ORIGIN OF WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

Women's History Month is observed during the month of March, celebrating and acknowledging the contributions women have made to history, culture and society. Women’s History Month began as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California. The Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women planned and executed a “Women’s History Week” celebration in 1978. The organizers selected the week of March 8 to correspond with International Women’s Day. Women’s History Week was celebrated in Santa Rosa through presentations at local schools where students had the opportunity to participate in an essay contest on “Real Women” followed by a parade in downtown Santa Rosa to celebrate.

The movement ultimately spread across the country as other communities initiated their own Women’s History Week celebrations the following year. In 1980, a consortium of women’s groups and historians - led by the National Women’s History Project (now the National Women's History Alliance) - successfully lobbied for national recognition. In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8th 1980 as National Women’s History Week. 

Subsequent Presidents continued to proclaim a National Women’s History Week in March until 1987 when Congress passed Public Law 100-9, designating March as “Women’s History Month.” Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, each president has issued annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.”

While there are countless notable women in history who have accomplished great things, some examples of women who are often celebrated during Women’s History Month include Rosa Parks who helped to start the Civil Rights Movement by refusing to give up her seat to a white man, Hillary Clinton who was the first woman to be nominated for President by a major political party, Kamala Harris who is the first black woman to be elected and serve as the Vice-President of the United States, Sandra Day O’Connor who was the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, Barbara Jordan who was the first Black Woman to be elected into Congress from a southern state (Texas), and  Mae C. Jemison who was the first Black Woman in Space, just to name a few.

There are many ways to support Women’s History Month including reading books and watching movies created by and/or for women and also donating to organizations such as: Girls Inc., Women for Women International, UltraViolet, Girls Who Code, etc.