With these numbers in mind, the National Naval Medical Center is celebrating March’s National Women’s History Month. Today, staff members are invited to attend a celebration to commemorate not only the impact women have made in society, but also within the command.

For decades, women’s history remained essentially omitted from the general public’s attention. It wasn’t until the late 1980s that Congress approved the month of March as National Women’s History Month.

‘‘Women have done so much for society,” said Lt. Benedict Baidoo, chairman of NNMC’s Multicultural Committee. ‘‘They have actually stood up and moved society forward.”

In the past, women traditionally stayed at home to fill the gaps left by men who went to war, working in the nation’s industrial field, he said.

Today, the Navy is seeking to grow the number of enlisted women from 15.8 percent to 25 percent by 2037, according to the Navy Office of Information.

For its endeavors to recruit and advance women, the Navy was the first government agency to be named a finalist for the Catalyst Award, which is presented annually to honor organizational initiatives for women’s career development.

There is much more awareness in today’s society of the contributions women have made throughout history and to society, Baidoo said.

‘‘It’s not enough to take just a month out of the year to celebrate women [in society], but at least it’s a way we can recognize [their contributions],” he said.

Today’s celebration at NNMC, sponsored by the Multicultural Committee, carries the theme ‘‘Women in Action” and will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Memorial auditorium. Committee members will present a slideshow to highlight women in their various roles throughout the command. There will also be two guest speakers, Capt. Tammy Nathan, dean of expeditionary programs at Navy Medicine Manpower, Personnel, Training and Education Command (MPT&E) at Bethesda, and Force Master Chief Laura Martinez, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) Hospital Corps director.

Every month, the committee puts together a program recognizing diversity and ethnicity at the command, he said, such as Black History Month or Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Next month, the committee will host an event to commemorate victims of the Holocaust.

‘‘It’s important to celebrate diversity because it’s what strengthens us and helps bring us together,” Baidoo said.