Women's History Month

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 2023, the theme for Women’s History Month is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories,” which “honors women in every community who have devoted their lives and talents to producing art, pursuing truth, and reflecting the human condition decade after decade.” The theme of International Women’s Day, which takes place on March 8 each year, is “Embrace Equity.”

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 20^th 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.

Celebrating Women’s History Month in NYC

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 with free family programs at the museum throughout March, all focusing on the theme of leadership this year:
• Storytime at the Met is held every Thursday and is recommended for families with children ages 18 months to 6 years. Families can enjoy books that connect to objects in the Met collections.
• The “Start with Art” series is recommended for children ages 3 to 6 and is being held several times throughout March. The program encourages children to share ideas, sketches, and music, and includes other gallery activities that bring works of art to life.
• For teachers: dive into the New-York Historical Society’s new Women & the American Story unit “Expansions and Inequalities, 1820-1869” during their free, online workshop on Wednesday, March 8 at 6 PM. During the event, you will learn about new resources to enrich your lessons on westward expansion, immigration, industrialization, and 19th century politics and culture, and receive 1 CTLE hour.
• The Tenement Museum is hosting a special virtual tour honoring both Women’s History and Irish American History Month on Thursday, March 16 at 6:30 PM, which will 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 Saturday, March 18 from 1–4 PM, kids and teens can attend the Women’s History Month edition of “Hands on History” at King Manor! This month, the free program is celebrating the female craftsmen that worked at King Manor in the 19^th century with a construction-style activity hosted by Tools and Tiaras, a group that encourages girls who are interested in pursuing careers in the male-dominated construction industry.
• As a part of their Hidden Voices of New York City programs, the Museum of the City of New York will host a virtual session for students in grades 3–5 about the life and organizing of Elsie Richardson, a community leader who fought for urban renewal and racial equality in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Teachers should register their class for a workshop session, being held on Wednesday, March 22 at either 9:30 AM or 11:30 AM.
• Educators who are interested in learning more about Elise Richardson can also attend an event geared towards grade 3–5 teachers on Wednesday, March 8 at 5 PM. This virtual session provides 1.5 CTLE hours.
• On March 26, 2023 at 2:00 PM, take a Women’s History Month trolley tour at Woodlawn Cemetery, and reflect on the lives and legacies of women who have shaped our city and country, including suffragist and women’s rights pioneer Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the first self-made female millionaire Madam C.J. Walker, musician and “Queen of Salsa” Celia Cruz, and America’s first investigative reporter, Nellie Bly.

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:
• “Billie Jean King: Tennis Court to Capitol Hill” (on display through June 18, 2023) tells the story of the groundbreaking tennis player who used her platform to fight for gender equity in athletics and education and spoke out in favor of policies that would strengthen Title IX.
• “Our Bodies Our Power: Women at the Forefront of the Equal Rights Amendment” (on display through April 30, 2023) explores the turbulent history of the not-yet-ratified Constitutional amendment first introduced 100 years ago in 1923, which would guarantee equality before the law regardless of sex.

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. Sora’s “Feminism is for Everybody” collection has even more recommendations for books to enjoy this month, and beyond. The New York Public Library also has some great recommendations in their collection, 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.
• The Hidden Voices initiative, which began as a collaboration between the DOE and the Museum of the City of New York, helps NYC students learn about and honor the innumerable people, often “hidden” from the traditional historical record, who have shaped and continue to shape our history and identity. Hidden Voices allows students to find their own voice as they become analysts of the past and make connections between the past and the present:
  • Curriculum resources are now available through WeTeach NYC for New York City history, which features women like Brooklyn Bridge Engineer Emily Roebling and civil rights activist Elizabeth Jennings Graham.
  • The second volume focuses on LGBTQIA+ history, featuring notable individuals like activist Pauli Murray and poet Audre Lorde.
• 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 articles 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
• 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.