Every year, the National Women’s History Alliance selects a theme for Women’s History Month. 2025’s is particularly relevant.

Its goals and objectives in choosing this theme are listed as:

• Honor: Recognize the achievements and contributions of women educators, mentors, and leaders.
• Inspire: Motivate all generations to pursue education and leadership roles.
• Educate: Raise awareness about the unheralded legacies of women from every walk of life, highlighting their unique contributions and diverse backgrounds, including socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, culture, abilities, and personal experiences.
• Unite: Bring together communities to explore, share, and celebrate women’s history and achievements.
• Envision: Create a blueprint for the future that honors our foremothers and builds bridges for the next generation of women.

This would be challenging during the best of times, and politically, these are not the best of times. I was surprised—but very relieved—to find that an official government website still exists for Women’s History Month and that it contains good, solid information about a diversity of women.

Yes, I used diversity, as in the first word in DEI, which the current administration is trying to wipe out. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion. A quick look at Wikipedia reveals a fair, common-sense definition:

Organizational frameworks that seek to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination based on identity or disability.

Nothing to be afraid of here, nothing evil.

Women historically have been underrepresented and subjected to discrimination. Movements to end those practices have existed and continue to exist while those practices continue. Sometimes these movements have been successful.

That Women’s History Month exists at all represents one of those successes. You can read about its history here.

Unfortunately, women today are confronted with the reality that hard-won rights can be taken away. Vigilance is required more than ever. Complacency is the enemy. Do what you can. Follow current events. Vote. Read. Read women’s history.

Not sure where to begin? Historian Pamela D. Toler writes a marvelous blog called History in the Margins. During the month of March she is featuring (as she has done for the last six years) interviews with very smart people who focus on women’s history. She started a bit early this year, with a late February post about Amy Reading and her biography of editor Katharine White. There will be great stuff all month.

Since I’ve declared 2025 the year of Jane Grant, I will be posting about some of the women (both well-known and decidedly less so) she crossed paths with in her lifetime.

Until then, Happy Women’s History Month.