Women's History Month

Overview

March is  Women’s History Month! This month serves as a time to honor the achievements and contributions that women of all backgrounds have made throughout the history of the United States, both by remembering those who paved the way in the struggle for gender equity in the United States, and by recognizing the history-makers and barrier breakers of today. 

In 2024, the theme for Women’s History Month is “Women Who Advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” which recognizes women throughout the country who understand that, for a positive future, we need to eliminate bias and discrimination entirely from our lives and institutions.” The theme of International Women’s Day, which takes place on March 8 each year, is “Inspire Inclusion,” which “encourages everyone to recognize the unique perspectives and contributions of women from all walks of life, including those from marginalized communities.”

As New Yorkers, both the city and state where we live are rich with women’s history; in the mid-1800s, for example, the first female doctor in the United States, Elizabeth Blackwell, founded her practice in New York City called the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. Later, as the fight for women’s right to vote ramped up across the country, New York City served as the headquarters for the National American Woman’s Suffrage Association. In fact, many of the most prominent suffragists lived and worked in our state, including at the now-famous Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. Women continued to make history in NYC after the 19^th Amendment was passed, as female authors, artists, and musicians came to prominence during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and 30s, like sculptor Augusta Savage and Broadway performer Florence Mills. Then, in the 20th century, many leaders of the second wave feminist movement called New York City home as they renewed the fight for equal rights for women, including journalist and activist Gloria Steinem, and Congresswomen Bella Abzug and Shirley Chisholm, who both represented parts of New York City during their time in office.

This March, we honor the accomplishments and legacies of these women, along with the countless others who shaped our city, state, and country as we have done each year since the first nationwide recognition of Women’s History month in 1987, though even before that official recognition, people across the country promoted the importance of women’s history. In fact, the origins of the monthlong celebration we have today can be traced back to California; it was there that the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission of the Status of Women organized the first ever Women’s History Week in 1978, with the dates in March chosen to correspond with the existing celebration of International Women’s Day. Just a few years later, organizers pushing for national recognition of Women’s History Week succeeded in their efforts, when then-President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation recognizing Women’s History Week nationwide for the first time from March 2–8, 1980. In that proclamation, he wrote that, since the earliest days of our country’s history, “men and women have worked together to build this nation. Too often the women were unsung, and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. But the achievements, leadership, courage, strength, and love of the women who built America was as vital as that of the men whose names we know so well.”

In addition to his own words, President Carter also quoted historian Gerda Lerner in that proclamation: “Women’s history is women’s right—an essential, indispensable heritage from which we can draw pride, comfort, courage, and long-range vision.” By continuing to recognize Women's History Month year after year, we honor Lerner's message: that understanding the context and significance of women’s stories and accomplishments, as well as the long history of women’s activism and the fight for universal rights, is central to the education of all Americans.

We encourage you to attend the events and exhibitions and explore the resources shared on this page to engage with Women's History this month and all year round.

Events, Exhibitions, and Places to Visit

There is plenty to do throughout March to celebrate women’s history across all five boroughs. Whether it’s family activities at your favorite museum, educational programs for our teachers, or touring the fascinating historical sites that are right in our backyard, we hope you will take advantage of the events, exhibitions, and places to visit all month long.

Events

• No matter how you want to commemorate Women’s History Month, the New York Public Library has something for you: fun arts and science crafts, movie nights, story times, and more will keep your family busy all month long.
• In addition to Women's History Month, March also marks the start of the spring season! If you're looking to get outside to celebrate, check out the NYC Parks Women's History Month events happening across the city.
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art is celebrating Women’s History Month this year with educational opportunities and family programming all month long.
• On Saturday, March 2, 2024 from 1–4 p.m., kids and teens can attend the Women’s History Month edition of “Hands on History” at King Manor! This year, learn about Miss Cornelia’s Flower Guild with a fun craft.
• The Intrepid Museum will be hosting their 10th Annual Girls in Science and Engineering Day on Saturday, March 12, 2024, from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Free for NYC students and families, this event will feature hands-on experiences, exciting demonstrations, captivating discussions, and more.
• The Tenement Museum is hosting two free, special virtual tours during the month of March:
  • On Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at 6:30 p.m.,  explore the story of Joseph and Bridget Moore, Irish immigrants who arrived in New York in the 1860s and were one of thousands of families that lived in the tenement at 97 Orchard Street.
  • On March 28, 2024, at 6:30 p.m., join the museum for “Contraceptives and Controversies,” which will delve into the complex history of birth control from the 1870s into the 1930s.
• As a part of their Hidden Voices of New York City programs, the Museum of the City of New York will host a virtual workshop session for Women's History Month during which students in grades 3–5 will learn about three women whose stories have too often been “hidden” from the traditional historical record: Dr. Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, Emily Roebling and Elsie Richardson. 

Exhibitions

• The First But Not Last – Women Who Ran for President virtual exhibit highlights the women in our nation’s history who took on the challenge of advancing society’s progress towards an inclusive vision of the American presidency. Though these women were the first to announce, the first to campaign, the first to raise money, or the first to win a primary, they will not be the last.
• Explore online exhibits from the National Women’s History Museum, ranging from the stories of women who broke barriers in the United States, from Olympians to NASA engineers.
• Girlhood, It’s Complicated, an exhibit from the National Museum of American History, commemorates the anniversary of women’s suffrage by exploring the concept of girlhood in the United States, but also how girls changed history in five areas: politics, education, work, health, and fashion. This exhibit argues that girlhood has an unexpected and complicated history, and that girls, like suffragists, used their voices to make a difference. Explore this exhibit via a self-guided interactive online tour.
• The Library of Congress has a huge range of  Women’s History Month Exhibits dealing with a number of different topics and time periods.
• Learn more about “Belle da Costa Greene and the Women of the Morgan” with a virtual exhibit from the Morgan Library and Museum. Greene was J. Pierpont Morgan’s librarian and the first director of the institution, and her letters and other objects from the collection “offer insight into how she maneuvered in a world of books and manuscripts dominated by men.” The Morgan Library also has many other interesting virtual exhibits on women writers and poets—including Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Gwendolyn Brooks, Emily Dickinson, and Beatrix Potter—all of which may be of particular interest during Women’s History Month.
• Visit the current installations at the Center for Women’s History at the New-York Historical Society, including: 
  • “Women Who Preserved New York City” (on display through June 9, 2024) explores the lives and legacies of three women who spearheaded New York City’s postwar historic preservation movement, and galvanized communities to save historic buildings and places.
  • “Women’s Work” (on display through July 7, 2024) showcases approximately 45 objects that demonstrate how “women’s work” defies categorization.
  • The ongoing “Women’s Voices” installation, which tells the story of activists, scientists, performers, athletic champions, social change advocates, writers, and educators through video, audio, music, text, and images.

Places to Visit

• Women’s history is all around us: explore public art and monuments across all five boroughs dedicated to women and made by women or learn about the history of local parks that are named for women.
  • Can’t get enough of NYC parks? Take a stroll on the Women’s History Walk through Central Park.
• As one of the stops along the Women’s Heritage Trail that crosses the entire state, the Alice Austen House Museum honors the life and work of the Staten Island native, who would become one of the first female photographers to work outside the studio and paved the way for women artists of the 20^th century
• The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation has highlighted the remarkable number of people and places in the neighborhood that were notable in the fight for women’s right to vote on their Women’s Suffrage History Map.
• For sites in Manhattan honoring women who lived and worked there, check out the Manhattan Women’s History Map of Milestones, created by the Manhattan Borough President’s Office.
• The Monumental Women Virtual NYC Women’s Rights History Trail also highlights historic places throughout the five boroughs where women’s history was made.

Many of these books are readily available through the citywide Digital Library on Sora, which provides free access to hundreds of digital e-books and audiobooks for our students. You can also check out Sora's Feminism is For Everyone Collection, which has many more suggestions of books to read this month, and all year-round. In addition, the New York Public Library also has some great recommendations in their reading list, Who Runs the World: Celebrating Women in March with Books for Kids & Teens.

Video and Audio Resources

• Watch “American Masters: Unladylike,” a series which tells the stories of extraordinary American heroines from the early years of feminism. Unladylike2020 is a multimedia series consisting of a one-hour special (Unladylike2020: The Changemakers) and 26 digital short films featuring courageous, little-known and diverse female trailblazers from the turn of the 20th century. For more, check out PBS’s other recommendations for things to watch during Women’s History Month.
• Hear from history-making women themselves as they tell the stories of how they fought for justice and equality with the collection of “Revolutionary Women” TedTalks For more, check out TedEd’s Animations to Watch During Women’s History Month and Lessons About Awesome Women in History.
• The Women’s History Minute is an informational 1-minute video series developed by the Women’s History Museum providing bite-sized primers on important figures and movements of women’s history, such as Ida B. Wells, Grace Hopper, Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu, and more.
• From education reform to universal suffrage, abolition, and temperance, the United States in the 19^th Century is often remembered as a period of reform. For an overview of the many movements that had major impacts on the lives of American women, and the activists who worked tirelessly to bring about change, check out the Crash Course US History episode on Women in the 19^th Century.
• Learn about the women who make, appear in, collect, and took care of art in The Frick Museum’s collection commemorating the one-hundredth anniversary of suffrage in 2020 with their video series honoring their life and work called “What’s Her Story?”
• Listen to In Their Own Words oral histories featuring the stories of remarkable women like civil rights activist Mrs. Willie Pearl Mackey King and the real-life “Rosie the Riveters” of World War II.

Educator Resources

• The  National Educator’s Association has put together a comprehensive list of resources and lessons to use during Women’s History Month in the classroom.
• Explore the resources and information in Because of Her Story, part of the Smithsonian’s American Women’s History Initiative. This digital collection of documents, artifacts, and more help tell the stories of history-making women who helped shape the United States as we know it today.
• Women and the American Story (WAMS) is a free curriculum website from the New-York Historical Society which offers educational resources that “illuminate diverse women’s contributions to the American past.” For more, check out all of the resources from the Historical Society’s Center for Women’s History.
• The  Zinn Education Project provides several Women’s History resources, including teaching guides, films, book recommendations, and more, free on their website.
• From the National Women’s History Alliance, explore their “Education Connection” resource guide, which contains documentaries, curriculum materials, and more, with a particular focus on suffrage and the fight for equal rights.
• For more on the suffragists, the Susan B. Anthony Museum and House has a large number of resources for teachers across all grade levels. This also includes discussions about the complicated legacy that Anthony leaves behind, which is expanded on further by the Teaching History and Ourselves lesson, The Racial Divide in the Women's Suffrage Movement.
• From lessons on Shirley Chisholm and other women who have run for office in the United States, the history of the Equal Rights Amendment, or an examination of intersectionality in women’s activism, the Beyond Suffrage lesson plans from the Museum of the City of New York will provide students with a look at women’s history outside of Seneca Falls. For more from MCNY, check out their resource guide on Women’s Labor Activism in New York City in connection to their “Activist New York” exhibition.
• Facing History and Ourselves has a large number of Women’s History Month resources available online: from their  insightful blog posts to their mini-lessons and more, you’ll find everything you need about what and how to teach these important subjects.
• The Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History has a wide range of digital resources available through their “History Now” collection—their lessons deal with topics from 1620 to the present.
• Learning for Justice has a number of relevant lesson plans to use for Women’s History Month, including “Female Identity and Gender Expectations,” which tackles the barriers that limit girls’ and women’s opportunities and asks students to explore how those barriers can be dismantled, and “Beyond Rosa Parks: Powerful Voices for Civil Rights and Social Justice,” which explore the stories of female civil rights activists whose names you might not know.
  • Learning for Justice also has resources to Honor Trans Women During Women’s History Month, that will help educators and students to embrace inclusivity in the classroom this March.
• Dive into the New-York Historical Society’s new Women & the American Story unit “Expansions and Inequalities, 1820-1869,” which explores the role and expectations of women evolved rapidly in the mid-19th century, and how the experiences of women in this period varied widely based on race, class, age, gender identity, and geographic region.
• In 2022, the United States celebrated 50 years of Title IX, the revolutionary law that protects people from discrimination based on sex in educational programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. High school students can learn more about what Title IX does, the history of the bill, and the ways that it continues to have an impact today with a lesson plan from C-SPAN Classroom.
• Learn about women and the environment, the legacy of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and more—all from the National Park Service’s Women’s History webpage.
• With a lesson plan from Khan Academy, students can learn more about the history of Second Wave Feminism and the notable figures that shaped the movement.
• Browse the Women’s History “Bookshelf” from the National Endowment for the Humanities, which includes documentaries, exhibits, articles, and, of course, a list of books to enjoy and learn from throughout the month. For another NEH project, and to expand lessons beyond the United States, students can learn about Women in World History with resources covering topics that range from 6th century India to the Soviet Union under Stalin.
• From sports stars to musicians, environmentalists to educators—learn more about history-making women with the National Women’s History Museum’s biographies and  articles.

Hidden Voices began as a collaboration with the Museum of the City of New York that was initiated to help City students learn about the countless individuals who are often "hidden" from traditional historical records. Each of the people highlighted in the series has made a positive impact on their communities while serving as outstanding examples of leadership, advocacy, and community service.

Hidden Voices curriculum resources are now available through WeTeach NYC, including:

• Hidden Voices: Untold Stories in New York City history, which features women like Brooklyn Bridge Engineer Emily Roebling and civil rights activist Elizabeth Jennings Graham.
• Hidden Voices: LGBTQ+ Stories in United States History, which features notable individuals like activist Pauli Murray and poet Audre Lorde.
• Hidden Voices: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in United States History, which features the stories of women ranging from Queen Lil’uokalani—the last queen of Hawai’i—to Dr. Anandibai Joshee—who was among the first women to study medicine in the United States, and the first woman from India to have done so—among many other trailblazing women.
• Hidden Voices, Stories of the Global African Diaspora Volume 1, which features stories across many eras of history—from Hatshepsut, one of only six women to rule in ancient Egypt, to Mary Seacole, a nurse from Kingston, Jamaica who is known for caring for injured troops during the Crimean War.

In addition to these lessons, we regularly feature profiles on history-making women who could be considered “hidden voices.” During Women’s History Month, check out our profiles on:

• Bernice Sandler, a champion of the groundbreaking Title IX law that transformed student athletics and gender equity in the United States.
• Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, who came to the United States from China in the early 20th Century and went on to play an instrumental role in the growth of New York’s Chinatown and the universal suffrage movement that advanced voting rights for women.
• Emily Roebling, the devoted wife who became the acting engineer of the largest transportation project ever conceived and constructed up until that point in time: the Brooklyn Bridge.
• Maritcha Lyons, a lifelong educator and activist in New York City, who became one of the City's first Black assistant principals. Over the course of her career, Lyons was at the center of many of the nineteenth centuries most important civil rights fights.

You can find more of our profiles throughout the year on our Hidden Voices webpage.