It's March and the month of the year has been set aside to honor women’s contributions in American history since 1980 when a consortium of women’s groups and historians—led by the National Women’s History Project (now the National Women's History Alliance)—successfully lobbied for national recognition.

This year, on Sunday, March 8, the National Women’s History Museum will celebrate the 8th Annual Women Making History Awards.

Each year, the event honors a select group of people who have made a significant contribution to their field and serve as an inspiration to women everywhere.

The 2020 event will honor actresses and advocates Andie MacDowell and Logan Browning, as well as President and CEO of ECOS® Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks and Women Connect4Good, Inc. founder Dr. Nancy D. O’Reilly. The awards will be sponsored by American Airlines, ECOS®, Morgan Stanley, Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles, and L'Oréal.

According to the National Women's History Alliance, Women’s History Month began as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California. The Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women planned and executed a “Women’s History Week” celebration in 1978. The organizers selected the week of March 8 to correspond with International Women’s Day. The movement spread across the country as other communities initiated their own Women’s History Week celebrations the following year.