Meghan Schwind first came to work at 麻豆精选 in 2013 in University Housing, where she worked for several years. After leaving the university to work elsewhere for a time, she returned to work at Kent State鈥檚 LGBTQ+ Center as assistant director.
Originally from western Pennsylvania, Schwind has family in Strongsville and it was in Ohio that she met her wife. In 2022, through a donor, Schwind and her wife recently became parents.
The continuing evolution of female roles
In light of Women鈥檚 History Month, Schwind framed some of her thoughts about the evolution of women in society through the lens of her own family. 鈥淏ack in the day,鈥 she said, 鈥渨henever we thought of the head of household, it was always the man. But in my family, that鈥檚 not the case. It鈥檚 my wife. And between the two of us with our dual income life and the fact that we didn鈥檛 need a man in our relationship to be able to start a family, we now have a 20-month-old son.
鈥淢oving forward, I think it鈥檚 going to be more normalized for female relationships and families to continue to evolve and make our own mark on women鈥檚 history.鈥
Challenges in identifying as a woman
As a woman in 2024, Schwind said that she works to evolve her family and the strength that they have in a family that鈥檚 a two-woman household. Particularly because of her work in the LGBTQ+ Center, one of the current issues she sees for people identifying as women is accepting transgender women as women.
鈥淚 think just in the United States, currently, and in Ohio specifically, there are challenges with it comes to society and accepting trans people,鈥 Schwind said. 鈥淏ut I think that will continue to move forward. I think we鈥檙e going to be working through some challenges with politics this year when it comes to 鈥榳hat is a woman?鈥 and accepting transness.鈥
鈥楾he confidence that they can do anything and be anything鈥
Confidence, Schwind feels, is one of the hallmarks of the current generation of college students. 鈥淭he confidence,鈥 she said, 鈥渢hat when they are coming to college as a first-year student, that they can do anything and be anything.鈥
She sees female students on campus breaking into careers, industries and roles that are currently, or have been historically, predominantly male-led. Schwind said, 鈥淪eeing women really taking the lead on campus, and in different leadership roles, seeing more and more women in those roles and entering those roles and seeing the confidence that has been instilled in them from a young age.鈥
Breaking into different industries
The confidence that Schwind sees in this generation of female students as they grow, she said, comes from families that are doing a great job raising them and the positive side of social media. This confidence, she said, inspires them to choose to go to college break into trades or explore fields that are traditionally male-led.
What about Gen Alpha?
Schwind has high hopes for the women of Gen Alpha as they ride on the shoulders of the evolution created by Gen Z and the barriers they continue to break through.