Women’s History Month

Since 1995, through the efforts of historians, activists, and women’s organizations across the country, March has been designated as a time to honor, acknowledge, and study women’s accomplishments throughout American history.

During Women's History Month, we expand our programming to offer new ways to engage with the stories, research, and achievements that continue to shape American history. Explore our 2026 programs and resources below, or revisit highlights from previous years.

Women’s History Month 2026

An image of people walking down a street with a sign in the background that reads "THE FIRST WOMAN'S BANK".

We Do Declare: Women’s Voices on Independence

Our oral history project We Do Declare: Women’s Voices on Independence explores when and how women have sought to increase their economic independence in the last fifty years.

LEARN MORE about We Do Declare: Women’s Voices on Independence

Event: Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Wonder Woman

Thursday, March 5, 6:30–7:30 PM

Join us for a program examining the real-world impact of the “Wonder Woman effect” and the lasting influence of this iconic figure over the last fifty years.

Event: Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: Amplifying Women’s Voices on Financial Independence

March 23, 11 AM–2 PM

Join us for a Wikipedia edit-a-thon focusing on women connected to We Do Declare: Women’s Voices on Independence, our oral history project exploring when and how women have advanced their economic independence over the last fifty years.

Event: Hidden Figures, Visible Futures: Women in Space

March 26, 6:30–7:30 PM

Join us for an engaging conversation exploring the history of women in space, the obstacles that have kept their stories hidden, and the ongoing efforts to make their contributions more visible.

Event: Women's History is American History

March 31, 5:30–7:00 PM

Join us for a Women’s History Month conversation exploring how women’s legacies are shaped and remembered, featuring Bari Helms, Reynolda Director of Archives & Library, and Catherine Allgor, PhD, historian and Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Advisory Council member.

The History of Women’s History Month

Every year since 1995, presidents have issued a proclamation designating March as Women’s History Month. But before it was Women’s History Month, it was Women’s History Week, and before that it was only a day. Explore the slides to learn more about the history of Women’s History Month and how it was established originally to combat the absence of women in educational texts and to bring women’s history into the mainstream nationwide.

A colorful poster with the three women’s faces in different colors across the center and the text “Dia Internacional de la Mujer International Women’s Day” across the bottom and “Marzo 8 March 8th” repeating across the top. — Image courtesy of the Yanker Poster Collection at the Library of Congress.

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day (March 8) has been recognized by the United Nations since 1975, but the holiday’s roots are found in early efforts in the 1900s to promote women’s rights—especially suffrage. In 1908, over 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay, and the right to vote. The following year, the first National Woman’s Day was marked with mass convenings across the U.S. Spreading from the U.S. to Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland, the first International Women’s Day in 1911 was celebrated with widely attended rallies and public events.

Black and white photo of a group of women marching through a street holding umbrellas and a banner in front of a crowd of men standing on the sidelines. — Women marching in the 1909 May Day Parade in New York City. May Day parades were held on May 1 (Labor Day) to protest for better working conditions, women’s rights, and an end to child labor. Image courtesy of the Bain News Service Collection at the Library of Congress.

International Women's Year

As deep cultural shifts emerged after World War I and World War II, women continued to collectively organize and advocate for social and legal equality. Responding to increasing pressure, the United Nations General Assembly recognized March 8 as International Women’s Day and established 1975 as International Women’s Year. From 1975 to 1977, the National Commission on the Observance of International Women’s Year established by President Ford held public hearings, organized conferences, issued two comprehensive reports with recommendations to the president, and expanded the scope of “women’s issues” across racial, economic, and political divides. Read more about International Women’s Year activities in the U.S. in this blog post.

A group of women walking in a line holding a banner that reads “Sonoma County Celebrates Women’s History Week. — A group of women from the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women marching for Women’s History Week in 1978. Image courtesy of the County of Sonoma Commission on the Status of Women.

Grassroots Efforts Create Women’s History Week

In the wake of International Women’s Year, the first known designation of Women’s History Week in the U.S. began in Santa Rosa, California, when the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women organized a “Women’s History Week” in 1978. The week of March 8 was chosen as the focal point for observance to coincide with International Women’s Day. Local activities received such an enthusiastic response that dozens of schools planned special programs for Women’s History Week.

Candid black and white photo of President Carter at a long table with papers in front of him. He is smiling and closing a pen cap. A group of women is seated at the table beside him and standing behind him clapping. — President Jimmy Carter signs proclamation creating National Women’s History Week on February 28, 1980. Photo by White House Staff Photographer Mary Anne Fackelman. Image courtesy of the National Archives Catalog, NAID: 135843911.

The First Presidential Proclamation

As the grassroots movement to officially dedicate time in March to examine women’s history, issues, and contributions gained momentum, a collection of women’s groups and historians met for the Summer Institute in Women’s History at Sarah Lawrence College from July 14 to 31, 1979. The conference was sponsored by the Women’s Action Alliance with cooperation from the Smithsonian Institution. After the conference, historians and women’s activist groups—led by the National Women’s History Project (now the National Women’s History Alliance)—successfully lobbied for a national Women’s History Week. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring March 2-8, 1980, as National Women’s History Week.

In President Carter’s message to the nation, he said, “From the first settlers who came to our shores … men and women have worked together to build this nation. Too often the women were unsung and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. But the achievements, leadership, courage, strength, and love of the women who built American was as vital as that of the men whose names we know so well.”

President Bush sits at a desk with a “Celebrating Women” banner on the front. He is surrounded by nine women in a semicircle applauding. — President George W. Bush is applauded by Mrs. Laura Bush, Cabinet members and members of Congress, at the proclamation signing for Women's History Month Monday, March 10, 2008, in the East Room of the White House in honor of Women's History Month and International Women's Day. Image courtesy of the U.S. Department of State Archive.

Federally Recognizing Women’s History Month

Throughout the next few years, Congress repeatedly passed joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week,” prompting schools and women’s organizations across the country to host events and develop educational resources about women’s contributions in American history. In 1987, in response to continued efforts by the National Women’s History Project, Congress established Women’s History Month in March as an annual federally recognized observance. Since 1995, each president has issued a proclamation calling upon the public to observe the month with appropriate activities and ceremonies and to study the contributions of women to U.S. history.

Explore Our Women’s History Month Offerings Through the Years

2025

In 2025, we launched our Discoverability Lab, a cooperative effort among historians, technologies, and the public, to bring women’s history from the margins into the mainstream. The Discoverability Lab works at the intersection of history and big data, using new technologies and approaches to explore how libraries, archives, and museums can help make women's history discoverable. Learn more about how we’re working to make it easier to find women’s stories in historical records and online.

2024

In 2024, we launched our first ever digital exhibition, Becoming Visible: Bringing American Women’s History Into Focus. This award-winning interactive digital exhibition confronts how women’s stories have been in a constant state of becoming visible in American history. Narrated by Rosario Dawson and curators from across the Smithsonian, the stories of five women are organized into themes that express how women’s history has been treated—either excluded, forgotten, almost lost, erased, or obscured—and now resurfaced. Each story comes to life through objects from the Smithsonian’s collections, archival records, recorded interviews and original illustrations and animations.