March 31, 2026 Barbara Deane, co-director of the Institute for Sustainable Diversity and Inclusion.
National Women’s History Month—How are we doing?
In 1978, the Sonoma County Commission on Women (in California) set aside a week to celebrate women’s history. This was the first time such a designation had occurred. It aligned with International Women’s Day that had been established for March 8.
Around that time, five women took note that less than 3 percent of the content in educational textbooks focused on women. Women made up 51.33% of the population in 1980—more than half, yet their experience was not deemed important enough to teach to college students.
In 1980, these same five women pressed the U.S. Congress to establish Women’s History Week to recognize women’s role in history. Seven years later, in 1987, the National Women’s History Project, founded by the five women, led a successful campaign to extend the week-long celebration to the entire month of March.
Ten years earlier, in 1970, San Diego State University established the first Women’s Studies Department in the country offering classes for credit. The Department was not the result of the good hearts of the male-dominated university officials to share the intellectual and knowledge space; on the contrary, it was spurred by a grass-roots organization of about 20 students and faculty who formed the Center for Women’s Studies and Services (CWSS) so that they had a more formal space to begin tackling sexism on campus. The group turned its energy first to forming a Women’s Study Program. Submitting a petition with more than 600 student signatures to the University Senate, the CWSS pressured the university administration to offer courses for credit.
Women’s Study Departments
Why are Women’s Studies Departments and Programs central to promulgation of Women’s History? Because such departments and programs pay faculty members and graduate students to do research to develop new knowledge and publish it. So, with new books and articles and reports, university students (especially women students) attend classes informed by research learning about the real roles women played that contributed to our nation’s history and growth that heretofore did not exist. Remember—back in the late 1970s, only 3 percent of textbook content was about women!
In the three and a half decades since these foundational efforts, a great amount of progress has been made on women’s place in history and society across all sectors.
For example, today, hundreds of colleges and universities have women’s studies departments and programs, full of faculty, graduate students, and staff positions offering a wide array of options of majors, minors and certificate programs, and reports say such studies are above average in popularity.
2026 Women’s History Month Theme
In 2026, the theme for National Women’s History Month is, “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future.” The National Women’s History Alliance (formerly the National Women’s History Project) sets this theme every year.
The Alliance explains its 2026 theme: “The 2026 theme expands our understanding of sustainability beyond just environmental concerns. It encompasses financial sustainability, community resilience, leadership succession, and intergenerational equity. Whether developing green technologies, advancing economic justice, strengthening education systems, or building civic power – women are designing blueprints for sustainable transformation. This theme affirms that shaping a sustainable future means fostering systems that support both people and the planet.”
The Future Development of Women’s History
An article published just this month, argues, “…women over 50 are the future of work in the age of AI” (Fast Company, 3-12-2026). The article notes that in this VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous), “organizations need people who can handle ambiguity, navigate transitions, sustain relationships, and make sound judgments under pressure.” The author states women over 50 are one of the “most underused sources of resilience, intelligence, and practical capability in the labor market.” Companies serious about surviving and thriving in this “age of volatility” should not overlook this valuable resource.
How the continued development of women’s history, the progress of women’s studies programs, and the education of both young men and women about women’s role in history and society, will fare under the misogyny and anti-DEI efforts of the current U.S. Administration, only time will tell.
In the first-ever study conducted of the 244 women and gender studies departments of the National Women’s Studies Association (2023), faculty members in these programs reported “students’ interest in the field is blossoming,” despite the critical attacks by right-wing conservatives. The report cited national political events, such as the repeal of Roe v. Wade, have helped peak students’ interest in and awareness of women and gender studies.
Two quotes from women well versed in the fight for women’s history and equality are worth keeping in mind as we go forward:
“Women’s history isn’t just about what happened in the past; it’s about empowering future generations to understand their worth and their place in shaping the world.” —Molly Murphy MacGregor, Co-Founder & former Executive Director, National Women’s History Alliance
“The best protection any woman can have is courage.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Architect of the Women’s Rights Movement in the U.S.
Make it a point, the next time you are in your favorite bookstore, brick and mortar or online, look for a book about women’s history—and add it to your collection! Be ever aware that our national history is equally built by men AND women.
Barbara Deane is co-director of the Institute for Sustainable Diversity and Inclusion.
We can’t wait to see you at the next workshop.
Until then, please share this post with anyone you think would be interested.
LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Bluesky Threads
