The Women's Museum of California (WMC) is a nonprofit museum located in San Diego, California and dedicated to women's history. It was first organized under the names the Women's History Reclamation Project and then the Women's History Museum and Educational Center. It was founded in 1983. In addition to exhibits and programs offered, the WMofC also co-founded and hosts the San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame. The museum is located at Liberty Station and has exhibit space, archives, a library and a store that features items made exclusively by women. Other museum offerings include speakers and monthly lecture series.

History

The museum had its roots with the women's rights activist, Mary B. Maschal who collected items from women's history in her home. The home had formally belonged to a suffragist, Veronica Burke. Maschal had been collecting artifacts relating to women's history since the 1970s. She finally opened her collection to the public in 1983, naming it the Women's History Reclamation Project (WHRP). Maschal felt a passion for collecting artifacts because of her "own disappointment over the lack of knowledge about women's history among the younger generation." Maschal also received a grant in 1984 in order to conduct and collect oral history interviews.

The initial success of Mary Maschal was sparked by the Women's History Reclamation Project. In addition to taking part in UN conferences, Maschal joined the National Organization for Women as a public member while also honing the skills necessary to work well with others in business. To preserve the legacy of past-generational leaders, she started a museum educating others on second-wave feminism. The Women's Museum of California continues to preserve her legacy towards the newer generation.

Maschal moved her collection to the Art Union Building in Golden Hill in 1997. Maschal died in 1998, and Cindy Stankowski and Sue Gonda took over leadership of the museum. In 2000, the museum sponsored a Women's History Poetry contest, which was held at the same time as an exhibit titled In Our Own Voice: women's History through Women's Poetry. The museum co-created the San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2003, the Project changed its name to the Women's History Museum and Educational Center (WHMEC).

The Women's History Museum and Educational Center changed its name again in 2011, this time to the Women's Museum of California (WMofC). They concurrently updated the museum logo. WMC also moved to the Liberty Station Promenade in Point Loma in 2012. The new location was three times larger than their former location at Golden Hill.

Helen Hawkins Memorial Library and Research Archive

Part of the museum is a library and archive. The Helen Hawkins Memorial Library and Research Archive includes books and several special collections. Part of the special collections is the Alice Park Archive which collects artifacts from the women's suffrage movement from the late 19th century and early 20th century. The special collections also include papers documenting the career of Lucy Killea, a collection of materials relating to the UN Conference on the Status of Women and the Neff-LeClair Collection of period women's clothing dating from the 18th century on.

Film Festival

The Women's Museum of California offers a Film Festival that showcases women who have worked in the film industry to show their film creations and share their experiences with others. The film festival includes a panel that consists of activists and filmmakers that discuss the representation and roles of women in the film industry environment.

After eight years, the Women's Film Festival ended in 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The following year, the Women's Museum began sponsoring a "Women's Series" under the umbrella of the San Diego International Film Festival.

San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame was created in 2001, partly through the WMofC and other organizations. Some organizations that have partnered with WMofC for the hall of fame include the Girl Scouts, MANA, A National Latina Organization and Executive Women International. Co-Hosts of the HOF include the Museum, the San Diego County Commission on the Status of Women, San Diego State University's Women's Studies Department, and the Women's Center of the University of California, San Diego. Inductions into the hall of fame take place in March during Women's History Month. Each year about five women are inducted.

The San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame mission is "to acknowledge and honor women who have significantly contributed to the quality of life and who have made outstanding volunteer contributions in San Diego County."

List of inductees

San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame Inductees

Name	Image	Birth–Death	Year	Area of achievement	Ref(s)
Huma Ahmed-Ghosh			2023	Anthropologist
Norma Chavez-Peterson			2023	Executive director of the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial counties,
Amy Forsythe			2023	U.S. Navy Reserves as a public affairs officer; Military journalism, U.S. Marine in Iraq and Afghanistan
Juana Machado			2023	Cultural bridge builder
Patricia A. McQuater			2023	Trailblazer, community service
Planned Parenthood			2023	Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest
Mary Salas		(1948–	2023	Political office holder
Holly Smithson			2023	Chief executive officer of Athena advocacy group for women
Marie M. Herney			2022	First San Diego woman to practice in Federal Court, and the first local woman to practice in the Supreme Court
Tamila Ipema			2022	Judge of the California Superior Court in San Diego
Rosalia Salinas			2022	Advocate for bilingual education
Josephine Talamantez			2022	Co-founderd Chicano Park in 1970, helped develop it into a cultural National Historic Landmark
Francine Foster Williams			2022	Administrator for the San Diego Unified School District
Susan Jester			2021	Empowerer
Margaret Iwanaga Penrose			2021	Cultural Bridge Builder
Niki de Saint Phalle		(1930– 2002)	2021	Sculptor
Rosalie Schwartz			2021	Historian
Randa Trapp			2021	Court Judge
Geneviéve Jones-Wright			2021	San Diego County as a public defender
Kathi Anderson			2020	Co-founder of Survivors of Torture, International (SURVIVORS)
Lupe Buell			2020	Bridging the gap between Spanish speaking individuals and the English language
Nola Butler Byrd			2020	Activist - SDSU's School of Education
Susan Davis (politician)		(1944–	2020	U.S. Representative for California's 53rd congressional district
Iris Engstrand		(1935–	2020	Historian
Sue Gonda			2020	Historian and founder of San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame
Olivia Puentes Reynolds			2020	Civic leader and founder of San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame
Lilia Garcia			2019	San Diego County Deputy District Attorney and co-founder of the group "Latinas in the Law."
Colleen O'Harra			2019	Founding Executive Director of the Oceanside Women's Resource Center
Ruth Goldschmiedova Sax			2019	Survivor of three Nazi concentration camps
Dorothy Smith			2019	First African American woman elected to public office in San Diego County
Bridgit Wilson			2019	LGBT military veteran worked within the Obama administration
Dede Alpert		(1945–	2018	Served in both houses of the California legislature
Nellie Andrade			2018	Community activist in the Latino community
Fahari Jeffers			2018	Labor leader, United Domestic Workers of America
Carol Jahnkow			2018	Bridge Builder
Jerrilyn Malana			2018	Past president of the San Diego County bar association and Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego
Janice Martinelli			2018	Historic preservationist
Dilkhwaz Ahmed			2017	Bridge Builder
Carol Rowell Council		(1948–	2017	Empowerer
Darlene Davies			2017	Historian
Irma Gonzalez		(1948–	2017	Trailblazer
Joyce Nower		(1932–2010)	2017	Empowerer
Lilia Valasquez			2017	Activist
Sally Wong Avery			2016	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder
Maria Garcia			2016	Historian
Christine Kehoe		(1950–	2016	Trailblazer
Elizabeth Lou			2016	Empowerer
Evonne Seron Schulze			2016	Activist
Viviana Enrique Acosta			2015	Historian
Anita Figueredo		(1916–2010)	2015	Trailblazer
Natasha Josefowitz			2015	Empowerment
Lee Ann Kim			2015	Spirit Of The Women's Hall Of Fame
Starla Lewis			2015	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder
Sarah Moser			2015	Activist
Dianne (Dee) Aker			2014	Trailblazer
Lorraine Boyce			2014	Empowerer
Sonia Lopez			2014	Cultural guardian
Rachael Ortiz			2014	Activist
Deborah Szekely		(1922–	2014	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder
Bree Walker		(1953–	2014	Spirit Of The Women's Hall Of Fame
Betty Evans Boone			2013	Empowerer
Constance Carroll			2013	Trailblazer
Irma Castro			2013	Activist
Aurora Soriano Cudal			2013	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder
Dorothy Hom			2013	Cultural guardian
Jane Booth			2012	Historian
Barbara Bry		(1949–	2012	Empowerer
Makeda Dread Cheatom		(1942–	2012	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder.
Ingrid Croce		(1947–	2012	Spirit Of The Women's Hall Of Fame
Anne Hoiberg			2012	Activist
Lynn Schenk		(1945–	2012	Trailblazer
Margaret Costanza		(1932–2010)	2011	Trailblazer
Judy Forman			2011	Empowerer
Donna Frye		(1952–	2011	Spirit Of The Women's Hall Of Fame
Clara M. Harris			2011	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder
Martha Longenecker		(1920–2013)	2011	Historian
Rita Sanchez		(1937–	2011	Activist
Gloria Harris			2010	Empowerer
Judith McConnell			2010	Trailblazer
Vivian Reznik			2010	Activist
Laura Rodriguez		( –1994)	2010	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder
Anna Sandoval			2010	Historian
Charlotte Baker		(1855–1937)	2009	Empowerer
Li-Rong Cheng			2009	Historian
Joan Craigwell			2009	Trailblazer
Edith Dabbs		( –2009)	2009	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder.
Monique Henderson		(1983–	2009	Spirit Of The Women's Hall Of Fame
Marisa Ugarte			2009	Activist
Kate Yavenditti			2009	Activist
Bonnie Dumanis		(1951–	2008	Spirit Of The Women's Hall Of Fame
Sylvia Hampton			2008	Activist
Marianne McDonald		(1937–	2008	Empowerer
Judith Munk		(1925–2006)	2008	Historian
Elizabeth Riggs			2008	Trailblazer
Karen Vigneault			2008	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder.
Belle Benchley		(1882–1972)	2007	Trailblazer
Clara Breed		(1906–1994)	2007	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder
Joan Embrey		(1949–	2007	Spirit Of The Women's Hall Of Fame
Ellen Scripps		(1836–1932)	2007	Empowerer
Patricia Shaffer			2007	Empowerer
Sara Vasquez			2007	Historian
Tanja Winter			2007	Activist
Nona Canon			2006	Trailblazer
Jeri Dilno			2006	Activist
Lucy Gonzales			2006	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder
Deborah Lindholm			2006	Empowerer
Sally Ride		(1951–2012)	2006	Spirit Of The Women's Hall Of Fame
Kate Sessions		(1857–1940)	2006	Trailblazer
Ashley Walker			2006	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder
Evelyn Clarke			2005	Historian
Alyce Smith-Cooper			2005	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder
Anne Ewing		(1930–2011)	2005	Activist
Helen S. Hawkins			2005	Empowerer
Ruth Heifetz			2005	Trailblazer
Alice Hohlmayer		(1925–2017)	2005	Spirit Of The Women's Hall Of Fame
Rulette Armstead			2004	Activist
Herminia Enrique			2004	Historian
Doris Howell			2004	Trailblazer
Joan Kroc		(1928–2003)	2004	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder
Mary Maschal		(1924–1998)	2004	Historian
Gloria McClellan			2004	Activist
Jean Stern			2004	Trailblazer
Alice Barnes			2003	Activist
E. Margaret Burbidge		(1919–2020)	2003	Trailblazer
Gloria Johnson		(1937–2013)	2003	Activist
Ardelia McClure			2003	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder
Lilia Moreno de Lopez			2003	Empowerer
Midge Neff-LeClair			2003	History
Nancy Reeves			2003	Trailblazer
Beverly Yip		(d.1991)	2003	Activist
Madge Bradley		(1904–2000)	2002	Trailblazer
Alemi Daba			2002	Empowerer
Jane Dumas			2002	Historian
Lucy Killea		(1922–2017)	2002	Activist
Gracia Molina de Pick		(1928–2019)	2002	Cultural Competent Bridge Builder. Founder of IMPACT, a grass-roots civil rights organization, and of Comision Femenil Mexicana Nacional