March is Women's History Month

Per a web-site created by The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and the Holocaust Memorial Museum

“Before the 1970’s, the topic of women’s history was largely missing from general public consciousness. To address this situation, the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women initiated a “Women’s History Week” celebration in 1978 and chose the week of March 8 to coincide with International Women’s Day.

… In 1981, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) cosponsored the first Joint Congressional Resolution proclaiming a “Women’s History Week.”

In 1987, the National Women’s History Project petitioned Congress to expand the celebration to the entire month of March. Since then, the National Women’s History Month Resolution has been approved every year with bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.”

The theme for this year’s month-long celebration of women in history is Our History is Our Strength.

Check out these resources:

• Women’s History Month, http://womenshistorymonth.gov/,
• National Women’s History Project Brochure: http://www.nwhp.org/whm/2011_brochure.pdf,
• A state library or archive web-site, such as created by the State Library of North Carolina, http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/colls/themes/march.html,
• Genealogyinsider (Family Tree Magazine staff), http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/2011/03/01/CelebrateWomensHistoryMonthByFindingFemaleAncestors.aspx?et_mid=163116&rid=2706461
• Women’s History Month on History.com, http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history-month
• This years Presidential Proclamation, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/02/28/presidential-proclamation-womens-history-month-2011  

Has your state library or archive created a special web-site?  Do you know of other women-focused web-sites of particular use to those researching genealogy and family history?  If so, please share those with us!

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