Whereas the purpose of National Women’s History Month is to increase awareness and knowledge of women’s involvement in history;

Whereas the first women’s rights convention was held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, and launched the women’s suffrage movement;

Whereas key women’s suffrage leaders, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, attended the Seneca Falls Convention, inspiring future women’s suffrage leaders, including Susan B. Anthony;

Whereas, in 1869, Wyoming was the first State to grant women the right to vote;

Whereas, in 1872, Susan B. Anthony was arrested for illegally voting and was fined $100, angering countless Americans and bringing national attention to the women’s suffrage movement;

Whereas, in 1913, Harriet Tubman was buried with military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York, after a valiant life spent fighting to end slavery, aiding freedmen, and advocating for women’s suffrage with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony;

Whereas, in 1913, antilynching crusader and women’s suffrage leader, Ida B. Wells, Black women from Howard University, and many other notable Black women joined the 1913 Women’s Suffrage Parade to ensure that the leadership and work for women’s suffrage by Black women would be recognized;

Whereas, in 1916, Representative Jeanette Rankin of Montana was the first woman elected to the House of Representatives, four years before women had the right to vote nationally;

Whereas, after over 70 years of advocacy, women were granted the right to vote in 1920 with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution;

Whereas, in 1922, Rebecca Felton of Georgia was the first woman appointed to the serve in the Senate;

Whereas, in 1925, Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming was elected as the first woman to serve as Governor of a State;

Whereas, in 1932, Hattie Caraway of Arkansas was the first woman elected to the Senate;

Whereas, in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated the first female Cabinet Secretary, Francis Perkins, who served as Secretary of Labor;

Whereas, in 1946, Felicita Mendez fought against discrimination and segregation in the California public education system, winning the landmark case Mendez, et al. v. Westminster School District of Orange County, which paved the way for the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision in 1954;

Whereas, as recently as the 1970s, women’s history was rarely included in the kindergarten through grade 12 curriculum and was not part of public awareness;

Whereas the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women initiated a Women’s History Week celebration in 1978 centered around International Women’s History Day, which is celebrated on March 8;

Whereas, in 1980, the National Women’s History Project (known as the National Women’s History Alliance) was founded in Sonoma County, California, to broadcast women’s historical achievements;

Whereas, in 1981, responding to the growing popularity of women’s history celebrations, Congress passed a resolution making Women’s History Week a national observance;

Whereas, during this time, thousands of schools and communities joined in the commemoration of National Women’s History Week, with support and encouragement from Governors, city councils, school boards, State legislatures, and Congress;

Whereas, in 1987, Congress was petitioned to expand the national celebration to include the entire month of March;

Whereas educators, workplace program planners, parents, and community organizations, in thousands of communities in the United States, have turned National Women’s History Month into a major local learning experience and celebration;

Whereas the popularity of women’s history celebrations has sparked a new interest in uncovering the important history of women’s suffrage and the fight for equal rights;

Whereas, in 1998, the President’s Commission on the Celebration of Women in American History was established to consider how best to acknowledge and celebrate the roles and accomplishments of women in United States history;

Whereas the National Women’s History Museum was founded in 1996 as an institution dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and celebrating the diverse historic contributions of women, and integrating this rich heritage fully into the Nation’s teachings and history books;

Whereas, in 2018, Representative Sharice Davids of Kansas and now-Secretary Deb Haaland of New Mexico, were the first Native American women elected to the United States House of Representatives;

Whereas, in 2020, Vice President Kamala Harris was the first woman, the first Black American, and the first Asian American elected to serve as Vice President of the United States;

Whereas the House of Representatives recognizes March 2026 as National Women’s History Month; and

Whereas the theme of National Women’s History Month 2026 is Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future: Now, therefore, be it