The Origins of Women's History Month
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. This was the beginning of a full fledged Women's History Month and exposing the contributions to history women had made.More schools and institutes began hosting Women’s History Week programs. And a grassroots effort to have Congress declare a national Women’s History Week was born.
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. And the rest as we say is history.. Women's History!
Women's History Month - Women Inventor Resources
Until about 1840, only 20 U.S. patents were issued to women. Patents are the proof of "ownership" of an invention and only the inventor(s) can apply for a patent. In the past, women were not allowed equal rights of property ownership (patents are a form of intellectual property) and many women patented their inventions under their husband's or father's names. In the past, women were also prevented from receiving the higher education necessary for inventing.
