National Womenâs History Month
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What is National Women's History Month?
National Women's History Month is an honorary observance in the United States during March that recognizes women's accomplishments throughout history. It began in 1987 when the U.S. Congress designated the month to focus on the role of American women in history, a role that has been consistently overlooked and undervalued.
The National Womenâs History Alliance (NWHA), formerly the National Womenâs History Project (NWHP), played a significant role in expanding the observance to the entire month. The NWHA provides suggestions for community organizing, celebrations, and increasing awareness about womenâs issues.
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When is National Women's History Month celebrated in the United States?
National Women's History Month is an honorary observance celebrated each March in the United States. The U.S. Congress officially designated it in 1987 to recognize the often overlooked accomplishments of women throughout history. Various organizations mark the month by promoting events that highlight women's achievements. The observance evolved from International Women's Day and Women's History Week. By 1986, 14 states recognized March as Women's History Month, leading to federal recognition the following year.
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Why was National Women's History Month created?
National Womenâs History Month is an honorary observance every March in the United States, designated in 1987 by the U.S. Congress, to recognize women's accomplishments throughout history. It recognizes the often-overlooked role of American women in history, with libraries and communities hosting events that highlight women's achievements.
The concept evolved from International Womenâs Day, conceived in 1910 to focus on working women's struggles. By the 1970s, American feminist groups had extended International Womenâs Day to Womenâs History Week to amplify womenâs history in schools. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter designated the first National Womenâs History Week. The observance expanded to the entire month of March, and in 1986, 14 states recognized it; the U.S. Congress established Womenâs History Month as an annual, federally recognized observance the following year.
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How do schools and communities observe National Women's History Month?
During National Women's History Month, schools and communities across the United States engage in various activities to honor women's contributions. These include classroom learning initiatives, political speeches, and television specials. Libraries and communities organize special events that highlight women's achievements, and the National Women's History Alliance (NWHA) provides resources for community organizing, such as local celebrations, regional women's halls of fame, and media stories about women's history. The NWHA also offers resources for educators, librarians, media outlets, local groups, and corporations to raise awareness about women's issues.
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Which important women are often celebrated during this month?
During National Womenâs History Month, the U.S. recognizes women's accomplishments throughout history. This month-long observance, designated by Congress in 1987, highlights the often-overlooked roles of American women.
Many women have redefined the political landscape, such as Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president, and Jeannette Rankin, the first female member of Congress. These women paved the way for other trailblazers such as Shirley Chisholm, Margaret Chase Smith, and Kamala Harris.
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How has National Women's History Month changed over time?
National Women's History Month started as a local effort in 1978 in Sonoma County, California, as Women's History Week to recognize women's contributions throughout history. In 1981, a U.S. congressional resolution proclaimed the week including March 8 as National Women's History Week. By 1986, 14 states recognized March as Women's History Month, and the next year, the U.S. Congress established it as an annual, federally recognized observance celebrated with events. Since 1995, each U.S. president has issued a yearly proclamation honoring women's role in American history.
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National Womenâs History Month, honorary observance of the month of March in the United States, as designated in 1987 by the U.S. Congress, in recognition of womenâs many accomplishments throughout history. A variety of agencies, schools, and organizations observe the month by focusing on the âconsistently overlooked and undervaluedâ role of American women in history. Libraries and communities promote special events that emphasize the achievements of women. Similar monthlong observances occur in other countries.
A common myth holds that the significance of the month of March for womenâs history dates to the mid-19th century, when a group of female garment workers in New York City staged a protest on March 8, 1857, to demand better working conditions and pay. According to this story, the police aggressively halted the demonstration, but several years later the determined women formed their own union. However, no record of this demonstration exists in contemporary newspapers. The myth was likely created to soothe concerns regarding the observanceâs actual origin.
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In 1908 a branch of the New York City Social Democratic Womenâs Society declared that the last Sunday in February would be celebrated as National Womanâs Day. The observance was first held on February 28, 1909, in New York City. However, the better-known precursor to Womenâs History Month was International Womenâs Day, which was created in 1910 at the Second International Socialist Womenâs Conference and first observed on March 19, 1911. Led by German social democratic activist Clara Zetkin, the women of the conference intended International Womenâs Day to focus on the struggles of working womenâin contrast to the mainstream feminist movement, which the socialists associated with the bourgeoisie. The March 8 date became official in 1921 when Zetkin, by then a communist, proposed it in honour of a strike led by women workers in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) on March 8 (February 23, Old Style), 1917, that marked the beginning of the Russian Revolution. The myth of the U.S.-based garment workersâ protest originated in a 1955 issue of the French daily newspaper LâHumanitĂ©. It was readily embraced, in part because it allowed American women living amid Cold War tensions to celebrate International Womenâs Day without acknowledging its socialist and communist associations.
In 1978 the schools of Sonoma county, California, designated March as Womenâs History Month as a means of examining womenâs history, issues, and contributions. The idea gained momentum, and in 1981 a U.S. congressional resolution proclaimed the week including March 8 to be National Womenâs History Week. In 1986 the National Womenâs History Project (later known as the National Womenâs History Alliance) played a significant role in expanding the observance to the entire month of March.
Other countries soon adopted similar monthlong events. In 1992 Canada began celebrating Womenâs History Month, which had been set for October to commemorate the resolution of the so-called Persons Case. That month in 1929 the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of Great Britain (then Canadaâs highest court of appeal) ruled that the meaning of the term âqualified personsâ in Canadian constitutional law had never been explicitly limited to âmen.â That decision, which reversed an earlier ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada, meant that the dominionâs governor-general was legally entitled to appoint female senators. In March 2000 Australia began holding its own Womenâs History Month.
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