March is National Women’s History Month and the theme for this year is “Women Pioneering the Future.”
The website for the National Women’s History project states that, “Our 2003 theme, “Women Pioneering the Future”, incorporates both pioneering women from U.S. history, who led and won struggles for equality and civil rights, created and advanced educational and professional opportunities, and made great contributions to the arts, sciences, and humanistic causes, and innovative women of today who further these efforts and continue to expand the frontiers of possibility for generations to come.”
In 1992, a national study found that history texts devote only two to three percent of their total content to women, which is not an accurate representation of women’s influence on historical events. Recognition of girls need for role models is what led to the establishment of National Women’s History Month.
National Women’s History Month started out as a “Women’s History Week” for Sonoma County in California in 1978. The Education Task Force of Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women created the celebration because women’s history was a virtually unknown topic in the public schools.
According to the NWHP website, the week became an important way to recognize and celebrate women’s historic accomplishments. Because Women’s History Week became popular and widely recognized on a national level, President Jimmy Carter issued a Presidential message in March of 1980, urging the American people to recognize and celebrate the historical achievements of women.
Finally, in 1987, the NWHP successfully petitioned Congress to make the entire month of March a national celebration of women’s history.
Today, National Women’s History Month is widely celebrated and recognized. In a Presidential Proclamation, George W. Bush said, “This month, as we celebrate remarkable women in our Nation’s past, I encourage all citizens to recognize the countless American women whose efforts continue to enhance the economic, social, and cultural life of our great Nation.
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