This month, you’re invited to celebrate Women’s History Month with Denver Public Library! Our theme for 2023 is “Writing Women Back Into History” and we’re focusing on unsung heroes in our nation’s past. Our primary objective is to highlight and elevate the diverse history of all women. We aim to expand the idea of what women’s history means, and to highlight individuals and stories you may not have heard of due to systemic racism, cissexism, and colonialism.
As recently as the 1970s, women’s history was practically an unknown topic in school curriculums and was essentially absent from the general public consciousness. To address this lack of knowledge, the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women created a “Women’s History Week” celebration in 1978. The Commission chose the week of March 8 because it corresponded with International Women’s Day–a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The following year, other American communities created their own Women’s History Week celebrations and the movement then spread across the United States.
Women’s groups and historians lobbied heavily for official recognition of women’s accomplishments. They were eventually successful and President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980 as “National Women’s History Week.” In 1987, Congress passed a bill designating March as “Women’s History Month.” Every president since 1995 has issued a special yearly proclamation to honor the extraordinary achievements of American women.
The famous feminist, journalist and activist, Gloria Steinem, once explained “The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.” So this month, join Denver Public Library for a program, check out some amazing recommendations, dig into research, and much more! For more details, visit