March is Women’s History Month.  The official celebration of women’s many contributions to United States history started in 1980 when President Carter asked that the first week of March be recognized as National Women’s History Week, 1 Pub. Papers 412 (Feb. 28, 1980), and Women’s History Week was extended to the entire month of March in 1987, see Act of March 12, 1987, Pub. L. No. 100-9, 101 Stat. 99; Proclamation No. 5619, 3 C.F.R. 29 (1988).  As President Reagan stated in his proclamation extending the duration of the celebration, “[f]rom the earliest times, women have helped shape our Nation.  Historians today stress all that women have meant to our national life, but the rest of us too should remember, with pride and gratitude, the achievements of women throughout American history.”

There is a Women’s History Month display in the Williams Library Reading Room highlighting some of the materials in the collection on women’s history in the United States.  Many additional resources are available containing information on women’s history and issues of importance to American women, including databases such as America:  History and Life, GenderWatch, and Contemporary Women’s Issues.

Visit the National Women’s History Project and the Library of Congress for more information on Women’s History Month.