Sarah Harder… a woman that made a difference. And how many people truly know about her? Very few. I want to tell people who Sarah Harder is. Throughout my research I have discovered many things about Sarah Harder. This bringing me to the conclusion that my research question is Who is Sarah Harder?  There is enough information on just that. The question “What did Sarah Harder do?” has an endless amount of answers. I’ve read many different newspaper article that have explained what she was doing at the time, everyone back then knew who she was. Her impact on women should never be forgotten. Being a student at UWEC and being a woman, I take interest on who she is because she made such a difference at this school and such a difference for women everywhere.

My research has brought me to understand the awakening moment Sarah Harder had into feminism. Yes, she indeed became a feminist and never gave up in fighting for equality by the year 2000. Many students at UWEC who are a part of women’s studies look up to Sarah Harder, she still serves as president of the National Peace Foundation. This gives women over many different countries an opportunity to become something. Sarah Harder served on the National Women’s Conference Committee, and the American Association of University Women. She co-created the Choices & Challenges program for young girls giving them different career opportunities.

Sarah Harder was very involved when it came to women’s rights. She went to an endless amount of meetings and conferences. She wrote and spoke and endless amount of speeches to make a difference by the year 2000. That’s just what she did. She made a difference and given women opportunities that they never would have had without her help. Many people may not know who Sarah Harder is, but they should. She has gained my interest and I look up to her and thank her for all that she did. I would like to do further research to get a better understanding of what she accomplished. She made such big changes overall, but I’d like to dig a little deeper. Sarah Harder, is and was a hard-working and dedicated woman who never gave up fighting for equality. Women everywhere should give thanks for her successes. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the changes she made.

For my third source I have chosen a document written by Sarah Harder herself titled “Equity by 2000 Meeting the Nairobi Challenge”. I chose this source because it helps explain where Sarah Harder wanted to go and what she wanted to change by the year 2000. She put her heart and her soul into the women’s movement and wanted to make a change. That is just what she did.

Attending many different forums and meetings, Sarah wanted to prove to the people what women not just in one city but everywhere, deserved equality. This document explains her experience to Nairobi Kenya where she attended a forum. This forum helped women gain confidence and showed their maturity. They wanted to prove that women were just as good as men. In this document Sarah tells how the Nairobi Challenge was indeed a challenge. Yet fighting for equal rights was going to be a long road, but Sarah Harder would not give up. She states the it’s overwhelming and won’t be easy. But she never doubts her self for a second that Equity by the year 2000 would be met.

Sarah had many experiences at forums and with her experiences she came up with a new plan. This plan was designed to build a new political base for the feminization of power. To be most effective the power base would need three components. It would need active collaboration among increasing numbers of women in elective and appointive office. Next on the outside of the government they would need networks of advocacy organizations that support good public policy decisions. And last, inside the government they would need an agency responsible to executive and legislative branches, which assures effective implementation and program delivery. This would all be accomplished.

At the end of her document Sarah states that leaders show others how something can be done. Its 1986 and she has not a doubt in her mind that equity would be met in just 14 years. She is persuasive on getting others to jump onto her bandwagon and give women equal rights. This is accomplishes. It’s all starting to make sense now… Sarah Harder made a huge impact in the women’s rights movement. She never gave up.  This document is a bit confusing because it was then and not now. I’m hoping that I can find something that explains all that she accomplished before my explanatory essay. This helps me know who she was and partially what she accomplished. At least what she wanted to accomplish. Now what did she accomplish at UWEC? That’s my next step.