The theme for 2025 National Women’s History month is “Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations.” This theme has been the mantra for women in the U.S. for close to two centuries. It goes back to the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848, and to the Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, three years later when Sojourner Truth delivered her powerful abolitionist and women’s rights speech, “Ain’t I a Woman.”
Moving almost 100 years forward, the theme persisted when Francis Perkins, the first woman to serve as a U.S. cabinet secretary, became the driving force behind FDR’s New Deal. Her advocacy resulted in policies we now take for granted: social security, wage and hour laws, workplace safety, and the right to unionize. And, the theme continues to resonate into the 21st century. In 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman of color to top a major party presidential ticket, and the election of a female governor in New Hampshire brought the number of female governors in the U.S. to a record 13 out of 50.
In the Academy, women continue to account for an increasing number of Fellows. In 2024, they represented 45 percent of newly elected Fellows and 35 percent of all Fellows. Compare this to 20 years ago, when women represented just 24 percent of new Fellows and 27 percent of all Fellows. Four of the Academy’s six standing committees are chaired or co-chaired by women, and at the start of 2025, the President of NAPA’s Board of Directors and 12 of the Board’s 19 members are women; 20 years ago, there was just one woman member.
Women’s progress in 2024 also echoed in domains as far afield from governance as sports and entertainment. Gymnast Simone Biles led Team USA to Olympic gold, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese made women’s basketball the most popular event to watch at the 2024 Olympics, and Nike’s Super Bowl ad put female athletes center stage on a male-dominated field. And women ruled the 2025 Grammys for their performances in 2024 and with their acceptance speeches.
But, as is often the case, forward progress is met by backlash. Many voters refused to vote for Harris because they could not envision a woman president. Equally telling, the number of women in Congress moved down from record highs. Overall, 150 women are members of the 119th Congress, down from 152 in the 118th Congress. In the House, the number of women serving fell for the first time since 1991; in the Senate, 25 women, including three newly elected members are serving, one fewer than the record of 26 female senators in 2020, and there are still 18 states that have never elected a female governor.
At the personal level, as a result of the 2022 Dobbs decision that eliminated the federal right to abortion, women are experiencing profound health and economic consequences. Their fates are determined by luck-of-the-draw. In some states they have the freedom to control their lives; in others, their autonomy is stripped away.
Three steps forward, two steps backward.
