The History of Women’s History

Article by Ravin Bhatia (Editor-in-Chief)

Exactly 50 years ago, the United Nations recognized March 8th as International Women’s Day (IWD), a day to honor women across the globe. So now seems like the perfect time to recap how we got there, and how that led to the creation of Women’s History Month in the U.S.

It is the early 1900s, and the fight for women’s right to vote in the United States was at full force as the 19th amendment granting women the right to vote was yet to pass. The Socialist Party of America held the first National Women’s Day in 1909, as part of their campaign for female enfranchisement. After the US took this first step, German Activist Clara Zetkin encouraged the International Socialist Congress to create an international version of the US holiday.

The first IWD was held on March 19th, 1911, celebrated by four countries: Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. As years went on, more and more countries began participating, causing the dates for this holiday to vary, so in 1921, March 8th became the official date for IWD.

More than 50 years later, the UN sponsored International Women’s Day, which exponentially grew the reach, importance, and power of this holiday around the world. Now, it is a day to promote women’s issues and rights and has been the catalyst for some of the biggest milestones in the international fight for women’s rights.

Despite the massive achievement of having IWD sponsored by the UN, many women in the US felt as though a singular day was not sufficient to bring focus on women’s rights. Feminist groups lobbied to recognize the week as Women’s History Week, to amplify lessons about women’s history in schools. In 1980, Jimmy Carter signed the first National Women’s History Week to begin that year. 

By 1986, fourteen states officially recognized March as Women’s History Month. A year later, the U.S. Congress established Women’s History Month as a national observance, with each sitting U.S. President since 1995 giving an annual proclamation to honor the impact of women in U.S. History.