About the Project

Women’s lives are a complex balancing act — work, child and elder care, housework — there is often not enough time in the day or money in the bank. Yet as of today — Black Friday, 2016 — one hundred and nineteen thousand people have said they will attend the Women’s March on Washington scheduled for January 21st, 2017 — the day after the scheduled inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States. Sister marches have been planned in cities around the country with thousands more women planning to march at those local events.

Why are so many women marching and what do they hope to achieve?

We plan to document answers to those questions by interviewing a wide range of women from across the U.S. We also wish to offer a glimpse into what diverse women are thinking and feeling at this pivotal moment in history.

Please help us by telling your own story, by reaching out to friends and family members who might like to tell theirs, and by sharing these stories widely. If there was ever a time in our lives to stand up and speak out for our children, our families, our neighbors — our fellow Americans of every race, creed, and religion — the time is now.

If you are planning to attend the Women’s March on Washington or a sister march in another city, we’d like to hear from you. Email us at whyareyoumarching@gmail.com. Tell us who you are, what your fears and dreams are, why and how you are planning to attend the March, and what you hope we can accomplish.

[Editor’s Note: The Women’s March was wildly successful — with record-breaking crowds, zero arrests, and an estimated 673 sister marches. We are proud to have marched with our sisters and brothers the world over — and to have documented some of their stories. This project is complete and is being archived at the Sophia Smith Women’s History Collection at Smith College, the oldest and most prestigious women’s history archive in the U.S.]