allows us to see, with fresh eyes, changing for the better, and restoring what has been harmed. Across generations, geography and culture, people who identify as women and others who ensure that women are healthy, educated and engaged embody this redemptive work. Throughout the university’s history, trailblazing women have pushed against structures that constrained their potential. Their courage planted seeds that continue to bear fruit today, in the increasing numbers of women in leadership as department heads, deans, vice presidents, union leaders, senate presidents and ASUO leadership.
Today, at 54%, just over half of our total faculty are women. Across all professional staff roles women comprise 57% of UO’s workforce. And of our Ducks — undoubtably tomorrow’s leaders and innovators — 56.3% self-identify as women. May their presence also enhance the university’s ability to live daily in redemptive and life-giving ways.
As we honor International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we recognize that the women of UO—past, present, and emerging—are engaged in the ongoing work of collective redemption. Through mentorship, advocacy, innovation, and creativity, they restore what has been broken, re-envision what is possible, and reaffirm our shared responsibility to one another. Sometimes, they lead at the vanguard of change, and other times, they lead in partnership with allies. Their stories light the way forward, reminding us that redemption is both legacy and promise: a lamp unto our feet, guiding the future of the University of Oregon and the communities it touches.