Women's History Month can trace its lineage to International Women's Day aka United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace, which was marked as March 8 by the United Nations in 1977. In 1978 a school district in California started Women's History Week. In 1981, a joint Congressional resolution proclaimed the week of March 8 as "Women's History Week" in the US. In 1987 Congress expanded the scope for the entire month.
So Women's History Month has been with us for quite a long time. However, in 1987 I graduated college and went to Japan so that might be why I never picked up on it. I also didn't hear anything about it after we moved back to the States in 2001, but my daughter is not a history fan so maybe she just never told me about it, haha. It seems that for one reason or another, Women's History Month is not as famous as its brother, Black History Month. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, because there have been literally millions of women through history who have played important parts on the world stage.
What would President Franklin Roosevelt have been without Eleanor? Czech-born Madeline Albright was the first female US Secretary of State (1997-2001). The modern Civil Rights movement was jump-started by Rosa Parks. Clara Barton organized the Amercan Red Cross after visiting Europe and learning of work done there by Florence Nightingale. Lucille Ball revolutionized TV comedy *and* Hollywood business.
Yep, there are definitely a lot of women we can honor this month. So I will do my part over the course of the month, telling you about the women in music, television, and comics who had an influence on me. I hope you'll stay with me and enjoy it. 
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