The month of March is designated as Women’s History Month – a time to honor women’s contributions in American history.

The month started as Women’s History Week in 1978 in Sonoma County, California, to coincide with International Women’s Day. In 1980, several women’s groups lobbied for national recognition, resulting in President Carter issuing the first Presidential Proclamation of National Women’s History Week. In 1987, congress passed Public Law 100- designating March as Women’s History Month. Women’s History Month is important because, for many years, women weren’t acknowledged in historical materials – primarily because men wrote the majority of historical documents throughout history. This month provides an opportunity to discover the important roles that women have played throughout history.

The National Women’s History Alliance has announced the theme for 2023 is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories,” with a spotlight on recognizing women who have been active in storytelling via all forms of media, including print, radio, TV, movies, and new and social media. Additionally, March 8, 2023, is International Women’s Day, when people around the world are called on to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness about discrimination and take steps to advance gender equality.

The History of Women’s History Month

Employee Spotlight

Garnette Sherry | IT Business Analyst, Varsity Spirit

Women Trailblazer Storytellers:

Alice Walker

An American novelist, short story writer, poet and activist most famous for her novel, The Color Purple, for which she won the National Book Award for hardcover fiction and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Virginia Woolf

A British novelist with a number of titles under her belt — most notably, Ms. Dalloway. Woolf was considered one of the most important modernists of the 20th-century authors. 

Dorothy Fuldheim

Became television’s first female news anchor when Channel 5 WEWS-TV in Cleveland asked her to be its nightly newscaster.

Rossana Rosado

First woman to serve as an editor and publisher of the second-largest Spanish-language newspaper in the US.

Chloe Zhao

Winner of the 2021 Academy Award for directing Nomadland. She is one of only two women to win the Oscar for directing.

Lani Wendt Young

A Samoan/Maori writer, editor, publisher and journalist. She has authored 15 books, including the best-selling Young Adult series: TELESA.

Marianne Means

A political journalist for Hearst syndications, she was the first woman appointed to be a White House Correspondent during the Kennedy presidency. Her book, “The Woman in the White House,” highlights the lives, times and influence of twelve notable First Ladies. Another fun fact, she is the grandmother of Herff Jones employee Amanda Schefter.

Celebrating Women’s History Month