women’s month

The passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 is one of the landmark events in the women’s rights movement, granting women in the United States the right to vote. The women’s rights movement is still going strong as women across the country, around the world and in other marginalized communities continue to face unequal socioeconomic and political treatment. International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8, seeks to empower women across the globe and commemorate past and current achievements. Women’s History Month, commemorated in the United States every March, honors the contributions of women across a variety of fields, as well as their continuous fight for equal treatment.

“We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced,” Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani women’s and human rights activist and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner, says in her autobiographical book, “I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education.”

The National Women’s History Alliance seeks to capture that sentiment with their theme for Women’s History Month this year: “Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to Be Silenced.” The theme is a continuation of 2020’s theme for the “Suffrage Centennial.” The organization, expanded from the original National Women’s History Project started in 1980, promotes women’s history and is “committed to the goals of education, empowerment, equality and inclusion,” as shared in their mission statement. Not only does the theme highlight the importance of learning about women’s history and their current accomplishments, but specifically strives to feature the intersection of women.

“Multicultural American women are overlooked in most mainstream approaches to U.S. history,” NWHA says about the 2021 theme. “The National Women’s History Alliance is determined that the important roles of multicultural suffragists and voting rights activists continue to be recognized and honored. We refuse to allow their voices to be silenced, even by a pandemic.”

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March is Women’s Month, the annually observed time when we celebrate women’s contributions throughout history. The actual celebration of Women’s History Month grew out of a weeklong celebration of women’s contributions to culture, history, and society, organized by a school district in Sonoma, California, in 1978. Presentations were given at dozens of schools, hundreds of students participated in a “Real Woman” essay contest, and a parade was held in downtown Santa Rosa. A few years later the idea caught on in other communities and in 1980 US President Jimmy Carter declared Mar 8 as National Women’s History Week.

Each year all around the world people have been celebrating women’s strength and contributions to society. Annoyingly, over the years some have turned Women’s Day into a marketing gimmick with bars pushing buy-one-get-one-free pink cocktails and shops promoting Women’s Day discounts. What message is that sending? Thanks for your contribution to society, here are some discounts because all women like cheap pink cocktails and shopping…? Um… pass!

In the past, I’ve worked for companies where HR left a rose on our desks on Women’s Day. Thanks for the sweet thought HR, but I’d much rather have equal pay and a work environment without sexist comments or harassment instead. But the flower is a nice touch…

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March is Women’s History Month and according to according to cofounder and executive director Molly Murphy MacGregor, “As recently as the 1970s, women’s history was virtually an unknown topic in the K-12 curriculum or in general public consciousness.”

In 1980, the National Women’s History Project now known as the National Women’s History Alliance (NWHA) was founded in Santa Rosa by Molly Murphy MacGregor, Mary Ruthsdotter, Maria Cuevas, Paula Hammett, and Bette Morgan to broadcast women’s historical achievements. In 1987, after being petitioned by NWHP, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March 1987 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 1988, U.S. presidents have issued annual proclamations designating the month of March as Women’s History Month. https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/our-history/. Today they are celebrating the 43rd anniversary of that historical event.

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March is National Women’s History Month, but since women are pretty historic year-round, it begs the question: Why March? Is this month significant to women’s history, or is it just an arbitrary month on the calendar?

The answer involves a little bit of history and a little bit of coincidence.

Women’s History Month, which is observed in the U.S., UK and Australia in March, and in October in Canada, began with a single day. International Women’s Day is March 8, and it has been observed in some shape or form since 1911. It was officially commemorated by the United Nations in 1975 and was officially recognized by the UN two years later.

In the 1970s, local groups and municipalities began celebrating Women’s History Week. According to the National Women’s History Museum, one of the most notable celebrations was organized in Santa Rosa, California, by the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women in 1978.

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