The history of Women's History Month

By Kate Hangen, 2024

Published 3/29/23

This month marks the thirty-sixth year of Women’s History Month. How did this month come to be? 

Women’s History Month first started off as just a single week in March. The Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women, a group that advocates for issues impacting women to ensure positive change in public policy, first planned “Women’s History Week”. This local celebration took place in 1978 in Santa Rosa, California during the week of March 8th. The week was specifically chosen to correspond with International Women’s Day. 

Other women's organizations heard about this and integrated the celebration into their own communities. Soon Women’s History Week became a national movement. In 1980 women began to lobby for this week to be officially recognized by the federal government. Women's groups like the National Women’s History Alliance (which is still active today) led protests. In the same year, only two weeks after Women’s History Week was created, President Jimmy Carter issued a proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week.  

Presidents after Carter continued to carry out this tradition. Eventually, in 1987, Congress passed Public Law 100-9 declaring March as “Women’s History Month”. From 1988 to 1997, Congress requested each President to proclaim this month as “Women’s History Month”. 

Each year a new theme for the month is assigned by the National Women’s History Alliance. This year's theme is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories” and honors women who have been active in media like print, TV, stage, podcasts, etc.