National Women's History Museum

by Cathy Pickles, NWHM staff member

As I write this, there are signs of Spring in my garden. A few daffodils are in bloom and visitors to my bird feeder seem to have more to say (and LOUDLY) than in the last few weeks. The earth is waking up again and there is talk everywhere of new beginnings, the setting of fresh goals and general optimism. It seems appropriate, then, that March is National Women’s History Month in the United States. I confess that I knew little about the origins of this commemoration of the lives of our foremothers and their impact on all of us until recently.

The seed of a month-long celebration of the lives and accomplishments of women was planted on March 8, 1911 with the celebration of International Woman’s Day (singular) in Europe. It was reported that over one million people observed that day in Austria, Denmark , Germany and Switzerland. The focus of this first commemoration was the fight for women’s voting rights. In 1977, the United Nations designated March 8 as the “UN Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace” also known as “International Women’s Day.” This year’s theme is, “Empower Women – End Hunger and Poverty.” Read the rest of this entry »