WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH 2025
2025 WHM Theme:
Moving Forward Together!
Women Educating & Inspiring Generations
This year’s theme, taken from the National Women’s History Alliance, is meant to recognize and celebrate the contributions women and femme-identified folks have made to the American educational system. From classrooms to boardrooms, grassroots movements to global initiatives, women educators, leaders, and mentors have played a pivotal role in nurturing minds and inspiring transformative action. This theme celebrates the collective strength and influence of those women and femme folks who have dedicated their lives to education, mentorship, and leadership. Through their efforts, they have served as an inspiration for all generations — both past and present.
Take a listen to our WHM playlist and explore campus and community events in the calendar below.
Calendar of Events
| Event | Date & Time | Location | Host(s) | Link (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harriet Cook Carter Lecture, “Understanding Health Equity in the Context of 2025” | Monday 3/3, 12-1pm | Zoom/online | Duke School of Nursing | https://calendar.duke.edu/show?fq=id%3ACAL-8a000483-92c3adf6-0195-24b9196f-00007bc5demobedework%40mysite.edu |
| Heritage & Harmony Tea | Tuesday 3/4, 2-4pm | Mary Lou Williams Center Lower Level | Mary Lou Williams Center & Duke Women's Center | https://cglink.me/2do/r2267416 |
| 2025 Reproductive Justice Conference | Wednesday 3/5, 10am-4pm | Penn Pavilion | Duke Women's Center | https://bit.ly/ReproJC25 |
| Women's History Month Concert for the Durham Rescue Mission | Wednesday 3/5, 8-9pm | Page Auditorium | Deja Blue | |
| March First Friday Breakfast | Friday 3/7, 10-11:30am | Center for Multicultural Affairs Suite | Duke Center for Multicultural Affairs | https://duke.campusgroups.com/cma/rsvp_boot?id=2257506 |
| The Science of Soul: Where Culture Heals, Art Speaks, and Science Transforms - A Black Woman and Family Health Symposium | Friday 3/14, 1:30-3:30pm | Duke University School of Nursing | Duke School of Nursing | https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-science-of-soul-a-black-women-and-family-health-symposium-tickets-1249347695589?aff=oddtdtcreator |
| March Lunch and Learn: Salary Smart | Wednesday 3/19, 12-1pm | Bolton Family Tower Room | Duke Women's Center & Duke Career Center | https://cglink.me/2do/r2258046 |
| Women of the Decades Karaoke | Wednesday 3/19, 6-8pm | Center for Sexual Gender & Diversity Suite | Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity | |
| Donald T. Moore, MD, Endowed Lecture on Women’s Health: The Role of Community Engagement | Wednesday 3/19, 6:30-8:30pm | Nasher Museum of Art | Duke Obstetrics & Gynecology Department | https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b2aS3dp4XpC2fpY |
| ROLEPLAY Documentary Screening | Wednesday 3/19, 7pm | Griffith Theater | Duke Gender Violence Education & Outreach office with others | https://tickets.duke.edu/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=roleplaydoc&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id= |
| Angelica Lindsey-Ali’s “Empowering Bodies” Workshop | Thursday 3/20, 5-7pm | Mary Lou Williams Center Lower Level | Mary Lou Williams Center | |
| 18th Annual Feminist Theory Workshop | Friday 3/21 - Saturday 3/22, all-day | Penn Pavilion | Duke Gender, Sexuality, & Feminist Studies Department | https://gendersexualityfeminist.duke.edu/18th-annual-feminist-theory-workshop |
| 9th Annual WomC Awards | Tuesday 3/25, 6-8pm | Penn Pavilion | Duke Women's Center | https://bit.ly/Register25WC |
Most of the events listed will be able to be found on DukeGroups! Some of these events may also have a "Women's History Month" tag on the platform. For more on Women's History Month, check back soon.
Learn More
Women’s History Month (WHM) celebrates, recognizes, and affirms the work and achievements of women and femme-identified individuals living the full diversity of experience. Women’s History Month began in 1981 as “Women’s History Week” and was designated as an official month of celebration by beginning March 1987. What started as a way to recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields, Women’s History Month has expanded to become an annual celebration of the past, present, and future of women and femme-identified people.
A separate, but related movement to establish an International Women’s Day began as early as 1908, culminating in the marking of March 8 as International Women’s Day in 1914. Women’s History Month in the US was structured around the International Women’s Day celebration, blooming into an entire month of recognition and celebration for women and femme folks across the country.
Sources:
The Women’s Center uses the phrase “women and femme folks” to refer to the student body we serve. Why this particular phrasing? Because while we want to be as inclusive as possible as to who we serve, we live in a patriarchal system where misogyny is still more of the norm than the exception. Thus, we see a utility in having a safe space for those who experience misogyny and patriarchy to come and be in community with others.
As we use it, women as a gender identity refers to both cis- and transgender women while femme or femme-identifying refers to the gender expression of all folks, including genderqueer or non-binary individuals. For more information on gender identity and expression, visit the CSGD’s Sexual and Gender Diversity Education webpage.
Womxn was a term coined in the 70s and later adopted in 90s to include gender non-conforming individuals, transgender and genderqueer folks, two spirit people, femmes, and other non-binary people within the sphere of womxnhood. While some feel using the word “womxn” in place of “women” acknowledges that gender identity exists in a sphere and one word has room for multiple gender expressions, others feel the term is exclusionary in that it was/is a term created by cis women to differentiate transwomen.
We don’t use the term womxn at the Women’s Center, instead preferring the term “women and femme folks”to identify the population we serve.
Sources:
The Women's Center maintains a running list of resources related to gender equity, reproductive justice, and more! Visit https://students.duke.edu/belonging/icr/wc/resources-for-women/ to see the full list of resources and learn how to access them.
If you have a resource you’d like to submit, email womenctr@duke.edu with the subject “WHM Resources.”
Below is a list of women and femme-led student groups the Women’s Center has worked with in the past. This is NOT a comprehensive list of all the organizations listed here aren't the women/femme-led student groups on campus. The full list can be found on Duke Groups at https://dukegroups.com/club_signup. Want your organization to be added to this list or need to make an edit? Email womenctr@duke.edu with the subject “Women and Femme Student Groups.”
Thank you to everyone who submitted a program, event, or resource to our 2024 WHM programming calendar!
Special thanks to CMA’s Alex Espaillat for establishing the format of Heritage Month Celebrations at Duke and the Student Affairs Communications team, especially Kristin Lobiondo and Rezin Davis, for spearheading the creative direction for the WHM banners and branding.
Want to be a part of next year’s Women’s History Month Celebration or have an idea for a theme? Email womenctr@duke.edu with the subject line “WHM Involvement.”