March is Women’s History Month

We honor the vital role women have played in shaping our state’s history—from the groundbreaking research of female scientists to the inspired creativity of female artists and the courageous efforts of women in the suffrage movement who fought for voting rights.

Women’s History Month began as a local movement by teachers in California to celebrate “Women’s History Week.” In 1980, President Jimmy Carter officially recognized National Women’s History Week, and in 1987, Congress passed Public Law 100-9, establishing March as Women’s History Month.

We invite you to explore the resources on this page and to visit the New York State Museum. Be sure to check out Margery Ryerson: Art is Contagious, which opened this fall, as well as Outcasts: Mary Banning’s World of Mushrooms, opening March 11, 2025. These exhibitions showcase the remarkable work of two inspiring women. A variety of special programming is also planned throughout the month.

NYSM Exhibitions and Programs

Outcasts title graphic with an image of Mary Banning surrounded by mushrooms painted in watercolors

Outcasts: Mary Banning's Mushrooms

This exhibition highlights the pioneering work of Mary Elizabeth Banning, one of the first American mycologists, showcasing her original watercolors and scientific descriptions while exploring the fascinating and vital role of fungi in our ecosystems.

Margery Ryerson exhibit graphic featuring select works

Margery Ryerson: Art is Contagious

Margery Ryerson (1886–1989), best known for compiling the influential notes of artist Robert Henri, for the 1923 publication, The Art Spirit, was important in her own right as a prolific painter and printmaker whose artistic career spanned an impressive seven decades.

Women of Science

Learn about current and past NYSM scientists and their research through online presentations.

From the Collection: Women Who Lead

On view in New York Metropolis Hall

This exhibit feature highlights some of these items from our collections and proudly presents our newest acquisition, the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument 1/3-scale model by Meredith Bergmann.

Women's History Month Online CTLE Credit for Educators

Explore the 360 Gallery Tour of the NYSM's exhibition, Votes For Women: Celebrating New York’s Suffrage Centennial, and earn 1 credit hour of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE). Learn about the history of the suffrage movement in New York State through artifacts on display and highlighted women who led this equal rights movement. Participants must complete the online form linked below the video to receive credit.

Women’s History Month Collections Tour

Women's Suffrage in New York

Monumental Women and the Creation of the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument

Learn about the groundbreaking monument, Women’s Rights Pioneers, the first statue of real women in Central Park, NYC. Made possible through the work of Monumental Women, the monument depicts three historic women’s rights leaders—Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth—all hailing from New York State.
Teachers: Earn CTLE (1 credit hour) by watching the video and completing the Online CTLE form for the Women's Rights Pioneers Monument

Donation Ceremony of the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument

Votes for Women: Celebrating New York’s Suffrage Centennial

This online web feature honors the centennial of women’s suffrage in New York State and raises awareness of the struggle for equal rights up through the present day. View biographies of New York women notable for their contributions to women's rights and discover resources related to the Votes for Women exhibition.

Explore the Votes for Women Online Feature:
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/votes-for-women

View/Download Educator's Guide and Graphic Organizer (PDF):
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/sites/nysm/default/votes-for-women-educator-guide_0.pdf

Suffrage Comic by Emily Ree (PDF)

In this comic, four fictional New York girls explore four events in history when New York women fought for their rights: the 1848 Seneca Falls convention, the 1915 New York State suffrage campaign, the 1977 New York State Women’s Meeting, and the 2016 Women’s March. These stories were written to inspire empathy and help students understand what it might have been like to witness and take part in these events.

Women's Suffrage Videos from the NYSM

March 8, 2023

Social History

Donation Ceremony of the Women’s Rights Pioneers Monument
September 14, 2020

Ethnography

Onkwehowekah: Haudenosaunee Worldview and its influence on the American Women’s Suffrage Movement
August 13, 2020

Social History

Field Trip to the NYSM: Commemorating the 19th Amendment Centennial
August 5, 2020

Social History

Virtual Summer Program: Baking for Suffrage: How “Good Cooking and Sure Voting Went Hand in Hand”
April 7, 2020

Social History

Field Trip to the NYSM: Suffrage Wagon & Susan B. Anthony House 2020 Quilt Project
April 15, 2019

Social History

360 Gallery Tour: Votes for Women

New York Women in the Arts & Sciences

Winifred Goldring, Pioneering NYSM Scientist and State Paleontologist

Discover more about the world's first woman State Paleontologist and the significant contributions she made to the fields of geology, paleontology, and paleobotany throughout her 40-year career at the New York State Museum.

Berenice Abbott: Changing New York

Berenice Abbott (1898-1991), was an American photographer best known for her photographic documentation of New York City as the city grew and transformed throughout the 1930s-1940s. Working for the Federal Art Project, Abbott created “Changing New York,” one of the monumental achievements of 20th-century photography.

View the Online Feature:
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/berenice-abbott-changing-new-york

View/Download Family Guide (PDF):
http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/
berenice_abbot-educators-guide_a.pdf

New Acquisition: Souvenir Handkerchief Designed by Marion Weeber

Learn more about this vibrant screen-printed handkerchief designed by a trailblazing female graphic and industrial artist.

Arts & Sciences Videos from the NYSM

March 30, 2023

Invertebrate Paleontology

Winifred Goldring (1888-1971) - NYSM Scientist & State Paleontologist
February 23, 2022

Botany Mycology

Mary Banning: The Fungi of Maryland Watercolors
January 20, 2022

Ethnography

A Closer Look: New Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Art at New York State Museum
March 25, 2021

Social History

Interview with Artist Lucy Bohnsack
November 18, 2020

Ethnography

A Conversation with Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Beadwork Artist Karen Ann Hoffman

Notable Women in New York History

Discover more about influential women with ties to New York State and how their efforts to elevate the status of women continue to make an impact in New York and throughout the world.

Jennifer Lemak, NYSM Chief Curator of History

NYSM Research & Publications from NYSM Chief Curator of History, Jennifer Lemak

Discover more about Dr. Lemak's ongoing research projects, including a list of her publications.

Unveiled: Wedding Wear in 19th-century New York Virtual Tour

Dr. Mary Walker Coloring Activity (PDF)

Discover fun facts about Dr. Mary Walker, the first (and only) female recipient of the Medal of Honor, through this fun coloring activity for kids!

Additional Resources from the Office of Cultural Education

2025 Women's History Month Statewide Events

Look no further than the Office of the State Historian for a comprehensive list of Women’s History Month events taking place in person and virtually at museums and historical societies across New York State!

New York State Archives

Visit the State Archive’s website to discover additional Women’s History Resources.

Events:

State Paleontologist Winifred Goldring and Making Fossils Come to Life
March 25, 2025
12:30 pm–1:30 pm
Virtual event

Access hundreds of ready-to-use primary sources and standards-aligned, teacher-created learning activities on ConsidertheSourceNY.org. Historical records spanning from the Dutch colonial period through the preset day offer students an opportunity to practice their document-analysis skills and discover the role of women in New York State history.

New York State Library

Visit the State Library’s website to learn more about upcoming public programs and to discover other Women’s History resources.

Events:

Women in Science Now: Stories and Strategies for Achieving Equity
Thursday, March 6
12:00 pm–1:00 pm
Online Event

Breaking Glass Ceilings: Clara Stanton Jones and the Detroit Public Library
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
12:00–1:00 pm
Online Event

Emma Goldman
Thursday, March 20, 2025
11:00 am–12:00pm
Online Event

Talking Book and Braille Library: Women’s History Month Reading List

In celebration of Women’s History Month, please enjoy a curated selection of braille and audiobooks available from the NYS Talking Book and Braille Library (TBBL). TBBL is a free library service for eligible residents of upstate New York who are unable to use standard print materials due to a visual, physical, or reading disability.

The TBBL collection is similar to what’s found in a large public library, including popular fiction and nonfiction titles, as well as informational and recreational materials for all ages and tastes.
Know someone who might be interested in TBBL service? Please share our booklist or explore our other resources on the TBBL website:
https://nyslibrary.libguides.com/blogs/tbbl/news

PBS

Free multimedia resources ready to use in the classroom! This folder features videos, lesson plans, media galleries, and more, all focused around women’s history and culture. All resources are educator-created and standards-aligned from PBS stations.
https://ny.pbslearningmedia.org/shared/1165858/6239486/

A New York Minute in History Podcast

Lady Acland’s Voyage: A First-Hand Account of the Battles of Saratoga

Discover the story of Lady Christian Henrietta Caroline “Harriet” Acland, aristocratic wife of Major John Dyke Acland, who commanded the British 20th Regiment of Foot during the Burgoyne campaign of 1777. When Major Acland was wounded and taken prisoner, Lady Harriet risked her own life and freedom to nurse him back to health. She would go on to publish her diary of her time traveling and living with the British Army during the American Revolution.

Grace Leach Hudowalski: Champion of and for the Adirondack Mountains

In celebration of Women’s History Month, this episode tells the story of Grace Leach Hudowalski, the first woman to summit all 46 of the Adirondack High Peaks. She was also the first president of the Adirondack 46ers Club as well as its historian for over 50 years.

The Persistence of Dr. Mary Walker

Discover the story of Dr. Mary Walker: physician, heroine of the Civil War, and the only woman in history ever to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Born to progressive parents in western New York, Walker would defy the odds to become a surgeon, spy for the Union Army during the Civil War, and go toe-to-toe with prominent suffragists Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Walker is buried in the Oswego Rural Cemetery.

The Women’s Rights Movement: From Seneca Falls To Today

Explore the Women's Rights Movement’s progress through the lineage of Coline Jenkins, the great-great granddaughter of suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Jenkins, a women’s rights activist in her own right, has a family tree that touched nearly every major women’s rights milestone in the 19^th century and beyond.

Audrey Munson: America’s First Supermodel

Born in upstate New York, Munson was one of the most famous models of the Gilded Age, and posed for the top American artists in the Beaux Arts movement. Sculptures based on Munson dot the landscape of New York City, and are held in museums around the country. Listen in to learn more about Munson's glamorous life before it took a tragic turn by the age of 40.

Georgia O’Keeffe and Her Visit to Wiawaka

Listen in to the latest A New York Minute in History podcast to discover Georgia O’Keeffe's connection to Wiawaka, a women's retreat in Troy, NY, and how the experience may have influenced her work.

Margaret Hastings, the “Shangri-La WAC”

In honor of Women’s History Month, the latest podcast the story of Corporal Margaret Hastings, a member of the Women’s Army Corps who survived 47 days in a New Guinea jungle during World War II.

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