Women's History month

Women’s History, Accomplishments Celebrated Every March

Washington -- In 1981, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution establishing National Women's History Week. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month, and has since passed such a resolution every year. Congressional action is followed by a U.S. presidential proclamation declaring March as Women’s History Month.  

News Articles

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Milestones in U.S. Women’s History U.S. Women Making Strides in Education, Entrepreneurship Secretary Rice Convenes Global Forum for Women’s Justice More Women in Powerful Positions Change Public Attitudes First Lady's Remarks at International Women’s Day Celebration United States Honors Eight Female Champions of Human Rights Rice, Dobriansky Remarks at International Women’s Day Ceremony Statement by Secretary Rice on International Women’s Day Presidential Proclamation on Women’s History Month, 2008

 

Webchats and Webchat Transcripts

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• Author Ethlie Ann Vare Discusses Women Inventors   (transcript)
• "Author To Discuss the Significance of Women Inventors" on Mar 11, 00:00 - 01:00 Beijing Time
• "Ambassador Brister Discusses U.S. Support of Women Worldwide" on Mar 4, 2008

 

 

Poster Shows

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• The Road to Equality: How American Women Won the Vote
• American Leaders in Civil Rights

 

Publications

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Women in Politics The average woman in the United States — just like those in other countries — wakes each morning to a myriad of responsibilities and concerns. These concerns range from the quality of her children’s education to the stability of the family’s source of income to her ability to safely walk the streets near her home.

 

Women of Influence This collection chronicles how 21 notable American women broke new ground, some by championing equal rights for all and others by their accomplishments in fields such as government, literature, and even in war. It consists of seven mini-chapters featuring: Pocahontas, Sacagawea, Anne Marbury Hutchinson, Anne Dudley Bradstreet, Abigail Adams, Margaret Cochran Corbin, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Jeannette Rankin, Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway, a Eleanor Roosevelt, Sandra Day O'Connor, Wilma Mankiller, Clara Barton, Jane Addams, Nellie Bly, Rosalyn Yalow, Sheila C. Johnson, and Maya Lin.  (Revised November 2006)

Rachel Carson: Pen Against Poison Rachel Carson was a quiet woman who stirred extraordinary controversy that persists decades after her death. Her 1962 book Silent Spring brought worldwide attention to the harm to human health and the environment wrought by mishandling of a powerful pesticide, fomenting the environmental movement. In the 100th anniversary year of Carson's birth, this publication examines how occasionally in history a book with a powerful idea can bring about peaceful but dramatic change in a democratic society. (March 2007)

Working for Women, Worldwide: The U.S. Commitment Published to mark the 10th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration at the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, this full-color publication combines overview essays and success stories that detail U.S. achievements in helping women abroad and in the United States. Text and photos focus on the areas of education and training, health, economic empowerment, political empowerment, helping women in conflict situations, and in combating violence against women. This publication is a collaboration between the Bureau of International Organization Affairs and IIP.  (February 2005)

 

The Changing Roles of Women in the United States Although American women won the right to vote in 1920, broader   economic and social change has been a longer time coming, and the pace of progress often has been uneven. In the United States during the 1960s, there began a period of substantial social change; in women’s issues, the result was a phenomenon known as the women’s movement.

 

Women’s History Month Links

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Presidential Proclamation on Women’s History Month

President Bush issued a proclamation on March 10, 2008, noting that “America has been transformed by strong women whose contributions shaped the history of our country.”

Mrs. Bush's Remarks at USAID Celebration of International Women's Day
The first lady of the United States spoke at a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) celebration in Washington in honor of International Women’s Day.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day recognizes “the critical role women play in addressing the economic, political, and human security challenges our world faces,” Secretary Rice said March 10, 2008, at a ceremony honoring eight International Women of Courage.

Senior Roundtable for Women's Justice - March 12, 2008

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a forum on women’s justice that empowerment of women means empowerment of societies because “no country can expect to succeed with half its population sitting on the sidelines, unable to participate politically and economically.”

United Nations: International Women's Day
Since 1975, the United Nations has celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8.  The theme for 2008 is “Investing in Women and Girls.”

Bureau of the Census Facts for Features: Women’s History Month
Want facts? There are 4.2 million more females in the United States than males. This site will tell you how many American women are military veterans, and much more.

League of Women Voters
Established in 1920, this nonpartisan political organization encourages citizen participation in government, works to increase understanding of public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

Library of Congress: Women’s History Month
This site includes links to Library of Congress resources for the study of women’s history and culture, veterans’ stories, photographs and other media, and materials for teachers.

Library of Congress – American Memory Collection: Woman Suffrage
The National American Woman Suffrage Association collection consists of 167 books, pamphlets and other artifacts documenting the suffrage campaign.

Library of Congress - The Learning Page: Women’s History
This site offers annotated links to approximately 40 resources on the history of women in the United States.

National Museum of Women in the Arts
This is the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to recognizing the contributions of women artists.

National Women’s History Project (NWHP)
Every year in March, the NWHP, which was founded in 19980, coordinates observances of National Women’s History Month throughout the United States.

Places Where Women Made History
The National Park Service provides an itinerary of 75 sites in New York and Massachusetts with significance in women's history.

Women and Social Movements Today
Annotated links to some two dozen organizations doing research and advocacy on women’s issues are provided by the Center for the Historical Study of Women and Gender at the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Online Reading on Women’s Rights

Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions (1848)
This declaration, issued at the women's rights convention at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, demanded equality with men before the law, in education and employment. It was the first pronouncement demanding that women be given the vote.

Human Rights
America.gov’s online package on the United States’ efforts to defend human dignity and freedom throughout the world.

The Rights of Women and Girls (from IIP publication Principles of Democracy)
This is part of a series of one-page primers on the fundamentals of democracy, published by the State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP)

A Woman’s Right to Vote (from IIP publication Women of Influence)
This article looks at the critical roles played by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in the drive to secure equal rights for women.

Women and Leadership: A “Seismic Change” (from IIP Publication Women in Politics)
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, discusses changes in cultural assumptions about women and leadership in the United States.