2026 Women's History Month

March is Women’s History Month at SJSU. We dedicate this month to celebrating womxn’s contributions to history, culture and society. WHM has been observed annually in the month of March in the United States since 1987. 

Pictures of various women of ages and races.

Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future

Each year the National Women's History Alliance (NWHA) creates a theme for Women's History Month.

Importance & Relevance

In this pivotal moment of history, we are called to confront a range of overlapping global challenges: climate change, economic insecurity, healthcare disparities, and threats to democratic participation. These issues are deeply intertwined – and women, particularly from marginalized communities, often experience their impacts most acutely.

Yet women have also led the charge toward lasting solutions.

“Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future” expands our understanding of sustainability beyond just environmental concerns. It encompasses financial sustainability, community resilience, leadership succession, and intergenerational equity. Whether developing green technologies, advancing economic justice, strengthening education systems, or building civic power – women are designing blueprints for sustainable transformation. This theme affirms that shaping a sustainable future means fostering systems that support both people and the planet.

Goals & Objectives

  • Honor: Celebrate the diverse contributions of women who are leading sustainability efforts across environmental, economic, educational, and social justice movements.
  • Educate: Raise awareness about the important historical and contemporary roles of women in shaping sustainable change.
  • Inspire: Empower individuals and institutions on how to take action toward sustainability, equity, and justice in their own spheres of influence.
  • Connect: Build bridges across generations, geographies, and disciplines to foster collaboration, mentorship, and shared learning.
  • Envision: Encourage a long-term vision for our future where women’s leadership is central to thriving communities and a healthy planet.

colorful depictions of black women
She Rises: Expressions of Resilience Through Art

January 20 - March 22, 2026
AAACNA Studies Center, 5th Floor, SJSU King Library

She Rises: Expressions of Resilience Through Art Reception
Thursday, March 19, 2026 I 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
AAACNA Studies Center, 5th Floor, SJSU King Library

Join SJSU King Library’s Africana, Asian American, Chicano, & Native American (AAACNA) Studies Center and SJSU’s Black Faculty & Staff Association (BFSA) in celebrating Black women as artists, storytellers, and cultural leaders whose creative expressions reflect resilience, strength, and joy. Through powerful works of art, honor lived experiences, ancestral wisdom, and visionary contributions, highlighting the ways Black women use art to preserve history, challenge narratives, and imagine liberated futures.

Come experience the powerful creativity of Black women artists. 

In celebration of the exhibition, the SJSU King Library’s AAACNA Studies Center and SJSU’s Black Faculty & Staff Association (BFSA) will be hosting a closing reception. 

Sponsors: Africana, Asian American, Chicano, & Native American (AAACNA) Studies Center and SJSU’s Black Faculty & Staff Association (BFSA)

BW sculpture of two people in the woods embracing.

SJSU Art Galleries Tuesday Night Lecture: Kathy Aoki

March 3, 2026
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Art 133: Art Lecture Hall

From Hello Kitty Monument to Koons Ruins

Kathy Aoki is a multi-disciplinary, conceptual artist who uses satire to critique the absurd value systems that dominate gendered expectations, pop culture, and the art market. Her tongue-in-cheek themes include Hello Kitty Monument, disgraced patriarchal monuments, and "Koons Ruins" - an imaginary estate where Jeff Koons work goes to die. Past awards include a 2025 Creative Capital grant and residencies at the Montalvo Arts Center, MacDowell, the Headlands Center for the Arts, and Masereel (Belgium). Aoki has completed commissions for institutions such as the San Francisco Arts Commission and the San Jose Museum of Art. She lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area where she is a Professor of Studio Art at Santa Clara University.

Tuesday Night Lecture Series Details.

Sponsor: College of Humanities and the Arts

Women dressed in black and white professional attire.

Hammer Presents National Theatre Live: Inter Alia

Thursday, March 5, 2026 at 7:00 pm
Hammer Theater Center
101 Paseo De San Antonio, San José, CA 95113

Oscar-nominated Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, Saltburn) is Jessica in the much-anticipated next play from the team behind Prima Facie. Jessica Parks is a smart Crown Court Judge at the top of her career. Behind the robe, she is a karaoke fiend, a loving wife and a supportive parent. When an event threatens to throw her life completely off balance, can she hold her family upright? Writer Suzie Miller and director Justin Martin reunite following their global phenomenon Prima Facie, with this searing examination of modern motherhood and masculinity.

All tickets are general admission.
Adult $23.00
Senior (62+) $20.00 
SJSU Community (staff, faculty, students, alumni) $16.00

Buy Tickets on the Hammer Event Website

A note about NTLive: THIS IS NOT A LIVE PERFORMANCE

NT Live is the British National Theatre's groundbreaking initiative to broadcast world-class theatre to movie screens. Each broadcast was filmed in front of a live audience in London, with cameras carefully positioned throughout the auditorium to ensure that viewers get the "best seat in the house" view of each production.

Sponsor: Hammer Theater Center

feathers arranged in a circle (left pic), woman with mouth wide open (right pic)

Art Gallery: Click on My Mouth: Language and Technology

March 17th - May 22, 2026
Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery
Department of Art and Art History

Curator Presentation and Exhibition Opening Reception
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Curator Presentation: 5:00 - 6:00 pm
Opening Reception: 6:00 - 7:30 pm
Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery

Gallery Hours
Tuesday 12:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Wednesday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Thursday 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Also by appointment

The Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery at San José State University is pleased to present Click on My Mouth: Language and Technology (March 17– May 22, 2026). Guest curated by Tanya Zimbardo, the exhibition features artworks made in the Bay Area by Anxious to Make (Liat Berdugo + Emily Martinez); Ahna Girshick; Asma Kazmi, Jill Miller and Kathy Wang; Judy Malloy; Jenny Odell; Genevieve Quick; Abram Stern; and Christine Tamblyn.

Visit the event website for further details.

Portraits of Supervisors Betty Duong and Margaret Abe Koga

Fireside Chat with Santa Clara County Supervisors
Betty Duong & Margaret Abe-Koga

Location: Career Hub Clark 102
Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026
Time: 10:30am-12:00pm
Community Reception to follow to appreciate women working in legislative and local government offices.

Register for the event!

Join us for Breaking Barriers, Building Futures: A Fireside Chat with County Supervisors Margaret Abe Koga and Betty Duong. 

We're celebrating Women’s History Month by highlighting the leadership journeys of Asian American women in government. We hope to inspire students and community members by showcasing local leaders who have broken barriers and continue to shape policy, and foster intergenerational dialogue and empower students to see themselves as future changemakers.

If you have any questions, please contact Assistant Director of Community and Government Relations Nina Chuang at nina.chuang@sjsu.edu. 

This event was made possible by: SJSU Community and Government Relations, the Morgan Charitable Foundation, SJSU Asian American Studies, CAPISE (Center for Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment), IPACE (Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement), the SJSU Career Center, and the SJSU Gender Equity Center.

People sitting under a tree gardening.

Chi Day of Action

Thursday, March 19, 2026
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
372 E. San Salvador St
(Across from the Dining Commons)

Join us in the garden on Thursday March 19th from 2-4 pm for CHI Day of Action! We will be celebrating the legacy of César Chávez, Dolores Huerta and Larry Itliong with an afternoon of service, learning and community. ☀️

Free snacks provided by @whisk_sjsu!! 🍇🍎🥑

Swag giveaways! 🎉🎉

Register to attend

Questions? Email the garden coordinator at ruby.howard@sjsu.edu. For accessible formats or accommodation requests, including wheelchair access and sign language interpretation, contact as-info@sjsu.edu or (408) 924-6241.

 

Pile of donuts with a portrait of Heather French.

 

Donuts with the Dean

Friday, March 27, 2026
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
International House (iHouse)

Join us for FREE donuts, orange juice, and coffee! Hosted by SJSU's Dean of Students, Heather French. Learn about her projects and initiatives, and have a good chat over some yummy breakfast. 

Women’s History Research Guide

https://libguides.sjsu.edu/womenshistory
Expand your women's history research by browsing this research guide that will give a snapshot celebrating just a few of the many momentous events in the history of women.