Press Release
Posted:
Washington – Today Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) announced the introduction of his annual National Women's History Month Resolution. This legislation honors the often-forgotten contributions of women and our nation’s work to add women’s stories to our historical record. Thompson introduces this resolution each year to mark March as Women's History Month and to spotlight our district's critical contributions to the cause.
“Women's history is the foundation for our nation's history, but far too often it is forgotten and overlooked. In the 1970s, women in our district sought to right this wrong by forming the Education Taskforce of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women. This group started a Women's History Week, leading an effort that became a national movement and eventually established Women's History Month,” said Thompson. “Each year, I am honored to introduce a Congressional Resolution marking Women’s History Month and honoring our district's critical role in the movement. Now more than ever, we must continue adding the stories of women to our national consciousness.”
“When we began our work 45 years ago, the greatest obstacle to women’s history was lack of information. Today, the challenge is more dangerous — women’s history is seen as powerful, and with that power comes fear, resistance, and distortion,” said Molly Murphy MacGregor, Co-Founder of the National Women’s History Alliance.
BACKGROUND
Women’s History Month has its origin in California’s Fourth District. In 1978, the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women coordinated a “Women’s History Week” during the week of March 8th to correspond with International Women’s Day. In 1980, a group of Sonoma County women founded the National Women’s History Project (NWHP) in Santa Rosa, California. The goal of this organization was to highlight and recognize the historical national achievements made by women.
In partnership with other women advocacy groups and historians, the NWHP successfully lobbied for national recognition in 1980, with President Jimmy Carter declaring the week of March 8th as National Women’s History Week. After this accomplishment, the NWHP began advocating for the entire month of March to be designated as Women’s History Month. Seven years later, Congress officially passed legislation designating the entire month of March as Women’s History Month. Every year since, Women’s History Month has been recognized in March to uplift and celebrate the incredible contributions and accomplishments of American women.
The theme of National Women’s History Month 2025 is ‘‘Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations.” Click here to read the resolution.