Celebrating Women's History Month
Photo courtesy of library.geneseo.edu
The theme for the 2025 Women’s History Month is “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating and Inspiring Generations”
The theme for the 2025 Women’s History Month is “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating and Inspiring Generations.”
According to the National Women’s History Alliance, this theme celebrates “the collective strength and influence of women who have dedicated their lives to education, mentorship, and leadership. Through their efforts, they have served as an inspiration for all generations — both past and present.”
Women's History Month wasn't always a whole month, though. Once, it was a week-long celebration that began in Santa Rosa, California. Usually, the week of Mar. 8— picked to align with International Women’s Day —and the tradition began to spread throughout the country. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter even declared a Presidential Proclamation stating that the week of Mar. 8 would be National Women’s History Week.
This week-long celebration continued until Congress passed Public Law 100-9, enforcing March as Women’s History Month in 1987. In the years following, each President has upheld the tradition of March being Women’s History Month.
White, green, and purple are known as the colors for Women's History Month. For many, this month symbolizes reform and overall societal advancement. Listed below are some important women who made sacrifices and advancements toward women’s equality, allowing women to be where they are today.
Marie Curie is a pioneer for advancements in women’s role in society— the first woman to win not only one Nobel Peace Prize but two. Marie Curie was born in Poland in 1867, and despite education not being seen as important, she graduated with honors. She finished two master's degrees in only three years.
Along with her husband, Pierre Curie, and French physicist, Henry Bacquerel, they discovered the elements of radium and polonium. This discovery secured their win of the 1903 Nobel Peace Prize. She then went on to win the 1911 Nobel Peace Prize after her husband's death. Her daughter, Irène Joliot-Curie, and her husband won the 1935 Nobel Peace Prize in Chemistry.
Grace Hopper, born in 1906, joined the Navy Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services (WAVES) in 1943. In 1944, she was promoted to Lieutenant at the Bureau of Ordnance Computation Project at Harvard University. Her team developed the Mark I, one of the first electromechanical computer prototypes.
Hopper was credited with aiding in the invention of the Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC), and she also invented the first computer compiler. In 1967, she returned to active duty and moved up to Chief of Naval Operations Director; she kept moving up until becoming Admiral in 1985. She went on to attain the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, which is the highest decoration for those who did not engage in combat. She was the first and only woman to be named as a fellow of the British Computer Society.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton is one of the most widely known names associated with women's rights. She worked alongside her husband, Henry Brewster Stanton, an abolitionist, which led to her taking on her own abolition and women's rights work.
Lucretia Mott and Stanton held the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, which was the first women's rights convention. She founded the National Woman Suffrage Association with Susan B. Anthony.
Lucretia Mott herself was known for her work alongside Elizabeth Cady Stanton at the Seneca Falls Convention. She delivered the opening and closing speeches and her husband, James Mott, helped to organize the convention. She also took in runaway slaves and argued for African Americans' right to suffrage. Her work kicked off the fight for women's rights.
These women are only a few of the influential women involved in the fight for suffrage and gender equality. The fight for gender equality is still ongoing today, yet it is important to remember and celebrate those who worked and fought endlessly for women's rights.