Celebrated annually in March, Women’s History Month was created to acknowledge the overlooked contributions women have made throughout history.
The celebration originated in 1978 in Santa Rosa, California. The education task force planned something called “Women’s History Week” for the week of March 8. Molly Murphy MacGregor, A cofounder of National Women’s History Alliance (NWHA) helped lead Women’s History Week to its success.
This week highlights women’s contributions to America’s history and culture.
This event was not originally an annual celebration, but communities across the country started their own celebrations of women’s history.
Later in July 1978, Gerda Lerner, an Austrian-American activist organized a 15-day conference on Women’s History. After the conference, historians and women’s activists started working together to form a national Women’s History Week.
These women had success when President Jimmy Carter declared the week of March 2 to 8 of 1980 as National Women’s History Week.
According to The National WWII Museum, Public Law 97-28 states, “Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Women’s States of America in Congress assembled, That the week beginning History Week. March 7, 1982, is designated as ‘Women’s History Week.”
Congress approved this on Aug. 4, 1981. Throughout the next few years, schools and women’s organizations began hosting their own celebrations.
Later in 1987, The National Women’s History Project petitioned that Women’s History Week should be a month. Later Congress passed Public Law 100-9 that declared March 1987 as “Women’s History Month.”
Since 1988, Congress and the president annually announce that March is Women’s History Month.
The National WWII Museum said, “According to NWHA, these proclamations celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields.”
Women’s history was overseen. As it has been left out of school text books, history classes focused mostly on men’s achievements, while women’s activism and social change went unnoticed.
Women’s History Month highlights women’s achievements, such as Rosa Parks in the civil rights movement, Marie Curie who found science discoveries that help us today and Malala Yousafzai who fought for women’s rights and women’s education.
Women’s History Month still matters because some women still face inequality today, like unequal pay. Continuing to celebrate Women’s History Month pushes us and future generations to recognize women’s achievements and continue to fight for equality.
Overall, Women’s history month is a contribution to honoring and recognizing women’s achievements and struggles throughout history.
