Women Making History From Miami-Dade County Hall To The White House

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - March is Women's History Month, but history is currently being made from County Hall in Miami-Dade to the halls of the White House.

In fact, one local female trailblazer has dubbed 2021, the year of the woman.

Two months before Kamala Harris took the oath of office as the first female Vice President of the United States, Daniella Levine Cava was sworn in as the first woman to serve as mayor of Miami-Dade County.

"I am ready," Levine Cava said at the time. "I am ready to lead our community through this difficult chapter."

Right around the same time last November, Miami-Dade College named Madeline Pumariega as the college's fifth President - the first female to hold the title in the school's 60-year history.

"I think 2021, without a doubt at least in Miami-Dade County, seems to be the year of the woman and certainly an exciting time for breaking and shattering those glass ceilings," Pumariega told CBS 4's Lauren Pastrana earlier this month.

Beware of the falling glass in the sports world.

Kim Ng became the first female General Manager in Major League Baseball when she took the helm of the Miami Marlins organization.

"Having this high profile position, where you're out in public more, girls can see it," Ng said. "There's an adage, you can't be it if you can't see it. But I guess I would suggest to them now, now you can see it."

Last month, Sarah Thomas made Super Bowl history as the first woman to referee the big game.

"To be a part of such a strong fraternity and they let a little sister in, and I know there's going to be more women following me, just being around them, and having that experience with the Super Bowl and ranking out number 1 at your position, it's amazing," Thomas said.

Meanwhile, a record number of women are expected to serve in President Biden's cabinet.

Janet Yellen has already been confirmed as the country's first female Treasury Secretary.

Jennifer Granholm now heads the US Energy Department.

Avril Haines is the new Director of National Intelligence and Linda Thomas-Greenfield is the US Ambassador to the United Nations.

A handful of other women are awaiting confirmation to the cabinet or cabinet-level posts.

But despite all that progress, the pandemic has especially impacted working women.

Women held a majority of service jobs lost in the pandemic.

And due to the demands of remote learning, four times as many women left the workforce this fall as men, with some 3 million women leaving their jobs in the last year.

CBS Evening News Anchor recently asked President Biden about women dropping out of the workforce.

He said, "It is a national emergency. It generally is a national emergency."

Monday, March 8th is International Women's Day.

The theme this year is "Choose to Challenge" because from challenge comes change.

People are encouraged to post photos with their hands up to show their commitment to challenging inequality, calling out bias, questioning stereotypes, and promoting inclusivity.