Women’s History Month(March)
"Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
—Eleanor Roosevelt
In 1978, a school district in California, organized a “Women’s History Week”. By 1981, Congress passed a resolution establishing a National Women’s History Week and in 1987, Congress created a month, March, to honor the contributions of women and to promote the teaching of women’s history.In 2026, the theme is “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future”
At one time, women weren’t able to do many things because of their gender. Here are some women trailblazers. Being the first, made it easier for other women to follow in their footsteps. Every year, new firsts continue to be made by women. Here is just a sampling of firsts made by women.
Lucy Brewer
First woman Marine
1812
Elizabeth Blackwell
First woman to receive a medical degree
1849
Amelia Jenks Bloomer
Publisher/editor of first prominent women's rights newspaper
1849
Harriet Tubman
First woman to run underground railroad to help slaves escape
1850
Lucy Hobbs
First woman to graduate from dental school
1866
Arabella Mansfield Babb
First woman admitted to the bar to practice law
1869
Frances Elizabeth Willard
First woman to become a college president (Evanston College)
1871
Victoria Chaflin Woodhull
First woman to be presidential candidate
1872
Helen Magill
First woman to receive a Ph.D. degree (Boston University)
1877
Belva Ann Lockwood
First woman to practice law before U.S. Supreme Court
1879
Clara Barton
Founder of the American Red Cross
1881
Suzanna Madora Salter
First woman mayor (Argonia, Kansas)
1887
Marie Curie
First women to win a Nobel Prize AND first person awarded TWO Nobel Prizes(as of 2016)
1903 AND 1911
Mary McLeod Bethune
First woman to establish secondary school that became 4-year accredited college
1904
Blanche Scott
First woman to fly an airplane
1910
Jeannette Rankin
First woman U.S. House Representative (Montana)
1917
Bessie Coleman
First African American Female pilot in USA and first AMERICAN to receive an international pilot’s license
1921
Hallie Ferguson
First woman governor of U. S. state (Texas)
1924
Amelia Earhart
First woman to be a passenger on an airplane across the Atlantic Ocean (1928)
and first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean
1932
Jane Addams
First American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize
1931
Hattie Wyatt Caraway
First woman elected to U.S. Senate
1932
Amelia Earhart
First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean
1932
Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova
First woman to fly in space, aboard Vostok 6
1963
Mary Clarke
First woman to be named major general in U.S. Army
1978
Sandra Day O'Connor
First woman to become a Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court
1981
Sally Kristen Ride
First American woman to reach outer space.
1983
Ann Bancroft
First woman to walk to North Pole
1986
Christa McAuliffe
First woman citizen passenger on a space mission(teacher)
1986
Lt. Col. Eileen Collins
First American woman to pilot a Space Shuttle
1995
Madeleine K. Albright
First woman Secretary of State and highest ranking woman in the U.S. government
1997
Condoleezza Rice
First African-American woman to be appointed Secretary of State
2005
Nancy Pelosi
First woman to become Speaker of the House
2007
Hillary Clinton
First FIRST LADY to become a senator(from NY).First woman to be in a presidential primary and caucus in every state. She would go on to be the first female candidate for President for a major political party(Democratic Party)
2008/2016
Michelle Obama
First African American First Lady
2008
Kathryn Bigelow
First woman to win the Best Director Award
2010
Mary Barra
First female CEO of General Motors
2013
Women
Allowed to compete in ski jumping events at the Winter Olympics for the first time
2014
Katie Higgins
First female pilot of the Blue Angels(US Navy Flight demonstration squad)
2014
Megan Brennan
First female United States Postmaster General
2014
Carla Hayden
First woman(and African American woman) to become the 14th Librarian at the Library of Congress
2016
Susan Polgar
First woman in history to achieve the Grandmaster title in chess
2017
Peggy Whitson
Most days spent in space by a NASA astronaut!
2017
Vanessa O'Brien
First woman to successfully summit the 2nd tallest mountain, K2
2017
Gina Haspel
First woman to head the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)as its director
2018
First ALL Women spacewalk
On March 29th, Christina Koch and Anne McClain went outside the ISS and participated in the first all female space walk, part of Women's History Month.
2019
Kathy Sullivan
First woman astronaut to do a space walk AND to go into the deepest trench on Earth.(Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench). She is the only PERSON on the planet to have done BOTH
2020
Sunniva Sorby and Hilde Falu Strom
First women to solo at the Arctic over a winter without any male team members. They conducted science experiments on climate change and made observations on wildlife. They had to stay several months longer than planned due to Covid pandemic. They returned a couple of months later for the 2021 winter months.
2019-2020
Kamala Harris
First African/South Asian Woman to become Vice President of the United States! 2020
Ketanji Brown Jackson
First Black Woman Supreme Court Justice. 2022
Kamala Harris First Female Vice President (2021)and first woman of color to run for President(Democratic ticket)2024
Did You Know?
During the Revolutionary War, patriotism had no gender. A number of women worked as spies to help the patriots. Agent 355, her name was never identified, referenced a woman in the Culper Spy Ring. During the American Revolutionary War, the Culper Spy Ring was organized to work to defeat the British. Agent 355 and other members of the spy organization were very important in the colonists being victorious in the War for Independence from England. Agent 355 has been called the “hidden daughter of the American Revolution”. Other women who worked as spies included Anna Smith Strong, Lydia Darragh, Emily Geiger and Nancy Morgan Hart, Several women also helped fight and others spread the word of approaching British soldiers during the Revolutionary War. Molly Pitcher carried water to soldiers and helped with a cannon during the Battle of Monmouth. Another woman, Deborah Sampson dressed as a male soldier and joined the army. Margaret Corbin and Ann Bailey were two other women how fought in the war as soldiers. Catherine “Kate” Moore Barry is called the “Heroine of the Battle of Cowpens” for her efforts to help the patriots’ victory which was a turning point in the Revolutionary War.
It is estimated that approximately 400-700 WOMEN fought as soldiers during all the major battles of the Civil War including the Battle of Gettysburg, the First Battle of Bull Run and the Battle of Shiloh. Since females were not allowed to fight in battles at that time, those women that did become soldiers disguised themselves as men. To disguise themselves, the women had to cut their hair very short, had to wrap fabric to bind their chests and dressed in men’s clothing. The women also used charcoal to make a “pretend” shadow of a beard. Some women wore false mustaches! The learned to walked in a way to not give away their real identity and also adapted a lower voice or not talk very much at all. Some of the women even took up smoking or chewing and spitting tobacco to not cause suspicion. Several women known to have fought as soldiers during the Civil War included Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, Sarah Emma Edmonds, Amy Clarke and Mary Galloway.
During World War 2, women provided a very valuable service as pilots. It was the first time American women would fly military aircraft. The women Air Force Service Pilots(WASPS) flew new planes from factories to military bases such as the B-26s and B-29s. It wasn’t known whether these “superfortress” bombers were even safe. The women also tested planes that had been repaired and determining if they were safe before a male pilot would fly in it! Probably, the most dangerous job was that of towing targets attached to a plane. Using REAL ammunition, soldiers shot at the targets for combat practice. Several WASP actually got shot in their feet when a stray bullet went through the plane. Names of women pilots during World War4 2 included Jackie Cochran, Cornelia Fort and Margaret Phelan Taylor.
Questions:
- Are there any areas in which women still have yet to make a contribution?
2. What are 3 character traits of women who have been trailblazers? What would you list as 3 of your best character traits?
3. There is a Hispanic Heritage Month, a Native American Month, a Black History Month and a Women’s History Month. Why do you think such months were established? Do you think there is a need for such months to highlight different groups? Why, why not?
4. If you could interview a woman trailblazer(past or present), who would it be and why? What might be 2 questions you would ask of that person?
5. Illustrate one of the women’s history facts.
6. What do you think these quotes mean? Select one and write your thoughts.
“I raise up my voice not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” – Malala Yousafzai
“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” – Shirley Chisholm
“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama
“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa
“You may shoot me with your words… but still, like air, I’ll rise.” – Maya Angelou
“To bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try.” – Rosa Parks
“No one need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank
"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.” – Marie Curie
For Teachers:
Sites of interest for additional materials:
POSSIBLE RESOURCES of INTEREST:
5. Check out my TpT Store for Reader’s Theater Scripts on Famous women in history, science and literature: Susan B.Anthony, Elizabeth Blackwell, Hillary Clinton, Bessie Coleman, Michelle Obama, Edith Bolling Wilson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart,Dolly Madison, Abigail Adams, Florence Harding, Lady Bird Johnson, Sacagawea, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Marian Anderson, Katherine Johnson and Rachel Carson: I also have a Reader's Theater Script on WW2 Pilots(part of the WASP) and a Reader's Theater Script on Women Soldiers during the Civil War. I also have a Reader's Theater Script on Revolutionary War Female Spies.
