Center for Women's History
Explore women's history through exhibitions, programs, scholarship, and immersive multimedia.
About the center
Our Center for Women’s History is the first of its kind in the nation within the walls of a major museum. At the Center, we explore the lives and legacies of women who have shaped and continue to shape the American experience. As a hub for scholarship and education, the Center demonstrates how women across the spectrum of race, class, and sexuality exercised power and effected change. Guided by a committee of distinguished historians and informed by the latest research, the Center features permanent installations, temporary exhibitions, and a vibrant array of talks and programs, enriching the cultural landscape of New York City and creating new opportunities for historical discovery.
"Miss Rose Bower of North Dakota" Woman playing trumpet, wearing "Votes for Women" sash. Gelatin Silver Photograph, New-York Historical Society.
Major funding for the Center for Women's History programs provided by
The Estate of Jean Dubinsky Appleton
Claudine and Fred Bacher
James Basker and Angela Vallot
Joyce B. Cowin
Deutsche Bank
Diana and Joseph DiMenna
Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation
The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation
Richard Gilder and Lois Chiles
Susan and Roger Hertog
Susan and Robert Klein
The Leonard & Judy Lauder Fund
Diane and Adam E. Max
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Jennifer and John Monsky
Amanda and Neal Moszkowski
Jean Margo Reid
Pam and Scott Schafler
Michelle Smith
Eric J. and Daria L. Wallach
Susan Waterfall
Leah and Michael R. Weisberg
Public funding for the Center for Women’s History
provided by
The New York City Council
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
Empire State Development and I Love New York under
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Development Council Initiative
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Diane and Adam E. Max Conference on Women’s History
2022 Conference
Title IX at 50: Women’s Fight for Access and Equity
Explore the turbulent and diverse history of women’s organizing and activism around Title IX, the federal civil rights law that protects people from discrimination based on sex that was passed 50 years ago in 1972.
Now in its seventh year, the Diane and Adam E. Max Conference on Women's History is the cornerstone of the Center for Women's History's public and scholarly programs. This year’s virtual conference features a mix of pre-recorded and live conversations during March 2022.
Activists have long been the driving force behind the enactment and enforcement of Title IX, which emerged from decades of political organizing by women in higher education and women’s civil rights groups. The statute—which covers a broad scope of American educational life from K-12 to higher education—became a new tool to challenge governmental and educational institutions to give women greater access to education. Sports and sexual harassment quickly became flashpoints, raising questions about how access is tied to safety, bodily integrity, and resources.
Fifty years after its passage, Title IX carries a powerful legacy of women’s activism against systemic sexism and for equal access to education. This anniversary is an opportunity to discuss the multiple interpretations of Title IX—and its limitations—and to consider how to ensure a more just future.
This page will be continually updated as we confirm dates and programs.
Major funding for the programs of the Center for Women’s History has been provided by Joyce B. Cowin, Diane and Adam E. Max, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Jean Margo Reid, the Estate of Jean Dubinsky Appleton, Eric J. & Daria L. Wallach, Diana and Joseph DiMenna, Deutsche Bank, Claudine and Fred Bacher, James Basker and Angela Vallot, the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, Hogan Lovells, and the Caroline M. Lowndes Foundation
Image: The USA defeated Russia at Stanford University, Palo Alto, Fed Cup, 1999
