March is Women's History Month, and we like to celebrate this event all month! Through a variety of programs with guest speakers, films, displays, and articles, we highlight notable women in history and look at the latest focus among today's gender historians.

Public Law 101-6 designates March as Women's History month observed through related programs, ceremonies, and activities. The law was passed in 1989 in order to recognize women's contributions, including:

"Whereas American women have played and continue to play a critical economic, cultural, and social role in every sphere of the life of the Nation by constituting a significant portion of the labor force working inside and outside of the home;

Whereas American women of every race, class, and ethnic background served as leaders in the forefront of every major progressive social change movement;

Whereas American women have been leaders, not only in securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity, but also in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation movement, the industrial movement, the civil rights movement, and other movements, especially the peace movement, which create a more fair and just society for all; and

Whereas despite these contributions, the role of American women in history has been consistently overlooked and undervalued, in the literature, teaching and study of American history."

"To the boy we say, 'Do'; to the girl, 'Don't.'" -Charlotte Perkins Gilman

 

Past Events 

The 19th Amendment: Expanding the Arc of the Suffrage Story

Four distinguished panelists from a variety of fields and experiences will discuss the ways that the key women' suffrage movement excluded many indigenous women and women of color from both the process and the outcomes of the fights for suffrage

Women Serving in the Peace Corps

Join three Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV’s) who will discuss their experiences in the Peace Corps and their hopes and actions for women’s empowerment around the globe.

One Woman, One History: A Conversation with Ida B. Wells 

The life of Ida B. Wells is a fascinating combination of women's history, black history, and American history. This presentation is a one-woman show about Ida B. Wells, a fierce and fearless civil rights advocate, anti-lynching crusader, suffragist, women's rights advocate, journalist, and speaker. She stands as one of our nation's most uncompromising leaders and most ardent defenders of democracy. Presenter Rosemary Lytle, President of the NAACP Colorado/Montana/Wyoming State Conference, wraps up her presentation by taking questions both as Ida B. Wells and then as herself, addressing modern day issues for people of color and the current work of the NAACP. This program is cosponsored with our friends in the Diversity Awareness Office.

Female Identity within the Irula Tribe of South India

Join us for a wonderful presentation by Sarah Webb who will present stories and images of the women living in South India's Irula tribe. Sarah spent the past year living in rural Tamil Nadu, teaching English and Social Studies to first-generation literacy students. During her stay in India, she interviewed four women about their lives as members of the Irula Tribe, exploring issues of inter-caste marriage, widow rituals and the invisibility of domestic violence and alcoholism. Her presentation will focus on the stories of each woman, as well as the intricacies of Irula rituals.

Women's History Reception and Student of Achievement Award Ceremony

Join us for the 22nd annual Women's History Month Reception and presentation of our Student of Achievement Awards, an event co-sponsored with our friends in the MSU Alumni Foundation. Our keynote speaker this year will be Kiah Abbey, community activist and MSU student leader.

Inspirational and educational lecture: "Equal Pay for Equal Work" by activist and author Lilly Ledbetter!

Join us for an educational and inspirational lecture by author and activist Lilly Ledbetter . After nineteen years of working at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber factory in her home town in Alabama, Ms. Ledbetter received an anonymous note from a colleague informing her that she was making thousands of dollars per year less than her male colleagues. For ten years, Ledbetter fought to close the gap between women's and men's wages in a historic discrimination case against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. After being awarded a settlement for gender pay discrimination in federal court, the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately overturned the ruling. On January 29, 2009, President Obama's first act of business as president was to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law. Ledbetter's story is both inspiring and educational, as her exceptional determination became a victory for the entire nation.

Join us in welcoming Lilly Ledbetter to Montana State as she shares her story, her insights, and her grit and grace with our community.There will also be copies of Ms. Ledbetter's book, Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal Pay and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond available for sale and signing.

This incredible honor is made possible by the generosity of The MSU Women's Center's Shannon Weatherly Lecture Series, the Associated Students of Montana State University, the Office of the President, Office of the Provost, MSU ADVANCE Project TRACS, the Year of Engaged Leadership, Leadership Institute, Career Services, Office for Institutional Equity, Women's Faculty Caucus, VOICE Center, Diversity Awareness Office, College of Letters and Science, Dean of Library, College of Agriculture, College of Education, Health and Human Development, College of Arts and Architecture, Jake Jabbs College of Business and Entrepreneurship, College of Nursing, College of Engineering, Vice President for Student Success, Equal Pay Task Force, Bozeman Business and Professional Women, Women's Foundation of Montana, and Montana National Organization for Women.

Check out the poster for more information call 406-994-3836.
All events are sponsored by the MSU Women's Center and our friends, and are free and open to the public.

"In the end antiblack, antifemale, and all forms of discrimination are equivalent to the same thing - antihumanism." -Shirley Chisholm