Celebrate Women's History Month In Pittsburgh

Before it was a full-month celebration, there was Women’s History Week. In 1978, a group of women in Santa Rosa, California, recognized that women’s history was largely overlooked in academics, so they organized a week in March to celebrate and educate others about women’s contributions in the U.S.

During the week of March 8, more than a hundred women participated in essay contests, distributed curriculum materials at local schools, and held a parade. The event's success inspired women’s groups throughout the country to hold similar events.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the week of March 8 to be National Women’s History Week. Seven years later, Congress designated March as Women’s History Month.

Why We Celebrate in March

The group from Santa Rosa, now known as the National Women’s History Alliance, selected the week of March 8 to correspond with International Women’s Day, a day that was officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977.

This month’s celebration is also rooted in socialist and labor movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The first Women’s Day on Feb. 28, 1909, honored the first anniversary of the garment workers’ strikes that saw thousands of women take to Manhattan’s streets. That strike was timed to honor another garment workers’ rally in March of 1857. On March 3, 1913, thousands of suffrage activists marched in Washington, D.C., to fight for a woman’s right to vote.

In 1911, inspired by the day of recognition held in the U.S., more than a million people gathered across Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland to hold the first International Women’s Day rally. On March 8, 1917, many women went on strike during the Russian Revolution.

This year’s theme is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.” Here are some ways to honor women this month.

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