Women’s History Month began in 1908 in New York City when thousands of women marched for better labor laws, conditions and the right to vote. A year later, suffragists and socialists gather in Manhattan for what they called International Women’s Day. In 1910, German Socialist Clara Zetkin introduced the International Women’s Conference in Copenhagen. The 100 women in attendance were from Germany, Austria, Denmark and Switzerland.
However, the United States did not recognize Women’s Day until 1975 when the United Nations officially started sponsoring International Women’s Day on March 8. The UN General Assembly declared that “to recognize the fact that securing peace and social progress and the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms requires the active participation, equality, and development of women, and to acknowledge the contribution of women to the strengthening of international peace and security. The day turned into a week and in 1979 it became a whole month. The United States claimed the month of March as Women’s History Month.
This year’s theme is “Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silenced.” We can look to Ida B. Wells, Ella Baker and Shirley Chisholm, who championed voting rights for women, we can look back to pioneers like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott who organized women and along with Susan B. Anthony, wrote the Declaration of Sentiments and eventually helped pass the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. Numerous other women in history made changes in our lives such as Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat on the bus and started the Civil Rights Movement; Women of World War II who worked in the factories and entered the military to help win the war; and Dr. Virginia Apgar who created the Apgar score to assess newborn babies.
Contemporary women such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Stacey Abrams whose organizational skills helped to organize 800,000 women in Georgia, turning it into an essential battle-ground state during the 2020 election; Lucille Ball, Sally Ride, Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou and Ruth Bader Ginsburg have all made tremendous contributions to the women’s movement.
There are many activities and events during Women’s History Month, from virtual field trips as outlined in The Denver Post, videos on Fox News Channel, and spotlights of women on The Talk. Elite Daily is also sponsoring 8 virtual events during the month, all which are free, to inspire and celebrate Women’s History Month. Check them out!
(Thank you Patti Mather for sharing all of this wonderful history with us!)