Molly Murphy MacGregor and Mary Ruthsdotter of Windsor, California have devoted years to getting the stories of women's lives told as part of the nation's history. Since 1978, when they started presenting women's history in their own community, they have given up the security of their careers to campaign tirelessly for a fuller telling of history.  As co-founders of the National Women's History Project, they began reaching out to history teachers, 80% of whom were men. MacGregor and Ruthsdotter described these teachers as having been quite satisfied with the content of existing history texts then, and reluctant to make changes. Nevertheless, they wrote, spoke and lobbied, pointing out over and over again that half the human race was being left out of the record.

Today thanks to these two women's tireless efforts and their courage in giving up their incomes and plunging into debt, the US Congress and most states proclaim Women's History Month each March. During that month, schools and communities across the country focus on women's contributions over the centuries, much of the material coming from the Women's History Catalog, a treasury of books, posters and videos set up by MacGregor and Ruthsdotter. When they started the Women's History mail order Service, the women took turns putting their homes up as collateral for the loans they needed to stock an inventory; their security is still very much on the line as MacGregor and Ruthsdotter continue to work double time for an iffy monetary return.

Why do they go on? Ruthsdotter describes growing up herself with no information about women's achievements. "Women didn't this, didn't that, and therefore I couldn't, shouldn't, wouldn't." When she began to learn the history that wasn't in her textbooks, she realized that she too could achieve. "Knowing what other women have done is a tremendous source of strength and courage." Molly Murphy MacGregor and Mary Ruthsdotter are determined to bring that strength and courage to today's girls and women.