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The National Women's History Alliance: Annual Theme - "Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories"
Top: Toni Morrison, Maxine Hong Kingston, Jovita Idar, Maya Angelou | Middle: Gerda Lerner, Gloria Steinem, Winona La Duke, Lillian Hellman | Bottom: Betty Soskin, Willa Cather, Gertrude Stein, Marjory Stoneman Douglas
The National Women’s History Alliance, women’s history theme for 2023, “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” Throughout 2023, the NWHA will encourage recognition of women, past and present, who have been active in all forms of media and storytelling including print, radio, TV, stage, screen, blogs, podcasts, and more. The timely theme honors women in every community who have devoted their lives and talents to producing art, pursuing truth, and reflecting the human condition decade after decade.
From the earliest storytellers through pioneering journalists, a wide variety of artists and teachers have captured women’s experiences. These include authors, songwriters, scholars, playwrights, performers, and grandmothers throughout time. Women have long been instrumental in passing on our heritage in word and in print to communicate the lessons of those who came before us. Women’s stories, and the larger human story, expand our understanding and strengthen our connections with each other. Explore The National Women’s History Alliance to learn more about women’s history.
A Brief History
Every year March is designated Women's History Month by Presidential proclamation to honor women's contributions in American history.
Did You Know? Women's History Month started as Women's History Week.
Women's History Month began as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California. The Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women planned and executed a "Women's History Week" celebration in 1978. The organizers selected the week of March 8 to correspond with International Women's Day. The movement spread across the country as other communities initiated their own Women's History Week celebrations the following year.
In 1980, a consortium of women's groups and historians—led by the National Women's History Project (now the National Women's History Alliance)—successfully lobbied for national recognition. In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8, 1980, as National Women's History Week.
In March, subsequent presidents continued to proclaim a National Women's History Week until 1987 when Congress passed Public Law 100-9, designating March 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, each President has issued annual proclamations designating the month of March as "Women's History Month."
