Women’s History Month, observed in March, is a time for honoring women’s contributions in American history. Designated for national recognition in 1988, the recognition traces its origins back to the first International Women’s Day in 1911.  

As recently as the 1970s, women’s history was virtually an unknown topic in the K-12 curriculum or in general public consciousness.

While Women’s History Month is focused broadly on the achievements of women, the National Women’s History Alliance (NWHA) has tied the annual theme to a specific critical milestone in our country’s history – women’s suffrage. 

The year 2020 marked the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which guarantees and protects women’s constitutional right to vote. Many celebrations of the centennial were cancelled or postponed due to the global pandemic, so the NWHA extended the theme, “Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silenced” to 2021.

“There have been many breakthroughs associated with the suffrage centennial, because it involved many groups and government bodies throughout the country learning about the importance of women’s history for the first time,” the NWHA said, when announcing the theme. “Now we want to push ahead to secure the progress we’ve made and ensure that multicultural women are never again overlooked in American history.”

Learn More 

To learn more about women’s suffrage, test your knowledge, view exhibits and browse books about the movement, visit the 2020 Women’s Vote Centennial Initiative. 

For more on the origins of Women’s History Month, including exhibits and collections, audio and video clips and images, visit womenshistorymonth.gov. 

To learn about the NWHA and its role in promoting year-round celebration of women’s history, visit nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org. 

 Visit the Women’s National History Museum for online exhibits, biographies, exciting firsts, live events and other resources you can explore each day during the month of March.

Visit the Women’s National History Museum for online exhibits, biographies, exciting firsts, live events and other resources you can explore each day during the month of March.

 For more ideas on celebrating Women’s History Month, visit this blog from Soroptimist International, a worldwide volunteer service organization for women who work for peace and to improve the lives of women and girls.