March 1st kicked off the start of National Women’s History Month! The entire celebration started with a small commemoration of a meet-up between socialists and suffragists in Manhattan on February 28th, 1909. The commemoration was titled “International Women’s Day,” although barely any countries actively recognized it.
In 1910, German activist Clara Zetkin suggested the recognition of International Women’s Day at an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, Denmark. There were seventeen countries attending the conference and they all collectively agreed to take part in the international recognition. On March 8th in the following year, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark celebrated their first “Women’s Day.” In 1975, the United Nations also began to recognize the event, which brought the celebration over to the United States.
Organized by the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women, Women’s Day became “Women’s Week” in the town of Santa Rosa, California. This week was set to be on the week of March 8th to correspond with Women’s Day. As time went on, the movement began to spread all around the United States.
In 1980, a consortium of women’s groups and historians, all led by the National Women’s History Alliance, lobbied for national recognition for this important event. In February 1980, Former President Jimmy Carter issued a Presidential proclamation declaring the recognition of National Women’s Week. “From the first settlers who came to our shores, from the first American Indian families who befriended them, men and women have worked together to build this nation,” began President Carter. “Too often the women were unsung and sometimes contributions went unnoticed. But 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.”
In 1987, Congress passed Public Law 100-9, which declared March as Women’s History Month. Each president since 1995 has declared annually that March is Womans History Month. Every year, the National Women’s History Alliance chooses a theme for the commemorated month. This year, the theme will be “Women who advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion.”
Throughout the month, there are other Women’s History dates to remember such as the first major march by suffragists in Washington D.C on March 3, 191, and the Equal Rights Amendment ratification date on March 22, 2023. There are many reasons to celebrate women, whether it be for their historical accomplishments or their nurturing nature; March is the perfect month to celebrate everything women have to offer.
