The Origins Of Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month, a national recognition of the vital roles women have played throughout history.

This recognition began in one town in 1978 when the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women celebrated “Women’s History Week” in Santa Rosa, California. The week was chosen to include International Women’s Day, March 8.

The movement spread to other communities, so in 1980 a consortium of women’s groups and historians asked the federal government for recognition. President Jimmy Carter proclaimed the week of March 8, 1980 to be National Women’s History Week, citing in his proclamation that the “achievements, leadership, courage, strength and love of the women who built America was as vital as that of the men whose names we know so well.”

The recognition was renewed by later presidents until 1987, when Congress designated March as “Women’s History Month.”

This year’s theme is “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” which according to the National Women’s History Alliance, is “both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history.”

Learn More

To mark the recognition, Texas A&M University Press invites the campus community to explore its Women’s History Month Series.

The series features topics such as women in Texas history, the stories of female soldiers, histories of presidential first ladies, women’s suffrage, southern Black women in the civil rights movement and more.

Additionally, the College of Liberal Arts is hosting “The Second Wave: Revolutionary Women of Color” March 24-25. The March 24 event features Frances Beal, Martha Cotera and Yvonne Swan, three feminist leaders. Campus members and the public are asked to RSVP for the 5 p.m. event at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center.

On March 25, a daylong conference will highlight the influence of such women and will include graduate student panelists conducting research on “second-wave feminism” and presentations from scholars from across the country who’ve studied feminists women of color. Register here.

Empowerment

The Texas A&M Women’s Resource Center‘s First Thursday Speaker Series welcomes a variety of speakers all year long who provide advice and guidance for all campus members.

On March 3, join them on Zoom for “In the Driver’s Seat: Empowerment Through Financial Literacy.” Organizers said almost 60 percent of women globally do not engage in long-term planning such as investing, insurance and retirement. Financial advisors and professionals will facilitate a discussion on how to create a plan for the long-term. Registration is required.