Women's History Month

A History of Women's History Month

Every year March is designated Women鈥檚 History Month by Presidential proclamation. The month is set aside to honor women鈥檚 contributions in American history.

Did You Know? Women鈥檚 History Month started as Women鈥檚 History Week

Women鈥檚 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 鈥淲omen鈥檚 History Week鈥 celebration in 1978. The organizers selected the week of March 8 to correspond with International Women鈥檚 Day. The movement spread across the country as other communities initiated their own Women鈥檚 History Week celebrations the following year.

In 1980, a consortium of women鈥檚 groups and historians鈥攍ed by the National Women鈥檚 History Project (now the National Women's History Alliance)鈥攕uccessfully 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鈥檚 History Week.

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

The National Women鈥檚 History Alliance selects and publishes the yearly theme. 


Women's History Month Resources

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See highlights from the International Women's Day Celebration on March 8, 2022.