Author of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility and more.
American physician who worked to educate women about their bodies.
Computer scientist who helped invent English programming languages.
Served as Secretary of Labor under George W. Bush, first Asian American woman to serve in a presidential cabinet.
Author of The Second Sex, a book that paved the way for modern feminism.
Political activist and famous leader in the women's and Black Power movements.
Learn More via WomensHistoryMonth.gov
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.
A Proclamation on Women's History Month (2022) [The White House]
Every March, Women's History Month provides an opportunity to honor the generations of trailblazing women and girls who have built our Nation, shaped our progress, and strengthened our character.
Throughout history, despite hardship, exclusion, and discrimination, women have strived and sacrificed for equity and equality in communities nationwide. Generations of Native American women were stewards of the land and continue to lead the fight for climate justice. Black women fought to end slavery, advocate for civil rights, and pass the Voting Rights Act. Suffragists helped pass the 19th Amendment to the Constitution so that no American could be denied a vote based on sex.
This Women's History Month, as we reflect on the achievements of women and girls across the centuries and pay tribute to the pioneers who paved the way, let us recommit to the fight and help realize the deeply American vision of an equal society where every person has a shot at pursuing the American dream. In doing so, we will advance economic growth, our health and safety, and our Nation's and the world's security.
|
1848 |
The Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention organized by women is held in New York. The convention has 300 attendees, including organizers Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. |
|
1849 |
Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman to graduate from medical school and become a doctor in the United States. She graduated from Geneva College in New York with the highest grades in her class. |
|
1851 |
Sojourner Truth, a former slave turned abolitionist and women's rights activist, delivers her famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech at the Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. |
|
1869 |
The legislature of the territory of Wyoming passes America's first woman suffrage law, granting women the right to vote and hold office |
|
1869 |
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, which coordinated the national suffrage movement. |
|
1916 |
Margaret Sanger opens the first birth control clinic in the United States in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Her clinic was deemed illegal under the "Comstock laws" which forbade birth control, and the clinic was raided days after opening. Due to legal threats, she eventually closed the clinic and founded the American Birth Control League in 1921—the precursor to Planned Parenthood. |
|
1917 |
Jeannette Rankin, of Montana, an activist with the National Woman Suffrage Association, is sworn in as the first woman elected to Congress as a member of the House of Representatives. |
|
1920 |
The 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is ratified, declaring "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." |
|
1932 |
Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman, and second pilot ever to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic. |
|
1955 |
Black seamstress, Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, AL, helping to launch the civil rights movement. |
|
1960 |
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves the first commercially produced birth control pill in the world, allowing women to control when and if they have children. Margaret Sanger initially commissioned "the pill" with funding from heiress Katherine McCormick. |
|
1963 |
President John F. Kennedy signs into law the Equal Pay Act, prohibiting sex-based wage discrimination between men and women performing the same job in the same workplace. |
|
1964 |
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act into law, of which Title VII bans employment discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, or sex. |
|
1966 |
Betty Friedan, author of 1963's The Feminine Mystique, helps found the National Organization for Women (NOW). |
|
1972 |
President Richard Nixon signs into laws Title IX of the Education Amendments, which states "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." |
|
1973 |
In its landmark 7-2 Roe v. Wade decision, the U.S. Supreme Court declares that the Constitution protects a woman's legal right to an abortion. |
|
1973 |
Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in "The Battle of the Sexes" tennis exhibition match. |
|
1981 |
Sandra Day O'Connor is sworn in by President Ronald Reagan as the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. |
|
1983 |
Sally Ride became the first American woman in space when she flew ont he Space Shuttle Challenger. |
|
1984 |
Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale names U.S. Rep. Geraldine Ferraro of NY as his running mate, making her the first woman vice president nominee by a major party. |
|
1993 |
Janet Reno is nominated by President Bill Clinton and sworn in as the first female attorney general of the United States. |
|
1994 |
Clinton signs the Violence Against Women Act as part of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, providing funding for programs that help victims of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, stalking, and other gender-related violence. |
|
1997 |
Madeleine Albright is nominated by President Bill Clinton and sworn in as the nation's first female secretary of state. |
|
2007 |
U.S. Rep Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) becomes the first female speaker of the House. In 2019, Pelosi reclaims the title, become the first lawmaker to hold the office two times in more than 50 years. |
|
2013 |
The U.S. Military removes a ban against women serving in combat positions. |
|
2016 |
Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman to receive a presidential nomination from a major political party. |
| 2021 | Kamala Harris is sworn in as the first woman and first woman of color vice president of the United States. |
