Celebrations of Women’s History started in 1980 when President Jimmy Carter started Women’s History Week to go along with International Women’s Day. Since then, Congress has stated that March is Women’s History Month. This is a month to honor the contributions of women to society and their persistent struggle for rights and equality.

Women have consistently been oppressed and had to fight, and continue to fight, for their rights. In the United States, women did not gain the right to vote until 1920.
In Seneca Falls, New York in 1848, the first Women’s Rights Convention was held. This was later followed in 1850 by the National Women’s Rights Convention. The National Women’s Rights Convention was attended by Frederick Douglass, and a strong alliance was formed with the Abolitionist Movement.

Women continued to struggle and were met with road-blocks. For example, in 1871 when the Anti-Suffrage Party was founded. Their goal was to block women from becoming independent and getting rights. As we see today as women vote on Super Tuesday, suffrage was successful.

Women continue to fight for equality and fair work environments. Women make up over half of the electorate, yet hold less than 24% of public offices as of 2019. Recent pushes for women’s rights include the historic 2017 Women’s March. This march, which was the largest single-day protest in US history, took place just one day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Trump, of course, is well known for his controversial comments about women, many of which took the spotlight during the 2016 election.

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, remember those who fought for women’s rights and those strong women in your life. We are forever in debt to those trailblazer’s who made it possible for us to own houses, open bank accounts, drive, vote, and so much more.