--- title: 10 Surprising Facts About Women’s History Month description: The U.S.is celebrating Women’s History Month in March, featuring International Women’s Day on March 8. canonical: https://time.com/6837254/womens-history-month-surprising-facts/ author: Mallory Moench article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-03-03T20:26:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:10.159Z article:section: History og:title: 10 Surprising Facts About Women’s History Month og:description: The U.S.is celebrating Women’s History Month in March, featuring International Women’s Day on March 8. og:url: https://time.com/6837254/womens-history-month-surprising-facts/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d6557b8339ace8c/698a490a86f68e1db16f3bab/womensmarch.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Demonstrators Take Part In The Women's March On Washington Following The Inauguration Of President Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Surprising Facts About Women’s History Month twitter:description: The U.S.is celebrating Women’s History Month in March, featuring International Women’s Day on March 8. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d6557b8339ace8c/698a490a86f68e1db16f3bab/womensmarch.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 10 Surprising Facts About Women's History Month > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=02d5a71f-bdc5-4560-af5f-4e4f4a56201a&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=02d5a71f-bdc5-4560-af5f-4e4f4a56201a&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The History You Didn't Learn: Latinas in the Labor Movement [Watch (HLS stream): The History You Didn't Learn: Latinas in the Labor Movement](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Y0oOfDDS.m3u8) (8:35)  _Published 2020-11-30. The History You Didn't Learn is a series that sheds light on past events that may have been omitted, misleading, or just downright wrong in our history education in school._ by [Mallory Moench](https://time.com/author/mallory-moench/) ## Mallory Moench Moench was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Mar 3, 2024 8:26 PM UTC  A demonstrator holds a sign while gathering on the National Mall during the Women's March in Washington D.C., U.S., on Jan. 21, 2017. A demonstrator holds a sign while gathering on the National Mall during the Women's March in Washington D.C., U.S., on Jan. 21, 2017. Eric Thayer–Bloomberg—Getty Images by [Mallory Moench](https://time.com/author/mallory-moench/) ## Mallory Moench Moench was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Mar 3, 2024 8:26 PM UTC The U.S. and other countries, including the U.K. and Australia, are celebrating Women’s History Month in March, featuring International Women’s Day on March 8\. This year, President Joe Biden [said in his proclamation](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/02/29/a-proclamation-on-womens-history-month-2024/) declaring Women’s History Month that during this time, “we celebrate the courageous women who have helped our Nation build a fairer, more just society.” Here are 10 surprising facts about Women’s History Month. ## **International Women’s Day was first recognized in Europe** Many [reports trace](https://time.com/5187268/international-womens-day-history/) the origins of a holiday honoring women to New York City in 1909, to the commemoration of [a garment workers’ strike.](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/international-ladies-garment-workers-union.htm#:~:text=It%20represented%20hundreds%20of%20thousands,Shirtwaist%20Factory%20Fire%20in%201911.) In 1910, German activist Clara Zetkin [suggested ](https://www.britannica.com/story/why-is-womens-history-month-celebrated-in-march)to the International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen the creation of an international holiday to honor women. Europeans recognized International Women’s Day in 1911, although the U.S. did not follow suit. ## **International Women’s Day’s date was chosen because of the Russian revolution** The date of March 8 became significant in 1917, when women in the Russian capital of Petrograd [protested and went on strike, ](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/08/womens-protest-sparked-russian-revolution-international-womens-day)demanding food and the end of the empire. A week later, the Tsar abdicated. Zetkin[ reportedly suggested](https://www.britannica.com/story/why-is-womens-history-month-celebrated-in-march) in 1921 that March 8 become International Women’s Day as a result. ## **Women’s History Month started as a local week** Women’s History Month began as a local week-long celebration in Santa Rosa, California in 1978, [according to](https://www.womenshistory.org/womens-history/womens-history-month) the online National Women’s History Museum. The Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women planned the week and timed it with International Women’s Day. Local advocates then formed the National Women’s History Project, now the National Women’s History Alliance,[ to share women’s achievements. ](https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/our-history/)One of the group’s members, Molly Murphy MacGregor, participated in The Women’s History Institute at Sarah Lawrence College in New York, where others were inspired to start their own week celebrations, [according to the group’s website.](https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/womens-history-month-history/) By 1986, 14 states had already declared March as Women’s History Month. ## **It took years for Women’s History Month to be federally recognized** In 1980, the National Women’s History Project led a coalition of women’s groups successfully lobbied President Jimmy Carter to issue a proclamation recognizing National Women’s History Week, [_National Geographic_ reported](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/why-the-us-celebrates-womens-history-month-every-march). It took until 1987 for Congress to pass a law designating March as Women’s History Month. ## **The U.S. president designates Women’s History Month every year** Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed resolutions requesting and authorizing the president to proclaim the special month. Since 1995, each president has issued an annual proclamation designating Women’s History Month. Former President Barack Obama’s [2011 proclamation](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/02/28/presidential-proclamation-womens-history-month-2011) paid homage to the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, saying the holiday “is a chance to pay tribute to ordinary women throughout the world and is rooted in women's centuries-old struggle to participate in society on an equal footing with men. This day reminds us that, while enormous progress has been made, there is still work to be done before women achieve true parity.” ## **There is an annual theme for Women’s History Month** The National Women’s History Alliance sets a theme for the month every year. This year’s theme is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.” “The theme recognizes women throughout the country who understand that, for a positive future, we need to eliminate bias and discrimination entirely from our lives and institutions,” a [statement from the alliance](https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/2024-whm-theme/) on its choice read. ## **Women’s History Month is celebrated differently in Canada** Women’s History Month has spread around the world, from [the Philippines](https://pcw.gov.ph/national-womens-month/) to [the U.K](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/womens-history-month-march-2024-celebrations-gender-equality-b1141957.html). In the latter, Mother’s Day is also celebrated in March. While Women’s History Month is generally commemorated in March, Canada[ holds their celebrations](https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/commemorations-celebrations/womens-history-month/2023-theme.html) in October. ## **International Women’s Day is an official holiday in some countries** Some countries mark International Women’s Day as an official holiday,[ Sky History reported. ](https://www.history.co.uk/articles/womens-history-month-facts)In China, [many women can take](https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/02/five-things-know-about-international-womens-day) a half-day holiday. In Serbia and Albania, International Women’s Day is also Mother’s Day. ## **International Women’s Day is celebrated with certain colors** Purple, green, and white are the colors of International Women's Day, according to the [International Women’s Day website.](https://www.internationalwomensday.com/about#:~:text=From%20a%20wide%20range%20of,forge%20a%20gender%20equal%20world.) The colors [reportedly originated](https://www.today.com/life/holidays/womens-history-month-colors-rcna67004) from suffragists in the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in the U.K. in the early 1900s and were transported to the U.S. ## **Actions this year will focus on abortion rights** The Women’s March organization, which [ran its first prominent march in 2017](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/womens-march) a day after Donald Trump’s inauguration,[ is planning a rally](https://act.womensmarch.com/survey/March-26-Action-Sign-Up/) in Washington D.C. on March 26, when the Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments in a case [about the abortion pill](https://www.npr.org/2023/12/13/1218332935/mifepristone-abortion-pill-supreme-court). The Supreme Court [issued a temporary order ](https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/04/court-allows-abortion-pill-to-remain-widely-available-while-appeals-proceed/)in 2023 that put on hold a Texas federal judge’s order to suspend the federal government’s approval of the abortion pill. The March hearing will be the first major case concerning abortion since the Supreme Court’s [_Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization_ ](https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/01/court-schedules-abortion-pill-case-for-march-argument-session/)ruling overturned [_Roe v. Wade_](https://time.com/6248419/roe-v-wade-anniversary-reproductive-justice/)in 2022. ## Transcript I knew that there was a family secret about my aunt Emma. The way that I found out was to read it in the newspaper. And I saw this picture of a 21-year-old standing on the steps of City Hall with her fist in the air. And it described her as Emma Tenayuca-Brooks, the charismatic leader of a movement. So, I was looking at a 2007 U.S. history textbook and scanning to see all of the times that it talked about the labor movement, and it seems there's very little mention of anybody who's not a white or a white immigrant in these big labor history moments. And so, a lot of times Latina and Latino activists are left out of this. The one mention there was of Latino activism was with the United Farmworkers. And Cesar Chavez is the only person mentioned in there. When history books mentioned the legacy of Cesar Chavez and the United Farmworkers, they often leave out the Latinas who also made great strides in the movement, and a nation that regularly fails to recognize the contributions of minority groups. It's not a big surprise that women like Dolores Huerta and Helen Chavez are left out of the story. But even before the still powerful UFW came onto the scene, Latinas were shaping the labor landscape across the US. I think one of the most incredible and important figures in Latino civil rights and labor activism is a Guatemalan woman by the name of Luisa Moreno. She is born in Guatemala, in like, 1907. She comes from a very privileged family. She's educated. She is a writer and a thinker. She's very intellectual, and then she decides to kind of forego her wealth and move to the United States. She moves to New York, and settles in Harlem. Begets work as a seamstress, and she then starts organizing local Puerto Rican women who are working in the garment industry. Moreno's work in labor activism only grew from there. In 1935, the American Federation of Labor recruited Marino as a professional organizer. She's probably one of the first women and like one of the first Latinas to cross the boundaries into the American Federation of Labor. I think one of the things that's most exciting about Moreno, Luisa Moreno, is that she was this excellent coalition builder. And she travels all around the country doing this kind of organizing. Traveling to organize cane workers in New Orleans, tuna packing workers in San Diego, and women in cigar factories of Florida. We think of the Latino labor movement as really starting to catalyze with the United Farmworkers. But she's out there doing this work 20 years earlier, which helped pave the way for these movements that came later. In 1950, Moreno faced deportation proceedings for her connection to the Communist Party. But before she left voluntarily, sh said this at our hearing, "They talk about deporting me, but they can never deport the people that I've worked with and with, and with whom things were accomplished for the benefit of thousands of workers. Things that can never be destroyed." At the end of the day. You can't deport the ideas and the support that she provided within the labor movement and Latino history. Luisa Moreno's work spanned several states, but a young Mexican-American woman named Emma Tenayuca made history right in her hometown. I wanted to tell you a story, because you're with TIME. One of the things we came across was this little article in TIME. The interviewer asked her some questions like she was kind of a newlywed, and they said, you know, "How is it working in your household?" You know, "You're going out doing all these organizing," while her husband, Homer Brooks was, he was an organizer too. And so she answers pertly, "I love my husband and I'm a good cook." Emma Tenayuca was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. During her high school years, she is aware of the inequality that Mexican Americans face in San Antonio. She looks at the neighborhood conditions that her and her family and her community are living in, right. They're segregated, they're very working class. You know, they're living in substandard housing conditions. She also you know, goes around her neighborhood and her community to ask people, what are the issues that affect you and your family? I think, you know, people think of her in terms of being very strong and very courageous. But, I think people don't realize that she was so sensitive, she was so tender hearted, compassionate that she just could not stand to see human suffering. In 1938, Emma Tenayuca kind of gets her big moment. 12,000 pecan shellers, who were mostly Mexican American women in San Antonio, marched out of factories in San Antonio and went on strike. Something like 20% of the nation's pecans were shelled in San Antonio in the 1930s. And the conditions in the factories were awful. They were poorly ventilated. So, a lot of women were getting tuberculosis or other health issues. They were crowded, they didn't have a lot of bathrooms or other facilities that people needed. And they were paid really low wages. Something like, less than $2 a week. So, they went on strike and they elected Emma Tenayuca unanimously as the leader of the strike. She was incredibly fierce. She was known as "La Capitana" or the captain of the strike. So, this labor dispute goes on for about six weeks, she organized demonstrations, lots of people were jailed during the strike. The strike ends and pecan shellers earn a wage increase. But then the companies begin buying more machines that eliminate the laborers. But, I think this movement kind of grew from there as they started thinking bigger about civil rights and minimum wages and things bigger than just the pecan shelling strike. I think that learning about Emma Tenayuca, not only, again, pushes our understandings of Latino history and labor history to an earlier period, but she can serve as a model for inspiration for our young kids. There was really no space for the Latinx activists within the context of these movements, they had to create space for themselves. And that's something that I really aspire to do as well. Faith Florez was only 15 when she started making an app called Calor to help prevent heatstroke among farmworkers. The app sends alerts to workers during dangerous heat conditions and connects them to emergency services when needed. I have roots in the Central Valley. I was raised there for the first 10 years of my life, and a lot of my family members were farmworkers. So, I felt a strong sense of kind of responsibility and obligation to go back home and to, you know, serve my community in the best way that I could. I definitely think Latinx people are underrepresented in our education system. I mean, our history classes really only cover like our founding fathers Declaration of Independence, just a lot of white history. Oftentimes, Black and other students of color never see themselves reflected in history books. 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