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Gabriel Freitas
Women’s History Month US
Women鈥檚 History Month happens in March every year. It began as a national celebration in 1981 that was held in one week. It has since grown to a full-month commemoration from 1987 onwards.
Women鈥檚 History Month is a celebration of women鈥檚 and transwomen鈥檚 contributions to arts, history, culture, society, and technology. Though it has been observed annually in the United States since 1987, Women鈥檚 History Month is also celebrated globally.
The month of March is also special for women鈥檚 celebration for another reason. International Women鈥檚 Day happens on March 8th. It is a day that was first celebrated in 1911 and was part of the reason Women鈥檚 History Month was chosen to be held in March. International Women鈥檚 day both celebrates women鈥檚 achievements and reflects on the work that still needs to be done for gender equality around the world.
March has become an important month for Women in recent decades. Source: Pixabay
There are plenty of opportunities to celebrate women and every sort of female experience in March, but that doesn鈥檛 mean we don鈥檛 celebrate and commemorate women throughout the year. 馃槈
The Importance Of Women’s History Month
The fight for women鈥檚 and trans rights has been an ongoing process throughout history. Women have fought for equality, marriage rights, education, their bodies, and even for access to the workplace.
The term feminism refers to the belief in advocating for the equality of the sexes. This means working for social, economic, and political equality for women.
Our current views of women’s and transwomen鈥檚 rights are due to the legacy of those who were politically or socially active in specific waves of history. That is why it鈥檚 so important to read and learn the history of all those who have worked for your rights! 馃
| Waves of feminism | Focus of the wave | Main theorists or figures |
| First-wave | With origins roughly in the French Revolution and the Women鈥檚 Rights Convention (1848), this wave aimed for legal issues such as women鈥檚 right to vote, property rights, and education. | Mary Wollstonecraft, Virginia Woolf, Sojourner Truth, Dorothy Day, Emmeline Pankhurst, The Suffragettes. |
| Second-wave | This wave lasted between the 1960s to the 1970s. Women fought to enter the workplace and not be confined to the roles of housewives and mothers. | Gloria Steinem, Simone De Beauvoir, Betty Friedan, Sheila Rowbotham, Germaine Greer, H茅l猫ne Cixous, and Shulamith Firestone |
| Third-wave | During the 1980s, women focused on reproductive rights and making choices over their own bodies. This wave also moved away from white, middle-class concerns to focus on experiences faced by trans people, people of color, the working class, and queer people. | Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Toril Moi, Judith Butler, Maud Ellman, Maya Angelou |
| Fourth-wave or the #MeToo movement (2017) | Though highly debated, this wave began in 2012 and focuses on female empowerment, sexual harassment, and intersectionality. Internet activism has become a prominent tool for this wave. | Roxanne Gay, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Rebecca Solnit, Malala Yousafzai, Tarana Burke. |
Intersectional feminism is an important brand of feminism today. Intersectionality focuses on the overlap of discrimination that people uniquely experience. Overlaps include gender, race, class, and sexual orientation. Intersectionality explores the ways these overlaps interact to create systems of oppression and discrimination.
If you want to read further about these waves, check out our articles below!
- Feminism
- Transfeminism
- First-wave feminism
- Second-wave feminism
- Third-wave feminism
- Intersectionality
Did you know? Martha Weinman Lear鈥檚 article 鈥楾he Second Feminist Wave: What Do These Women Want?鈥� coined the terms first-wave and second-wave in the New York Times Magazine in 1968.
Women’s History Month: 2025 Events
There are so many Women鈥檚 History Months events for you to explore, learn, and empower your bookshelves or podcast library! 馃挭If you are not sure where to start, here are some ideas of events you can attend:
- Comedy shows
- Book clubs
- A feminist festival
- History of women鈥檚 rights chats or classes
- Female-owned business conferences
- Museum and archive talks
- Support women artists by going to art exhibitions
- Women author panels
- Virtual events such as writing workshops
- Women in tech discussions
You should also check out Eventbrite for any Women鈥檚 History Month events in your local area!
Why only attend these events? You can also organise them yourself with your friends, schools or universities, or your workplace. Sometimes, sharing knowledge to empower women and learn about female experiences starts with you!
Women’s History Month: Facts
Women鈥檚 History Month and International Women鈥檚 Day have been around long enough to earn their own pub quiz category. Here are 10 facts for you to ace any Women鈥檚 History Month quiz event you find in your area!
- International Women鈥檚 day was first celebrated in 1911.
- Women鈥檚 History Month began in 1987.
- Women鈥檚 History Month has an annual theme. The first theme was 鈥楪enerations of Courage, Compassion, and Conviction鈥� in 1987.
- New Zealand was the first self-governing country that allowed women the right to vote in 1893.
- The pill was introduced in the 1960s and was seen as a revolution for female empowerment and sexual liberation.
- Ada Lovelace is considered the first computer programmer.
- The Tale of Genji (early 11th century) by Murasaki Shikibu is often considered to be the world鈥檚 first novel written by a woman.
- The first woman to achieve a medical degree in the United States was Elizabeth Blackwell in 1849.
- Katherine Johnson was a pioneering mathematician whose calculations lead to the success of the first US spaceflights.
- The first woman to run and finish the Boston Marathon in 1966 was Roberta Gibb.
Women’s History Month鈥檚 2025 Theme聽
The National Women鈥檚 History Alliance sets a yearly theme for this celebration.
The theme of Women鈥檚 History Month for 2025 is 鈥楢ccelerate Action鈥�.
The 2024 theme was 鈥�Inspire Inclusion鈥�.
Memoirs have become a popular medium for women to tell their stories. These stories are often very relatable and share some valuable insights into all sorts of female experiences. The following memoirs may contain some sensitive content. However, it is important to celebrate all women鈥檚 experiences and recognise that sharing such personal stories is empowering for these women writers too.
- Know My Name (2019) by Chanel Miller. A gut-punching and powerful Miller鈥檚 account of her sexual assault at Stanford University in 2015. The memoir is Miller鈥檚 reclamation of her story and name from the media, emerging from the label 鈥榰nconscious intoxicated woman鈥�.聽
- I Am Malala (2013) by Malala Yousafzai. This is the story of Malala Yousafzai鈥檚 activism for female education in Pakistan and the assassination attempt made by the Taliban. Malala has stood up for Education ever since and has become a prominent women鈥檚 rights figure.
- I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (1969) by Maya Angelou. Angelou鈥檚 thoughtful and vulnerable autobiography tells of her experiences of racism and sexual assault between the ages of 3 to 17. The memoir is studied today as a breakthrough of black women鈥檚 voices, cementing Angelou as a prominent women鈥檚 rights activist.聽
- My Life on the Road (2015) by Gloria Steinem. Known for being a leader of the second-wave feminism movement, Steinem鈥檚 memoir talks of her activism, travels around the world, and how the feminist movement has changed over the years.
- Becoming (2018) by Michelle Obama. An inspirational and personal memoir of Michelle鈥檚 early life, career, and time as First Lady at the White House.
- In Order to Live (2015) by Yeonmi Park. Park鈥檚 touching and provoking account explores her family鈥檚 escape from North Korea to China and her experience with human traffickers. Park now works to promote human rights in North Korea while living in the United States.
People celebrating Women鈥檚 History Month have always explored intersectional issues and rights. Source: Pixabay.
The Best Books To Read For Women’s History Month!
We at 91影视 love to read and have a list of books to share regarding Women鈥檚 History Month. Here are a few to add to your Goodreads list!
| Genre | Book and Author | Explanation |
| Fiction | The Handmaid鈥檚 Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood. | Perhaps her most famous work, Atwood鈥檚 novel explores the complexities of reproductive rights for women in a dystopian world. |
| Fiction | The Vanishing Half (2000) by Brit Bennet. | Bennet鈥檚 novel explores a complex relationship between sisters living in the United States during the 1940s and 1990s. |
| Fiction | Sula (1973) by Toni Morrison. | While any Morrison works are perfect for Women鈥檚 History Month, Sula holds a special place. The story revolves around two black women friends and the impact of racism on their community in Ohio. |
| Fiction | Kindred (1979) by Octavia Butler. | Credited as the first science fiction work written by a black woman, Butler鈥檚 pioneering work explores the impact of time-travelling to the era of slavery and meeting your enslaved ancestors. |
| Fiction | Detransition, Baby (2021) by Torrey Peters. | This novel is a sensitive look at the experiences of transwomen in the twenty-first century. |
| Poems | The Sun and Her Flowers (2017) by Rupi Kaur. | Known for her Instagram poems, Kaur鈥檚 second poetry collection explores trauma, love, and healing. |
| Poems | Ariel (1965) by Slyvia Plath. | Confessional and deeply personal, Plath鈥檚 poems are powerfully symbolic of her experiences as a woman and mother. |
| Autobiography | The Woman Warrior (1976) by Maxine Hong Kingston. | Kingston鈥檚 work mixes her life as a first-generation Chinese American with Chinese folktales. |
| Nonfiction | Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men (2019) by Caroline Criado Perez. | This pioneering work explores gender bias in data collection. |
| Nonfiction | A Decolonial Feminisim (2019) by Fran莽oise Verg猫s. | A powerful work that argues against feminists鈥� involvement in capitalism, racism, and imperialism. |
| Nonfiction | The Authority Gap (2021) by Mary Ann Seighart. | An optimistic but determined perspective that challenges the unseen biases in the workplace and everyday life. |
If you want to read further about women鈥檚 writing, check out the article on women’s fiction!
Women’s History Month: Podcasts
We also have a few podcasts for you to listen to and share with your friends! 馃帶
- Stuff Mom Never Told You by hosts Samantha McVey and Anney Reese, who talk about the challenges women have faced in history and today.
- Women Who Code is a podcast that is perfect for women who want to pursue careers in technology.聽
- The History Chicks by hosts Beckett Graham and Susan Vollenweider. This podcast introduces female figures throughout history, whether it is factual or fictional!
- The Profess-Hers Podcast by hosts Misty Wilson-Mehrtens and Allegra Davis Hanna. The hosts provide feminist perspectives on your favourite shows and movies.聽
- The Guilty Feminist by host Deborah Frances-White. The host and guests explore the question of what it means to be a feminist and whether it鈥檚 possible to be a better feminist.
Our Final Say For This Year’s Women’s History Month
Women鈥檚 History Month can be more about posting on social media to promote awareness. It is a month that can be celebrated by all genders, sexes, and bodies that want to be a part of the conversation for equal rights. It is also a time to find and create new communities, promote artists and scientists, and be at the forefront of current debates and discoveries. This month is yours to celebrate the amazing women who have made an impact on your life! 馃帀馃コ
About the author
Dr. Lily Hulatt is a University of Durham PhD graduate from Northern Ireland. Her research interests are in Historical Fiction, Postmodern Realism, and the development of Irish Diasporic Women鈥檚 Literature. In her spare time, she rows, does creative writing, and attempts ice swimming with mixed results.
Women鈥檚 History Month is an annual celebration that takes place in the month of March.
Yes! March is Women鈥檚 History Month, as well as International Women鈥檚 Day which is held on March 8th.
Women鈥檚 History Month is an important time to celebrate and recognise the incredible achievements that women and transwomen have made throughout history and today.
Women鈥檚 History Month is a month-long celebration to promote and recognise women鈥檚 achievements in history, society, the workplace, arts, sciences, and technology.
There are many different ways to celebrate Women鈥檚 History Month! Celebrating can involve attending or hosting your own events (such as a feminist festival) supporting women artists and writers at art museums or writers鈥� panels, or making social media posts to raise awareness about women鈥檚 issues. So long as you recognise and commemorate achievements made by and for women, you are good to go!
How we ensure our content is accurate and trustworthy?
At StudySmarter, we have created a learning platform that serves millions of students. Meet the people who work hard to deliver fact based content as well as making sure it is verified.
Gabriel Freitas is an AI Engineer with a solid experience in software development, machine learning algorithms, and generative AI, including large language models鈥� (LLMs) applications. Graduated in Electrical Engineering at the University of S茫o Paulo, he is currently pursuing an MSc in Computer Engineering at the University of Campinas, specializing in machine learning topics. Gabriel has a strong background in software engineering and has worked on projects involving computer vision, embedded AI, and LLM applications.
