Women’s History Month began in 1978, as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California, when the Education Task Force of Sonoma County planned a week-long event to coincide with March 8th (International Women’s Day). Women’s History Month was first recognized as a national celebration in 1981 when the US Congress passed legislation authorizing President Reagan to proclaim the week of March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” In 1987, the National Women’s History Project petitioned Congress for a month-long designation. Since 1995, the President has issued a series of proclamations designating March as “Women’s History Month."
The theme for 2025 is "Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations" which celebrates the vital sisterhood of women who are dedicated to mentoring, educating, and leading the next generation of women (National Women's History Alliance).
Learn more
Sources: US Government site, National Women’s History Museum, & National Women’s History Alliance
Asian American Feminisms and Women of Color Politics
by
Women’s History in the United States is the newest American Mosaic database, resources include primary sources and topic overviews exploring women’s contributions, perspectives, and challenges from precontact times to the present.
The Archives of Sexuality and Gender series provides a diverse collection of primary sources for the historical study of sex, sexuality, and gender. Our library has access to four collections: LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, Parts I & II; Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century; and Community and Identity in North America.
Women and Social Movements (Basic Edition) presents the history of women in social movements in the United States between 1600 and 2000.
