Executive Order to Strengthen the Recognition of Women’s History

Background

As America’s storyteller, tasked with preserving and sharing our nation’s history, the National Park Service is committed to telling a more complete and inclusive story of America. Through the management of national parks, historic landmarks, and preservation programs, the National Park Service works to lift up the stories of everyone who has and continues to call this land home.

On March 27, 2024, President Joe Biden signed the Executive Order to Strengthen the Recognition of Women’s History (EO 14121). The order directs the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service to take several steps aimed at strengthening the federal government’s recognition of women’s history and the achievements of women and girls from all backgrounds.

One of the National Park Service’s key functions is managing the National Park System on behalf of the American public. Women’s history is American history, and while many parks like Women’s Rights National Historical Park, Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park, or Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site honor trailblazing women, the legacy of inspiring and influential women and girls is still underrepresented in the system.

The National Park Service also administers programs that preserve history, culture, and heritage, including the National Historic Landmarks Program and the National Register of Historic Places, and provides preservation grants, financial assistance, and technical guidance to protect places of historical importance.

Roughly 140 of the more than 2,600 National Historic Landmarks across the country were designated with some connection to women’s history. Previous studies and initiatives have evaluated the representation of women and other marginalized groups in national parks and historic landmarks, but the work prompted by President Biden’s executive order represents one of the most comprehensive attempts by the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service to improve how the federal government recognizes women’s history.

Executive Order Priorities

Identify and assess nationally important sites and stories associated with women’s history, including national historic landmarks, national monuments, and national park sites, and identify opportunities within existing sites to highlight important figures, lesser-known stories, and chapters in women’s history across the nation.
Review previously completed theme studies and issue a report to help ensure identification of nationally significant women’s history sites.
Prepare a comprehensive women’s history theme study framework that identifies major topics to be addressed by a series of subsequent theme studies. The studies will help to identify a diverse group of prominent women and girls throughout US history who merit consideration for recognition through historic sites, including national historic landmark designations. 
Request from the National Park System Advisory Board recommendations on ways to improve the recognition of women’s history across Federal parks, lands, and programs, including through historic designations and national monument designations.

...and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies...

—Abigail Adams, March 31, 1776

Get Involved

The National Park Service has begun work in response to President Biden’s executive order, but there’s much more to come. Public engagement is key. We will seek out the advice, expertise, and stories of historians, scholars, educators, leaders, and others to inform our review. The public's input is critical to this effort. To share your comments, please email us.

Resources

Learn More about Women’s History

Explore women’s history through the work of National Park Service programs and national parks created to recognize the extraordinary contributions of women.

Women's History

Find a collection of National Park Service stories and resources to learn about, visit, or teach about women's history.
Parks Named After Women

Learn about the remarkable women who have national parks named in their honor and explore these places that influenced their lives.
Women of the National Park Service

Meet women of the National Park Service's past and present as they continue to make history today.