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A collage featuring historical portraits of women, blending black-and-white photographs with colorful, expressive watercolor paintings. Some images are realistic, while others are artistically reimagined with abstract brushstrokes.
PBS Wisconsin Voices

Raising women’s voices on PBS Wisconsin

March 5, 2025 Sigrid Peterson Leave a Comment

In March, we celebrate Women’s History Month in Wisconsin and across the nation. What began in 1978 as a week-long local celebration in Santa Rosa, California, grew to a national observance in 1980, when President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8 National Women’s History Week. By 1987, Congress passed Public Law 100-9, designating March as National Women’s History Month.

A scanned document of Public Law 100-9, dated March 12, 1987, officially designating March as Women's History Month. The text acknowledges the contributions of American women across race, class, and ethnicity in shaping the nation's economic, cultural, and social history.

PBS Wisconsin is proud to host a wealth of resources that honor the legacies and contemporary lives of women and their contributions to every aspect of our culture, economy and politics. Few of these stories of excellence and endurance have come about without centuries of struggle by women in both public and private spheres.

Women are not a monolith. White, straight, cisgender, non-disabled women’s histories of struggle and overcoming are intertwined with — but markedly different from — those of women of color, Indigenous, disabled, queer and trans women. And, the collective story of all women is marked by both progress and historical moments of regression, in which hard-won rights are diminished or eliminated — and when past struggles are reinvigorated.

Women’s History Month invites us to learn and discuss the complexity and historical contradictions of women’s stories. This March, new PBS premieres and a rich back catalogue of streaming programs and educational resources invite us to do just that.

Home Court | Independent Lens

Premieres 9 p.m. Monday, March 24

New in March from Independent Lens is Home Court,  the coming-of-age story and rise of Ashley Chea, a Cambodian American basketball prodigy. The film follows Chea as she navigates the pressures of elite recruitment, family expectations and the realities of being an Asian American athlete in a sport where she is often underestimated. Her story challenges the stereotypes that persist in sports and society, pushing back against the narrow definitions of who belongs on the court. At its core, Home Court is about resilience— of Ashley, of her family and of a community still reckoning with its own histories of displacement and survival.

Wisconsin Women Making History

Typographical logo in sans serif text that reads, in all caps, "Wisconsin Women Making History." The logo is in black type with the exception of "WOMEN" which is in pink.

Wisconsin’s history is rich with the contributions of trailblazing women, and Wisconsin Women Making History is a gateway to discovering them. This ever-growing digital resource highlights the stories of women who have shaped the state’s legacy – leaders, innovators and change makers who have impacted governance, science, the arts, business and beyond.

Through compelling biographies and multimedia, the site brings these often-overlooked figures to life, making them accessible to students, educators and lifelong learners. Explore, learn and even contribute — nominations for future honorees are welcomed as the project continues to honor the remarkable women who define Wisconsin.

The Disappearance of Miss Scott | American Masters

Hazel Scott was a jazz prodigy, Hollywood star and the first Black American to host her own national TV show – until she vanished from the spotlight. The Disappearance of Miss Scott reveals the untold story of a woman who refused to compromise, using her platform to challenge racial injustice at a time when speaking out came at a cost. Blacklisted during the Red Scare, her name faded from public memory, but Scott’s influence on American culture never waned. With narration by Sheryl Lee Ralph and insights from artists like Mickey Guyton, Tracie Thoms and Amanda Seales, this documentary restores Scott’s legacy as a groundbreaking artist and activist.

In Her Lane | POV Shorts

POV Shorts: In Her Lane presents stories of two women pushing past limits in spaces where they’re often overlooked. Set in Kyrgyzstan, Golden Moon profiles Altynai, who takes on the grueling job of truck driving to fund her dream of becoming a doctor, challenging gender norms along the way. In Over the Wall, Brehanna Daniels fights to reclaim her spot as a top NASCAR pit crew member after an injury, proving herself in a sport where Black women are rarely seen.

Women of the Earth | PBS Digital Studios

A stylized painting depicts a woman with long dark hair gathering flowers in a basket, wearing a white dress with a blue apron. In the background, a shepherd in a wide-brimmed straw hat and green jacket sits on a grassy hill, watching over a flock of sheep. Towering snow-capped mountains rise in the distance under a swirling blue sky.

Women of the Earth is a short-form documentary series capturing the resilient work of female land stewards across the United States. The subjects in this series represent a diverse group of women, whose commitment and ingenuity continues to lead our world towards effective and reciprocal solutions to systematically change the way we approach climate healing.

How History Ignored Women in Baseball | In the Margins

Women have played baseball nearly as long as men, yet their stories have been pushed to the margins. “How History Ignored Women in Baseball” traces the sport’s forgotten history – from the Bloomer Girls of the 1890s, to the formation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, to the fight for inclusion in Little League – and beyond. The episode examines how sexism, racial barriers and the perception of softball as a “replacement” for baseball have limited opportunities for women players. Today, athletes like Kelsie Whitmore and Olivia Pichardo continue to challenge those limitations.

What is Feminism, and Where Does it Go From Here? | Crash Course

Feminism is constantly evolving, asking fundamental questions about biological sex, the construction of gender and the social, economic and political conditions of women. “What Is Feminism and Where Does It Go From Here?” from this season of Crash Course: Political Theory, explores the history of feminist thought, from Mary Wollstonecraft’s fight for education to the intersectional perspectives of bell hooks and Kimberlé Crenshaw. The episode unpacks how gender, race and class shape women’s experiences, and examines internal tensions within modern feminism– especially debates around gender identity, inclusion and contemporary feminist strategy.

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These selections only scratch the surface of the compelling and urgent stories of women available on PBS Wisconsin. This Women’s History Month, we hope you explore more of them throughout our wealth of streaming video and found within our Diverse Voices collections.

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