“Her Impact Moves Us.” That’s the message featured on a specially decorated bus unveiled Friday morning by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority to celebrate Women’s History Month.
‘This bus is a tribute to the women who have helped move our community forward, women who broke barriers, women who created opportunity where none existed before, and women who lead today, and the young girls who will lead tomorrow,” said NFTA executive director Kimberly Minkel, who was joined by numerous elected leaders, representatives of some elected officials, and community leaders.
The décor includes silhouettes of numerous women, and quotes from notable figures including Rosa Parks, Louisa May Alcott, and Maya Angelou.
“It is especially fitting that a bus is the canvas for Women's History Month, as for over a century the history of women in transit has been one of grit and transformation, moving from restricted passengers to becoming the pioneers, the operators and owners of the industry,” said State Assemblywoman Karen McMahon, one of the speakers. “I'm reminded that we stand on the shoulders of giants like Elizabeth Jennings Graham, who fought for desegregating public transit in the 19th century in New York City. Helen Schultz in the 1920s in Iowa. She was known as the Bus Queen, who launched the first woman-owned bus line. And of course, civil rights icons Rosa Parks and Claudette Colvin, who turned a bus seat into a platform for justice.”
At the unveiling ceremony inside the NFTA bus garage on Michigan Avenue near Main Street, Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes was acknowledged as a pioneer, being the first African-American woman to hold her position. While acknowledging that, Peoples-Stokes suggested there are many more glass ceilings that need to be broken.
“Every time somebody says I'm the first in history, that tells you that we have to do more,” she said. “There's more moves that we have to make as a society, and that's just the political side of things.”
Sheri Scavone, chief executive officer for the Western New York Women’s Foundation, said honoring women means continuing their work. She provided some statistics suggesting more work to do.
“Women are 51 percent of the population and earn 58 percent of bachelor's degrees, but make up just over one quarter of Congress and one third of state legislatures, though we have examples here of women trying to change that. Increasing the number of women in government is essential to creating policies that reflect the experiences and needs of over half the population,” Scavone said. “Women also make up 80 percent of purchasing and healthcare decisions, and yet the pervasive pay gap between women and white men adds up to more than $18,500 lost every year for white women, every year $28,000 for black women, and more than almost $34,000 for Native American women.”
Scavone added that while women make up 47 percent of the total paid labor force, they hold only 42 percent of managerial roles, 33 percent of chief executive roles, and 11 percent of CEO roles in Fortune 500 companies.
