March is Women's History Month, an opportunity to study the often overlooked contributions of women throughout history. However, Women’s History Month should be about more than just studying famous women. It provides an opportunity to refine our understanding of history so that it includes women in every aspect of accounts of past lives. Women’s History Month is an opportunity to challenge traditional narratives and really explore women’s contributions to the world.
Celebrating different women's stories
The contributions and achievements of women have long been overlooked and marginalised in mainstream historical accounts. As Sheila Rowbotham noted in the title of her book, women were ‘Hidden from History’.
Women's History Month often involves celebrating famous women such as Marie Curie, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, Kate Sheppard, Emily Pankhurst, Nancy Wake and Helen Keller. However, it is equally important to move beyond these individual stories and to investigate the diversity of women’s experiences and contributions. It is important that history includes the study of the lives of women from various backgrounds, ethnicities and social classes, and how their experience of the same events might differ from that of men.
Women who challenged traditional roles
Here are some suggestions of women who challenged traditional roles:
In medieval Europe, women’s roles were rarely written about and so have been largely ‘lost’. However, the Paston Letters offer a unique glimpse into the life of Margaret Paston and other women of that era. These letters challenge the stereotype of medieval women as passive figures and highlight the extent of medieval women’s involvement in businesses and in managing large family affairs. Margaret Paston is not the only example. Women were involved in guilds (business organisations). Widows frequently took over their husbands' businesses. In addition, nuns, such as Hildegard of Bingen, ran convents that were some of the greatest centres of learning and the arts in the medieval world as well as being large businesses.
Women’s History Month is also an opportunity to teach students about women who defied societal expectations. Flora Sandes, for example, was a British woman who served as a nurse in World War I and later joined the Serbian army, eventually becoming a decorated officer. Her story challenges conventional notions of women's roles in wartime. Flora was not the only woman to join the army in a combat role. Some did so secretly and some officially. For example, during World War 2 the Russian Army trained and deployed 2,484 women snipers. A famous example is Roza Shanina. Research these women or others such as Hannah Snell (1723-1792), Christian Davies (c. 1667-1739) or Mary Anne Talbot (1778-1830) and see what you can find.
Women’s History Month also provides an opportunity to examine women’s experience of world events which could be very different to that of men. During both World Wars women suffered from the loss of family members and loved ones, as did men. However, many experienced significant changes in lifestyle and increases in job opportunities and income. The documentary, Rosie the Riveter, examined the pre-war, war and post-war working experience of four women in the United States: Lola Weixel, Margaret Wright, Lyn Childs and Gladys Belcher. How they lived prior to the war, the work they did during the war and how they were forced out of the workforce into the home or low-paying jobs after the war.
Another example is women’s roles in industrial action. Strikes, such as the 1926 General Strike in the United Kingdom, were often seen as actions taken by men. But women took an active role. For example, miner’s wives attacked blacklegs (people who continued to work). Women’s experience of the strike involved an increase, not a decrease, in workload as they played a critical role in feeding the family that enabled their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons to stay on strike.
Celebrating women's history in class
In class, we can make sure that we widen the narrative by assigning students research projects on individual women or groups of women who have been hidden from history. We can also make use of primary sources, such as letters, diaries, and photographs, to bring women's stories to life and even invite local women leaders or historians to speak to your class or access oral history archives.
Women's history shouldn't be confined to a single month. Women-centred perspectives need to be incorporated into studies throughout the year. By doing so, we can create a more inclusive and accurate understanding of history. This will result in a more accurate view of the past and allow ongoing exploration and celebration of women's contributions to the world.
You can find a reading comprehension resource with texts and questions about women's jobs during World War Two by clicking on the buttons at the top and bottom of this article.
References
BBC Wales. (n.d.). Women: Strikes and protests. BBC. Retrieved February 2, 2025. Access here
Paston, J. (1904). The Paston Letters, A.D. 1422-1509 (J. Gairdner, Ed.). London: Chatto and Windus.
Rowbotham, S. (1973). “Hidden from history: 300 years of women's oppression”. Pluto Press.
Sandes, F. (1916). An English woman-sergeant in the Serbian army. Hodder & Stoughton.
Warfare History Network. (n.d.). Roza Shanina and the Soviet women snipers of WWII. Retrieved February 2, 2025. Access here
