March is Women's History Month

Celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of women throughout history. Learn more about their triumphs, successes, resilience, and the legacies and marks they leave in the United States and all over the world. 

Below are some documentaries from the Films on Demand database that highlight Women's History. Enjoy!

Her Story: The Female Revolution

Over the past few decades, life for many women across the globe has changed beyond all recognition. This fascinating series explores how, from the highest echelons of society, to the lowest rungs of the global ladder, a quiet revolution has been taking place. Women today have the power of self-determination; the autonomy to choose their own life paths and identities, rather than those enforced on them. And while there is still oppression and repression from West to East, females the world over are grasping opportunities denied to those who went before them.

IMPACT With Gal Gadot

IMPACT with Gal Gadot is a documentary short series that follows the powerful stories of six women who are making an extraordinary impact on their communities around the world. Despite living in areas marred by violence, poverty, trauma, discrimination, oppression, and natural disasters, these brave women remain undeterred as they dare to dream, stand out, speak up and lead. The women featured in each short film come from very different backgrounds – across Brazil, Puerto Rico, Michigan, California, Louisiana and Tennessee – yet they are all connected by their unwavering determination and commitment to improving the lives of the people around them.

Not Done: Women Remaking America

The women’s movement has gone mainstream: from the first female presidential nominee to the inclusion of a woman of color on a major party ticket, from the Women’s March to #MeToo, from Black Lives Matter to the fight for trans lives. Premiering amid an unprecedented pandemic and widespread social upheaval, NOT DONE shines a light on today’s feminists who are paving the way for true equality.

Picture a Scientist

Women make up less than a quarter of STEM professionals in the United States, and numbers are even lower for women of color. But a growing group of researchers is exposing longstanding discrimination and making science more inclusive.

Untold: Women and the American Story

Nine short videos on Women in the American Story illuminates diverse women’s contributions to the American past.
 

The Janes

In the spring of 1972, police raided an apartment on the South Side of Chicago and arrested seven women who defied the state legislature that outlawed abortion, the Catholic Church that condemned it, and the Chicago Mob that was profiting from it, to risk their personal and professional lives to help women in need. Using code names, fronts, and safe houses to protect themselves and their work, the accused had built an underground service for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions. They called themselves “Jane.” 

The Vote

The Vote tells the dramatic story of the hard-fought campaign waged by American women for the right to vote, a transformative cultural and political movement that resulted in the largest expansion of voting rights in U.S. history.
 

Daring Women Doctors

This documentary provides a look at the challenging and illuminating history of 19th century women doctors. Hidden in American history, all-women’s medical schools began to appear in the mid-19th century long before women had the right to vote or own property.

Alice Guy, Pioneer of the 7th art - Forgotten by History

Who knows Alice Guy? This Frenchwoman was born in 1873 and she is nothing less than the first female director! With nearly a thousand films, the most abundant career of her time which she was the only one to carry out on both sides of the Atlantic, this pioneer was literally wiped out by film historians during her lifetime. 

The Genius of Marie Curie: The Woman Who Lit Up the World

The first woman to be awarded a Nobel prize, Marie Curie's story is as remarkable in the modern day as it was last century. She became a celebrity scientist, attracting the attention of the news cameras and tabloid gossip fascinated by her groundbreaking discoveries at a time when a woman’s place was in the home, not the laboratory. 

Angela Merkel: In Their Own Words

One of the most enigmatic and inscrutable world leaders of our time, Angela Merkel’s life story reveals the woman behind the veil. Delve into some of the most significant crises in modern history and see how Merkel overcame fierce opposition, a vicious press and rampant sexism to lead Europe--and the world--out of the darkness, in her unwavering quest for peace and freedom.

Women in the Military

This series tells the story of the heroic accomplishments of women in the U.S. military. Subjects include a Civil War spy, the first woman to earn the rank of Admiral, life as a Sailor onboard a deployed ship, the effort to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell” which discriminated against gays and lesbians in the military, and the Congressional effort to address sexual assault in the military.

Agnes Binagwaho: How Women Are Revolutionizing Rwanda

In 1996, Agnes Binagwaho returned home to Rwanda in the aftermath of its genocide. She considered leaving amid the overwhelming devastation, but women in her community motivated her to stay and help rebuild -- and she's glad she did. In an inspiring talk, Binagwaho reflects on her work as Rwanda's former Minister of Health and discusses her new women's education initiative for the country, which strives to create one of the greatest levels of gender equality worldwide.

Shad Begum: How Women in Pakistan Are Creating Political Change

Activist Shad Begum has spent her life empowering women to live up to their full potential. In a personal talk, she shares her determined struggle to improve the lives of women in her deeply religious and conservative community in northwest Pakistan -- and calls for women around the world to find their political voice. "We must stand up for our own rights -- and not wait for someone else to come and help us," Begum says.

Career Options for Women: Emerging Opportunities

Women who have succeeded in historically male-dominated occupations—many of them in technology, transportation, and high-skilled labor—are spotlighted in this 35-part series. Revealing the personal experiences and insights of women in a wide range of cutting-edge fields, the series raises viewer awareness, confidence, and excitement about career opportunities.