Women’s History Month became an official month to observe the contributions, struggles and victories of women in 1987, but began as a week of celebration. In 1978 the state of California’s Education Task Force of Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women began Women’s History Week. This celebration received such a positive response in schools around Sonoma County that in the following year more school districts throughout the United States began to create programs and projects during the week of March 8.
In 1981, Senator Orrin Hatch and Representative Barbara Mikulski co-sponsored a Congressional Resolution making the Week of March 8 (the same week in which International Women’s Day occurred), Women’s History Week. In 1987 a petition from the National Women’s History Project went to the U.S. Congress requesting to expand Women’s History Week to Women’s History Month.
Thanks to these groups, we now celebrate the contributions of women everywhere. This is the 30th anniversary of Women’s History Month. The 2010 theme is “Women Back into History. ”Visit your favorite library and pick up a book, film, or use our research tools to learn more about Women History Month.
Information on Women’s History Month:
http://womenshistorymonth.gov/