Women's History Month
Women’s History Month
Women’s History Month has deep roots in Sonoma County, California. It began as a local celebration right here in Santa Rosa, when the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women organized the first Women’s History Week in 1978. The week of March 8 was chosen to align with International Women’s Day. The idea quickly spread across the nation, as other communities began hosting their own celebrations the following year.
In 1980, a coalition of women’s organizations and historians—led by the National Women’s History Project (now the National Women’s History Alliance)—successfully advocated for national recognition. That same year, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980, as National Women’s History Week.
We honor this legacy and the leaders who made it possible by celebrating Women’s History Month each March. We invite our campus community to join us in recognizing the women who came before us, those leading change today, and the new generation whose voices and actions will shape the future.
Resources
- SSU Women's & Gender Studies
- The American Association of University Women (AAUW)
- Commission on the Status of Women in Sonoma County
- 'I helped start Women's History Month over 40 years ago. Here's why it matters.'
- Influencing at the Intersections: Black Sportswomen's Activism in the Era of Muhammad Ali
- Is excellence inclusive? The benefits of fostering Black female college athlete's sense of belonging
- International Women's Day
- National Women's History Alliance
- National Women's History Month started with Sonoma County Women
- National Women's History Museum
- Sonoma County Gazette: "Home Grown in Sonoma County: Women's History Month"
- Special Collections from the SSU Library
- Women's History Month Government