Women's History

U.S. Representative Deb Haaland offered to stand in for the missing and deceased.

Portrait Project Memorializes Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

A new exhibition available to view online features 94 photographs, as well as original artwork

A Virginia woman votes early in the 2020 general election.

How Women Vote: Separating Myth From Reality

Suffragists said women voting would transform politics. Here’s how women have wielded the ballot in the past century, according to a political scientist

Eleanor Roosevelt talks to a child at the ceremonies inaugurating the slum clearance in Detroit, Michigan.

Why Eleanor Roosevelt's Example Matters More Than Ever

A new biography shows how decency, determination and generosity of heart can change the world

Ella Fitzgerald performs in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1961.

Listen to a Lost Ella Fitzgerald Recording

In 1962, the singer returned to Berlin to reprise a famous 1960 concert. The tapes were forgotten—until now

The National Gallery acquired Gentileschi's Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria in 2018.

Why a Long-Awaited Artemisia Gentileschi Exhibition Is So Significant

The Baroque painter is the subject of the London National Gallery's first major show dedicated to a female artist

In different time periods and contexts, Elin Lisslass (left) and author Jennie Tiderman-Österberg perform kulning.

Why Sweden’s Ancient Tradition of Calling Home the Herds Is Women’s Work

The spellbinding refrains of the kulning call reflect a tradition that offered women freedom and independence

Novelist and essayist Marilynne Robinson is one of 24 authors featured in "Her Story: A Century of Women Writers."

The Women Writers Who Shaped 20th-Century American Literature

A new show at the National Portrait Gallery spotlights 24 authors, including Lorraine Hansberry, Sandra Cisneros and Maxine Hong Kingston

“Armed with a fierce intelligence and a love of analytical reasoning, Ginsburg (by Everett Raymond Kinstler, 1996) fought passionately for all Americans to have equal representation under the law and inspired women in particular, to believe in themselves to make positive change,” say Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery.

Nation Mourns Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Who Broke Barriers and Became a Feminist Icon

The Supreme Court justice, who died at 87, "inspired women to believe in themselves," says the Smithsonian's Kim Sajet

Patricia Roberts Harris, Vivian Malone and Zephyr Wright were among those in attendance at the March 1965 signing of the Voting Rights Act.

For Generations, Black Women Have Envisioned a Better, Fairer American Politics

A new book details the 200-plus years of trenchant activism, from anti-slavery in the earliest days of the U.S. to 21st-century voting rights

“Wise and Valiant: Women and Writing in the Golden Age of Spain” spotlights Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (left) and Catalina de Erauso (right), among others.

Remembering the Forgotten Women Writers of 17th-Century Spain

A show in Madrid highlights female authors who penned histories, biographies, poetry, novels, scripts and more

This month's selections include A Traitor to His Species, The Tsarina's Lost Treasure and The Daughters of Yalta.

Catherine the Great's Lost Treasure, the Rise of Animal Rights and Other New Books to Read

These five September releases may have been lost in the news cycle

A visitor at Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument in Washington, D.C.

How the National Park Foundation Is Highlighting Women's History

The organization will allocate $460,000 toward projects at 23 parks across the country

A photo from the statue's unveiling in Central Park on Wednesday, August 26

Why the First Monument of Real Women in Central Park Matters—and Why It's Controversial

Today, New York City welcomed a public artwork honoring three suffragists. But some scholars argue that the statue obscures more than it celebrates

An artist's rendering of the mosaic, which is on view at Union Station in Washington, D.C. through August 28

A 1,000-Square-Foot Mosaic of Ida B. Wells Welcomes Visitors to D.C.'s Union Station

The artwork, installed in honor of the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage, celebrates the pioneering civil rights leader and journalist

A statue of 20th-century educator Nettie Depp will be installed in the Kentucky State Capitol next August.

Kentucky State Capitol Will Unveil Its First Statue Honoring a Woman

The sculpture depicts Nettie Depp, who championed public education in the early 20th century

Civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer's searing speech about the brutality she'd endured because, as a voting rights activist, she wanted black Americans "to become first-class citizens," made primetime before the 1964 DNC officially kicked off.

Fannie Lou Hamer's Dauntless Fight for Black Americans' Right to Vote

The activist did not learn about her right to vote until she was 44, but once she did, she vigorously fought for black voting rights

The Reclaim Her Name campaign centers on 25 books published by authors who wrote under male pseudonyms.

Why a Campaign to 'Reclaim' Women Writers' Names Is So Controversial

Critics say Reclaim Her Name fails to reflect the array of reasons authors chose to publish under male pseudonyms

Read excerpts from women senators' testimonials below.

Women Senators Reflect on the 100th Anniversary of Suffrage

Twenty-four lawmakers shared testimonials with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

Women vote at the polls in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In Wyoming, women were voting fifty years before the Nineteenth Amendment was passed in 1920.

How the American West Led the Way for Women in Politics

Western territories and states were the first to expand voting rights for women

Fannie Farmer oversees one of her students, Martha Hayes Ludden, at the Boston Cooking School in 1900.

How 12 Female Cookbook Authors Changed the Way We Eat

A new book examines the recipes of a dozen cooks who made groundbreaking contributions across the food industry

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