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"Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “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.” Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.” These proclamations celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields."
Source: Women's History Month
Visit the Smithsonian's "Because of Her Story" page and learn more about women's contributions to American history!
Abigail Adams (1744-1818) - Women Rights Advocate -- A self-educated woman, Adams held strong political beliefs. She was well- respected and her opinions were influential in government affairs before, during, and after her husband's term as president.
Maya Angelou (1928-2014) - Author/Poet -- Angelou was a novelist, poet, professional stage and screen writer, dancer, editor, lecturer, songwriter, and civil rights activist. In 1993, Angelou recited an original poem at President Clinton's inauguration, confirming her status as "a people's poet."
Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) - Women's Rights Activist, Suffragist -- Susan B. Anthony began her lifelong campaign for women's suffrage when she met Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1852. Together they organized the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869. When committed people work for justice, she said, "Failure is Impossible." The Nineteenth Amendment, passed in 1920, has been called the "Anthony Amendment" in tribute to the tireless work of this great crusader.
Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) - Educator, Presidential Advisor -- In 1904, Bethune opened a school for black girls in Daytona Beach that became Bethune-Cookman College in 1929. From 1936 to 1944, Bethune served as advisor to President Roosevelt on minority affairs. She was vice-president of NAACP from 1940 to 1955.
Helen Keller (1880-1968) - Advocate for Disadvantaged -- Despite being deaf, blind, and unable to speak, Keller became an active writer and international public speaker. Her books and lectures advocating rights for disabled people helped the public recognize the potentials of people with physical limitations.
Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) - Photographer -- Lange photographed bread lines in the depression years, living conditions of migrant workers in California in the 1930s, and documented the treatment of Japanese-Americans in WWII in the crowded internment camps. Her powerful photographic images brought public attention to inhumane conditions.
Margaret Mead (1901-1978) - Anthropologist, Author -- Mead received a Ph.D. from Columbia in 1929 after studying families in Samoa, New Guinea and other cultures, and concluding there is no "natural" assignment of gender roles. She also investigated many western cultures and wrote books about the changing roles of women and men.
Toni Morrison (1931-2019) - Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison, known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist, essayist, book editor, and college professor. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed Song of Solomon brought her national attention and won the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) - Pioneering Aviator -- In 1932, Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She also has the distinction of being the first person, male or female, to fly solo non-stop from Hawaii to California, and the first to fly solo round-trip from the U.S. to Mexico.
Jessie Benton Fremont (1824-1902) - Fremont was a writer and political activist. She was considered the brains behind her husband, John C. Fremont, and his famous exploration westward. She turned his notes into readable books and made connections in Washington, D.C., that eventually made him famous.
Nikki Giovanni (1943-) - "Poet Nikki Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on June 7, 1943. Although she grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, she and her sister returned to Knoxville each summer to visit their grandparents. Nikki graduated with honors in history from her grandfather's alma mater, Fisk University. Since 1987, she has been on the faculty at Virginia Tech, where she is a University Distinguished Professor."
Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965) - Lorraine Vivian Hansberry was a playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway. Her best known work, the play A Raisin in the Sun, highlights the lives of Black Americans living under racial segregation in Chicago.
Grace Hopper (1906-1992) - A computer scientist and Navy rear admiral, Hopper played an integral role in creating programs for some of the world’s first computers.
Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910) - Howe was a poet and author, her most famous work being “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” She was also a social activist for women’s suffrage.
Harriet Jacobs (1813-1897) - Jacobs, a writer, escaped slavery and later was freed. She published a novel, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” credited as the first to highlight the struggles of rape and sexual abuse within slavery.
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) - Humanitarian -- During her husband's presidential administration, Eleanor Roosevelt used her position as First Lady to promote reforms that helped women, minorities, and the poor. In 1948, as a delegate to the United Nations, she worked brilliantly to win passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) - Women's Rights Activist -- Known as both an eloquent speaker and a forceful writer, Stanton spearheaded the movement for equal rights for women in the United States. She formed the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869 and served as its president for 21 years.
Gloria Steinem (1934-) - Women's Rights Activist/Writer -- Steinem is a feminist activist, writer, lecturer, and editor. Her activism was inspired by time spent in India, where she witnessed both the oppression of women and the power of non-violent protest. She co-founded Ms. Magazine in 1972, and since then her writing and organizing have made her an iconic but down-to-earth figure in the women’s movement.
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) - Abolitionist, Suffragist -- Sojourner Truth was freed when New York abolished slavery in 1828. Already a forceful speaker for abolition, she attended a Women's Rights Convention in 1850 and became a strong voice for women’s rights and suffrage with her famous speech in Ohio in 1852, "Ain't I a Woman?"
Harriet Tubman (1820-1913) - Fugitive Slave, Rescuer of Slaves -- Tubman was born into slavery and fled to Philadelphia in 1849 but returned to Maryland the next year. It was then that she began the first of many Underground Railroad trips to lead family and friends to freedom using caution, skill, and subterfuge. During the Civil War, Tubman was a spy and scout for the Union. In 1896, she spoke at the convention of the American National Woman Suffrage Association convention.
Oprah Winfrey (1954-) - Advocate/Business Woman/Entertainer -- Winfrey, a businesswoman who rose to fame with her own top-rated talk show and movie production company, has become one of the most affluent and powerful women in America. Deemed the undisputed "Queen of Talk" since the mid-1980s, she is the first black woman to host a nationally syndicated weekday talk show and was worth over $1 billion by 2003.
Search Films on Demand database for more videos:
Here is a list of films on Women in the History from the Alexander Street Database.
Women of Impact - Before becoming the co-founder of the billion-dollar company Quest Nutrition, before writing the best-selling book Radical Confidence, before becoming president of Impact Theory Studios, I had ZERO confidence. I was playing small, trying to be a good Greek housewife, but totally lost myself and her hopes and dreams in the process. And so with this podcast, no matter where you are on your journey, I have gotchu covered, homie! I interview some of the most successful, inspiring, and badass people in the game to bring you the straight-up, no-BS approach to build your confidence and get you from where you are to where you want to go! So get ready for a dose of badassery! Get ready to be motivated. Get ready to be empowered to stop waiting for someone to come and save you and finally become the hero… of your own life!
Women at Work - Harvard Business Review - Women face gender discrimination throughout their careers. There's no workplace orientation session about narrowing the wage gap, standing up to interrupting male colleagues or taking on many other issues we encounter at work. So HBR editors are untangling some of the knottiest problems. They interview experts on gender, tell stories about their own experiences, and give lots of practical advice to help you succeed in spite of the obstacles.
AMA Prioritizing Equity - Prioritizing Equity illuminates how determinants of health uniquely impact marginalized communities, public health and health equity, with an eye on both short-term and long-term implications. Prioritizing Equity is produced by The AMA Center for Health Equity and hosted by AMA Chief Health Equity Officer & Senior Vice President, Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH. Listeners can earn CME while gaining valuable lessons in racial justice and health equity from leading voices in medicine and health care.
Meditation for Women - Guided meditations created for women that will inspire, calm and center you. Listen when you want to start your day with mindful intention, relieve stress or anxiety, fall asleep easier or simply tune into the wisdom of your inner voice. Each meditation is created with love to help you shine throughout all the seasons of your life. Created for those who identify as women or anyone who feels called to listen.
Feminist Survival Podcast - The podcast is something of an instruction manual on how to prioritize what matters, and how to process the mixed messages the world sends women with regard to things like parenting, weight and appearance, and work, while also encouraging listeners to seek out the right support systems and tools to help calm our weary brains.
