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Recognizing
Women's History
Around 70 years later, a group of women formed an education task force in Sonoma County, California, to bring attention to the fact that women’s history was not being included in K-12 school curriculums. On March 8, 1978, the group kicked off Women's History Week. After women's organizations campaigned for recognition, in 1980, President Jimmy Carter declared the week of March 8 Women's History Week nationwide. By 1986, 14 states had named the entire month of March Women's History Month, according to the National Women’s History Alliance. In March 1987, years of lobbying paid off when Congress legally declared March Women's History Month to honor the contributions of women in history, culture and society.
International Women's Day
First celebrated on March 19, 1911,
International Women’s Day was inspired by National Women’s Day, which was organized by the Socialist Party of America and observed on February 28, 1909, in New York City when thousands of women marched in Manhattan demanding equal pay and safer working conditions. By 1911, it had expanded to an international celebration that spread through Europe as part of the socialist movement. In 1913, March 8 was named the permanent annual date
for the observation of International Women’s Day.
A Worldwide Celebration
Since 1987, the National Women's History Alliance has selected an annual theme for Women’s History Month. The 2022 Women’s History theme, “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” speaks to what women have been doing for decades at a time when those things are more important than ever as we recover from a two-year global pandemic. The theme is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers and a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history.
Women as Caregivers
It’s hard to imagine now, but until Congress passed the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, women were not allowed to get credit in their own name. Today, a gender pay gap persists, with women earning only 83 cents for every dollar a man makes, according to a 2021 National Women’s Law Center report. While inequality and sexism are still very much alive, women have made great strides in spite of them. For example, women make up 27% of Congress, more women are earning college degrees than men (59% vs. 50%), women make up 58% of the labor force and more than 30% of all businesses today are owned and run by women.
The Struggle
and the Opportunity
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Why Do We Recognize Women’s History Month?
Here’s why we celebrate
Women’s History Month
and everything you need
to know about it.
The first Women’s History Day took place
February 28, 1909, in New York City.
It commemorated the one-year anniversary of
the garment workers’ strikes when 15,000 immigrant women marched through lower Manhattan to protest their unsafe working conditions and unfair pay. Most of them were teens who worked 12-hour days. In one factory, employees were reportedly only paid $15 a week. When a factory burned down and 145 workers were killed two years later, it forced lawmakers to finally pass legislation to protect factory workers.
Early Beginnings
In February 2020, the U.S. House passed the Smithsonian Women’s History Act to establish a women’s history museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. As part of its “Because of Her Story” American Women’s History Initiative in preparation for the future Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, the Smithsonian is currently “researching, disseminating and amplifying the histories of American women” who have helped shaped the country. The Smithsonian is currently determining a site for the future museum.
A Long
Overdue Recognition
Women’s History Month is recognized throughout the world. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. In Canada, Women’s History Month began in 1992 and is celebrated in October to coincide with the Persons Case, which established that Canadian women have the same right as men to serve in positions of political power. Women's History Month was first celebrated in Australia in 2000. Events are also held in China, Germany, Japan, Russia, Ukraine and African nations.
