The Icelandic Women's History Museum was founded on New Year's Day 1975 at the home of Anna Sigurðardóttir (December 5, 1908 – January 1996) at Hjarðarhagi 26. She was the first female director of the museum for about 20 years and was responsible for its establishment along with Else Mia Einarsdóttir and Svanlauga Baldursdóttir, librarians.

Anna began collecting sources on women's history in 1946, when she was a teacher, housewife and women's rights activist in Eskifjörður. At first, the collection was haphazard. Anna jotted down notes on scraps of paper that were at hand, like the paper off a fish. The idea of ​​establishing a museum came much later, or in 1968, under the influence of Nordic women's historians.

In parallel with her work as the director of the Women's History Museum, Anna Sigurðardóttir conducted research in women's history. One of her main works is the book Women's Work in Iceland for 1100 Years from 1985. As the name suggests, the book deals with the diverse jobs that women in Iceland have done since the settlement to the present day. In 1986, Anna received an honorary doctorate from the University of Iceland, the first Icelandic woman to receive this award.