March is the month when we take the time to look back and honor the many achievements of women through history and the vast strides made by women today, encouraging women and girls that they can become and accomplish anything they want.
In our current political climate, Women’s History Month is also a crucial time to remind the nation and the world of women’s important work and the barriers that exist to full gender equality. In the United States, women are still fighting for rights over their bodies. In some countries, women are not considered citizens and are treated like property.
The United States’ Women’s History Month celebration is part of a larger global project that centers around International Women’s Day, March 8. A national holiday in some countries, International Women’s Day was first celebrated in 1908 in an effort to draw attention to the lack of voting rights and fair labor conditions for women. Around the globe on March 8, women came together to march and honor each other for successes that aren’t often honored the other 364 days in a calendar year.
In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980, as National Women's History Week. In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month.” Since that time every US President has issued an annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.”
Women have made a lot of history, but sometimes looking at the history books, you wouldn’t know it. This month is the opportunity to work toward changing that. Throughout the month of March, The Global Women’s Caucus and The Global Black Caucus will be highlighting women whose accomplishments might not be as well-known as they should be.
We hope you will join us in learning about and celebrating women’s accomplishments.