March is Women’s History Month

Women historically have been sidelined, marginalised, discriminated against and overlooked both in their daily lives, in the historical record and for their contributions across society. Women’s History Month is a way to highlight these historical failings and reevaluate how the past has been presented, to encourage the stories of women into a mainstream presentation and popular narrative.

As roughly 50% of the population at any given time, women must have and did play significant roles in how our communities and societies have been structured and developed. Ensuring that they get 50% of the historical storytelling is at the core of the month to then increase representation throughout the rest of the year.

When women campaign and succeed, history tells us that they raise the level of inclusion and equality for everyone. In many cases if you empower a woman she will empower those around her – if only by setting the example that everyone is entitled to be active and be recognised for it. Therefore, this women’s history month we are not going to tell you about famous women from history but about how women as activists have changed the societies around them to shape all our lives and benefit all our futures. 

General resources

• Podcast Series: The Women's Movement (Open access until the end of March) 
• Elizabeth I: ‘less than a woman’? (Open access until the end of March) 
• Tudor queens: power, identity and gender (Open access until the end of March)
• Taj ul-Alam Safiatuddin Syah: a trailblazing Islamic queen (Open access until the end of March)
• Podcast: The Origins of the Victorian Women's Movement 
• Women and the Politics of the Parish in England (Historian article) 
• History 372: Special issue: Women and the Making of History 
• The right to fight: women’s boxing in Britain 
• Resource spotlight: Women and power 

Primary

• Podcast series: The Women's Movement (Open access until the end of March)
• Women and space: reaching for the stars
• Significant people: Mary Wollstonecraft
• Dora Thewlis: Mill girl activist 
• Three first-class ladies – teaching significant individuals in Key Stage 1

Secondary

• Podcast series: The Women's Movement (Open access until the end of March) 
• How representing women can convey a more complex narrative of the Russian Revolution to Year 9
• Connecting past and present through the lens of enduring human issues: International Women’s Day protests 
• Elizabeth I: ‘less than a woman’? (Open access until the end of March) 
• Tudor queens: power, identity and gender (Open access until the end of March)
• Taj ul-Alam Safiatuddin Syah: a trailblazing Islamic queen (Open access until the end of March)
• Women and the French Revolution: the start of the modern feminist movement (Historian article)
• Women’s Suffrage: history and citizenship resources for schools 
• The Heroine Project Presents: Dorothy Lawrence films
• Resource spotlight: women and power (NB not all the resources listed on this page are available to Secondary members)