The Florida Commission on the Status of Women is seeking entries for the 2021 Women’s History Essay Contest for students in grades 6–8. The Commission invites students to participate in order to gain a more relevant appreciation of women’s roles in history.

“Celebrating women’s history presents the opportunity to honor and recount stories of our female leaders’ talents, sacrifices, and commitments and inspires today’s generations,” says Essay Contest Chair Commissioner Marilyn Stout. “Learning about our past allows us to build our future. This essay is designed to inspire the future leaders of our state and to help them learn about women’s history.”

This year’s contest focuses on how the events of 2020 have impacted us all. Participants are asked to write a letter to a member of the Florida Women’s Hall of Women, describing the one event of 2020 that affected them the most and how they are inspired by the member to whom they are writing to help make things better.

Winning essayists will be awarded prizes and recognized at a special ceremony at the 8th Annual LEAD Summit to be held in February 2021. All winners’ names will be released to the media and published on the Commission’s website. The deadline for entry is January 15, 2021.