According to Diversity Inc. magazine (free online subscription, I think, although I have a paid magazine subscription) says that the origin of Women's History month began in 1911 by a woman named Kiera Zetkin, who was German.

"Zetkin was inspired by working-class American women and wished to have a day that would commemorate the strength of women everywhere, as well as women's rights. Although at first well received, the celebration of International Women's Day began to dwindle as the decades went on and was not rekindled until the women's movement of the 1960s."

It wasn't until 1987, though, that Congress gave us a whole month to celebrate.

Here are some interesting facts about this month - the March Madness of women's history - so to speak:

• In the 2007-2008 school year, women will earn 59 percent of bachelor's degrees and 61 percent of master's degrees. (U.S. Census Bureau)
• Effa Manley, co-owner of the Negro League team Newark Eagles, is the first woman elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Muriel "Mickey" Siebert was the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and the first woman to head one of its member firms.
• Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to receive a medical degree in 1849 from the Medical Institution of Geneva, N.Y.
• Claudia Lynn Thomas is the first black woman orthopaedic surgeon in the U.S. She was honored by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons with their 2008 Diversity Award, just this week.

This is your chance to really connect with your women customers. Women are interested in each other, in how history has treated us, and in all the "firsts" we've accomplished. Find out what women have done in your industry and share. Compliment the women who buy your products and services and create a method for them to tell their story. Honor the women in your life, in your store, or at your website. Show a little tenderness.

We all care - do you?