Every year on March 8, the world comes together to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) - a day dedicated to recognizing women's achievements and advocating for gender equality. While the United Nations officially recognized the date in 1977,

Following a petition from the National Women’s History Project, Congress designated the whole month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month.” Congress continued to pass resolutions between 1988 and 1994 asking and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month.

Women's History Month was first proclaimed by the President Ronald Reagan nearly 40 years ago. Learn about when it began, how it's evolved and what to know about celebrating the month.