Influential women through the decades
/Written by: Madison Meston
With the rise of social media over the last decade, we have nearly unlimited access to influencers advocating for women’s rights. Feminists weren’t always so visible, though. We have more equality now than ever thanks to several women who pushed the boundaries in times when women weren’t as respected or listened to. From scientific to political achievements, these women made strides in all areas of equality. While there is still work to do in our journey to equal opportunity, history has provided a reminder of the hurdles women have crossed throughout the last century.
1900s & 1910s: Marie Curie
Marie Curie is one of few widely recognizable female scientists, but most don’t know her actual contributions and achievements. She pushed her boundaries in more ways than one, growing up without a mother and taking “underground” classes at an all-male university. In 1903, she became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.1 While she shared the award with her husband, it was a milestone nonetheless, beginning to change the ways women were seen in the STEM community. In 1911, she won another Nobel Prize for chemistry (by herself this time), becoming the first person (not a woman) to ever win twice. Her contributions are still relevant today, as she both discovered radium (with her husband) and helped develop the X-ray.1 Marie Curie was not only a strong female force herself, but helped empower other women as well: after the X-ray was finished, she trained 150 women to use it to treat injured WWI soldiers.
1920s: Edith Cowan
In 1921, Edith Cowan became the first woman elected to Australian parliament. As an Australian social worker who valued women’s and children’s rights, she spoke out about important women’s issues, including contraception, domestic violence, voting rights, and sex crimes. In 1923, Australia became one of the first countries to allow women to practice law when Edith introduced the Women’s Legal Status Act in 1923.5 She was the founder, president, and vice-president of numerous activist groups throughout her years. In 1909 she started the Women’s Service Guild and, in 1916, helped open Australia’s first women’s hospital. She is known as one of Australia’s most influential women, honoured today on their $50 bill5 and as the namesake of Edith Cowan University4 in Joondalup, Australia.
1930s: Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo is one of the few famous female artists of the 20th century. She explored themes of gender, race, colonialism, and identity. Many of her paintings are self-portraits in traditional bright Mexican clothing; others focus on her tumultuous relationship with her husband and the affairs they each had, and some highlight Mexican artifacts. Frida’s art has influenced modern pop culture in more ways than one: the vibrant colours she used, her political commentary through art, and her focus on the self are all things often seen today. Some suggest even the selfie was influenced by her self-portraits. Without Frida Kahlo, mainstream trends, social media, and culture would look very different today.
1940s: Naomi Parker Fraley
Naomi Parker Fraley was an American girl turned icon when she became the model for the famous Rosie the Riveter poster. Flying under the radar for years, Naomi wasn’t uncovered as the face of the Rosie campaign until just a few years ago. After the Pearl Harbour attack in 1941, 20-year-old Naomi was sent to the Naval Air Station in Alameda to help build and fix plane bodies. She dressed in a blue jumpsuit and tied a red and white polka-dotted bandana around her hair, just as pictured in the famous posters. The banners were part of a campaign to recruit women for jobs in the defence industry during WWII. Ever since, Rosie (Naomi) has been an iconic inspiration for women in the workforce. She represents an important step in gender equality: women were finally given a chance at personal and financial freedom.
1950s: Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks is known as “the first lady of civil rights.” Her civil rights activism began when she refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus for a white rider, leading to her arrest. Her defiance sparked a boycott throughout Montgomery, Alabama; for 381 days, African-American’s all over the city stopped riding the busses. The boycott ended when the Supreme Court ruled segregation on public transport unconstitutional. Rosa Parks’ bravery and drive to defend her beliefs was a monumental step toward racial equality. In 1987, she started the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institution for Self-Development with her friend Elaine Steele. Today, the program still runs tours to educate people on segregation and civil rights movements like the Montgomery bus boycott to ensure they are not forgotten.
1960s: Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King was a civil rights activist and leader. Her earlier activism included speaking out about the Vietnam war and American economics, even more than her future husband Martin Luther King Jr. was at the time. In 1953, their wedding vows signified her commitment to be more than just Martin’s wife. She removed the word “obey” from them to consolidate their equality in their partnership. Throughout her life and marriage, she struggled to be known as more than “Martin’s wife.” However, her activism inspired Martin and he credited her for her strength. She gave him the courage to continue leading the Montgomery bus boycott (the one that Rosa Parks initiated) and took many of his threatening phone calls for him. Throughout the 60s, she continued to push her husband and speak out about American war politics, being the only woman to speak at most rallies. Without Coretta, Martin may not have been the seemingly tireless activist he was. After his death in 1968, she kept working on initiatives important to both of them; she fought for welfare rights, unemployment, stereotypes surrounding women of different races, gay rights, and AIDS. In a time and place where women were expected to be seen and not heard, Coretta did an astounding job at both.
1970s: Shirley Chisholm
As the first African American woman in US Congress and the first woman to run for one of the major US political parties (running for the Democrats in 1972), Shirley Chisholm was an avid women’s rights and minority equality advocate. Growing up, teachers encouraged her to pursue politics. However, she felt she had a “double handicap” being both black and female. Instead, she went to Columbia University and earned a degree in early childhood education and began working with New York City on daycare regulations. She eventually joined the League of Women Voters and the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, solidifying her journey to break through her barriers. In Congress, she fought for women’s and gender equality, for the poor, and against the Vietnam war, launching more than 50 pieces of legislation. When running for Democratic leader, she was blocked from the televised primary debates. After taking the issue up legally, she was allowed to speak once. Despite her limitations, she still attracted the votes of students, women, and minorities across the country, earning her 10% of the votes (significant all things considered). Shirley Chisholm was a champion of equality and fighting the odds, instilling change in America and inspiring people all over.
1980s: Benazir Bhutto
In 1988, Benazir Bhutto became the first female prime minister of Pakistan (and the first female leader of a Muslim country). Her accomplishments did not begin there, though. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Harvard, then continued to study philosophy, political science, and economics at the University of Oxford in the 70s. Her father led the Pakistan People’s Party, where she succeeded him after his execution in 1979. In the years leading up to her election, she faced house arrest and exile. This didn’t deter her, though, and once she was out of exile she ran for prime minister and won. Due to oppositional political forces, she wasn’t able to do much during her two terms as PM and was exiled yet again after being wrongfully convicted of corruption. She was allowed to return to Pakistan in 2007 but was assassinated months later. Benazir’s ability to overcome all obstacles has made her an inspiration to girls today and represents an important step towards equality in developing countries.
1990s: Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the first woman to become a judge in the Supreme Court of the United States. She not only graduated at the top of her class at Cornell University, but held the same standards at Harvard Law School. She was one of only nine women in the program and was taking care of her sick husband, a year ahead of her, including helping him in his own classes. She completed her final year of law school at Columbia to be with her husband, graduating at the top of her class there as well. Despite her academic achievements, she had an awful time finding jobs; the few positions she was offered at law firms were at much lower salaries than her male equivalents. Refusing to settle, she took time off to work on Civil Procedure in Sweden for a few years. When she returned to the U.S., she became a law professor at Rutgers University and continued to battle gender discrimination, even hiding her pregnancy from her colleagues. In the 70s, she ran the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, arguing against gender discrimination (for both men and women) in the Supreme Court. She served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for 13 years, before being appointed to the Supreme Court by Bill Clinton in 1993. There, she worked on many important gender equality cases, including equal pay and equal admissions opportunities to universities. From 1993 to 2018, she never missed a day of work: not when she had pancreatic cancer, not when she had colon cancer, and not when her husband passed. She was an inspirational force for women everywhere and her passing on September 19, 2020, is being felt deeply. R.B.G left her mark on the world and will not soon be forgotten.
2000s: Doreen Lawrence
Throughout the 2000s, Doreen Lawrence made strides in the fight for racial equality. Her battle for justice was ignited after her son, Stephen, was murdered due to gang violence and the charges were dropped. Her campaign not only forced an inquiry into Stephen’s case but led the Metropolitan Police to change the way they investigate murders. Doreen still didn’t stop. In 2000, she won an amendment to the Race Relations Act; all authorities had to disclose how they were working to treat all people fairly. Further, her campaign led to the removal of double jeopardy from the Criminal Justice Act in 2003, authorizing suspects to be tried for the same crime twice. After all the changes her campaigns made for the U.S. justice system (and the influences those changes had on the rest of the world), Doreen was finally awarded what she had always wanted: the men who killed her son were tried and convicted.
2010s: Malala Yousafzai
Malala is a 23-year old Pakistani woman who fights for female education and is the youngest person to have won a Nobel Prize. She has always loved learning, so when the Taliban ruled that girls couldn’t go to school, she was devastated. She began speaking out for girls’ rights and education, to which many people found angering. In 2012, she was shot in the side of the head by a man on the bus she was riding. She fell unconscious for ten days, which she spent in a hospital in England. The attack sent the world into a frenzy; people all over were praying for her recovery. For years after the attack, she underwent surgeries and spent plenty of time in rehab to recover. In 2014, she decided to continue her fight for women’s education and started the Malala Fund, a charity that supports girls’ futures in whatever they want to do. It was December of that year that she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Today, she is a University of Oxford graduate, having studied philosophy, politics, and economics. She continues to travel the world helping girls in poverty, war-torn countries, and child marriages go to school, working directly with national leaders. Her goal is to ensure all girls get 12 years of free, safe education and doesn’t plan on stopping until they do.
2020s: All of Us
In the age of social media, we all have an opportunity to use our voices to make a difference and influence the people around us. The world is, quite literally, at our fingertips and we should take advantage to educate ourselves and others on important issues such as gender and racial equality. Like the powerful women before us, we have a lot of boundaries to break before we’re there. That being said, they have paved the way and there has never been a more empowering time for women. Don’t be afraid to use your voice and challenge the status-quo: history is always watching.