Sally Ride

Sally Ride was an American astronaut and the first American woman in space. After studying physics in college and grad school, Sally was one of 8,000 people to apply to be part of the space program, and she became part of NASA in 1978. She worked as a ground-based capsule communicator for two different shuttle flights and was part of the team that engineered a robotic arm for the space shuttle. In 1983, Sally launched into the air aboard the Challenger and became the first American woman to make it into space. As part of the mission, her flight crew conducted pharmaceutical experiments and launched two communication satellites into orbit. While in space Sally operated the robotic arm she had helped construct for the first time and became the first person to retrieve a satellite. Sally made a second trip on the Challenger the next year, but the explosion of the space shuttle shifted her attention from launching back into space for a third trip. She was put in charge of investigating the accident, then went on to lead the first strategic planning efforts for NASA. She also founded NASA’s Office of Exploration, and later, after her official time with NASA was over, led the outreach programs ISS EarthKAM and GRAIL MoonKAM to encourage students to take an interest in astronomy. To encourage more girls to take an interest in science, she started the Sally Ride Science company and wrote seven books intended to spark an interest in science for children. Sally was subjected to a lot of criticism and speculation when she became a female astronaut, but she was entirely uninterested in the drama that surrounded her—she simply did the job she loved and let her excellent work prove all the critics wrong. By becoming the first American woman in space, Sally Ride proved to girls everywhere that they can do anything they can dream of, and she continued to support that idea through her programs and encouragement for girls long after her days as an astronaut were over.

Today, be inspired to…Have no limits on your dreams, not even the sky.

Photo credit: wikipedia

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was the first English woman to become a qualified surgeon in Great Britain and the first female dean of a medical school. Encouraged to be independent as a child and well-educated, Elizabeth was inspired by female doctor Elizabeth Blackwell and decided to enter the medical field herself. The road was a hard one, and she started out as a surgery nurse to gain experience and the trust of the doctors. She was not allowed to attend medical school and instead studied privately while still working as nurse. Despite being forbidden to officially attend school and being voted out of classes by male classmates, Elizabeth was able to pass the exam to obtain a license from the Society of Apothecaries with high marks, to which the Society replied by changing the rules to disallow future women to be licensed. Unable to find work at a hospital, Elizabeth opened her own practice and started a dispensary to provide outpatient care to poor women. Patients soon forgot their uncertainty at the idea of a female physician under her excellent care, and Elizabeth was able to help many during an outbreak of cholera. Prejudice was chipped a way a little bit at a time, and she was finally able to obtain her medical degree (from France though), and she became the first woman in Britain to be assigned a medical post when she was sent to the East London Hospital for Children. In the medical community, she refuted the old idea that education was bad for women because it used up the energy they should be exerting toward having children and promoting more logical and understanding approaches to women’s health. To smooth the path for the women that came behind her, Elizabeth also co-founded a medical school for women. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson not only helped heal and comfort her many patients throughout her career, but also she broke down barriers for women in the medical field, encouraged accurate thinking about women’s health, and even supported the women’s suffrage movement in England.

Today, be inspired to…Break down a few barriers today in your own life.

Photo credit: wikipedia

Alice Stebbins Wells

Alice Stebbins Wells was the first American-born woman to become a police officer in the United States. Alice wanted to become a police officer because she was particularly concerned about the welfare of women and children, and she felt their needs and safety were not being given the attention they deserved. She began her mission to protect and serve in 19190 when she was sworn in as an officer and given the first ever police woman badge. As no appropriate female uniform existed, she sewed her own, a floor length skirt and jacket. Her desire to help young people and women who were crime victims was quickly fulfilled. The police force realized her potential in sensitive situations and used her when talking or working with with female civilians. Her presence allowed women to be questioned by another woman when they might have felt intimidated by a male police officer, and women felt more comfortable coming to her with their problems. As more policewomen followed in her footsteps, Alice founded the International Policewoman Association to connect with and encourage other women in the field. She also went on to be the president of the Women’s Peace Officers’ Association of California and the official historian for the LAPD. Alice Stebbins Wells set the precedent as a female police officer as the one who blazed the trail and revealed the true potential and power of a woman with a badge. In her thirty years on the force, she exemplified what it meant to protect and serve the women and children in Los Angeles.

Today, be inspired to…Thank a police officer. They really do more than just give you tickets when you’re running late, you know.

Photo credit: iawp.org

Hattie Caraway

Hattie Caraway was the first woman to be elected to the United States Senate. A former school teacher, Hattie temporarily took her husband’s place in the Senate after he died while in office, a common custom. She won a special election to take over the position for the remained of the term, then decided to run for election in her own right. With the help of politician Huey Long, she was able to win the 1932 election in Arkansas by a landslide. While in the Senate, Hattie served on committees for Agriculture and Forestry, Commerce, and Enrolled Bills and Library. The issues she supported were usually specific to her Arkansas constituents, like farm relief or flood control. She developed a reputation for honesty but was often criticized for rarely speaking during Senate meetings. For a woman serving in the government, Hattie was not particularly interested in promoting women’s rights, but she did want men to understand that women should have a say in their government and that they were in fact capable of political finesse. She did well enough in the position to be reelected for a second term and ably demonstrated that a woman could be a competent senator. Hattie Caraway was well-liked by her constituents and well-respected by her colleagues, and it is the reputation she earned for her politically-savvy and attention to those she represented that exhibits what skills a woman truly possesses or what position she can suitably fill, far better than any campaigning or petitioning for rights. Hattie needed few words because her actions were loud enough to communicate who she was and what she strove to do.

Today, be inspired to…Let your actions speak for you. The words you say mean little if you aren’t backing them up with what you do and how you act.

Photo credit: s9.com

Corazon Aquino

Corazon Aquino was the first woman to become president of the Philippines and the first female president of any Asian country. Corazon staunchly opposed the current governmental regime of the Philippines and, at the urging of the people, ran in the election for president under the United Nationalist Democratic Organization though she had no previous political experience. Initially the current President Marco was declared the winner of the election, but allegations of voter fraud caused both the military and the Catholic church presence in the Philippines to defect to Corazon’s side, and the voting public resorted to civil disobedience in what became the People Power Revolution to express their dismay at the fixed outcome. After being established as the rightful president, Corazon abolished the current constitution to create a new one that established a bicameral Congress and focused her attention on human rights and civil liberties concerns in her country. She dealt with problems with communist insurgency and Islamic succession within the country, all while trying to create a healthy, market-oriented economy and to restore the people’s broken faith in their government. Corazon Aquino was not president for long, but she made a significant difference in the Philippines by being the one to end the regime of Marco and the one to introduce a more democratic government to the country that allowed the people to have a say in what they wanted. She never had political aspirations before she became president, and she ran for election only because she was asked to–Corazon simply wanted the voice of the people to be heard and her home country to thrive under a democratic government, and she was willing to step up to make that happen.

Today, be inspired to…Take even a vague interest in the politics outside your own country. Maybe just learn the name of the leader of a foreign country. We live in an increasingly globalized society, and what affects one country often eventually affects us all.

Photo credit: nndb.com

Shirin Ebadi

Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian human rights activist who became the first Iranian to win the Nobel Peace Prize for her work defending the rights of women, children, and refugees. After attending the University of Tehran, Shirin became the first woman to become a judge in Iran and the first female president of the Tehran city court. However, after the Iranian Revolution, Shirin and all of the other female judges were demoted to lesser positions by those who felt Islam forbade women to be judges, and Shirin eventually turned her attention to lawyering. As a lawyer, she advocates for the legal rights of women and children and often takes the cases of those fighting against the law free of charge. In order to protect children from abuse, Shirin founded the Society for Protecting the Rights of the Child and the Defenders of Human Rights Center, and she also helped write a law against child abuse. Shirin calls for peace in her country and for respect for the rights of all of Iran’s citizens, despite the threats and arrests she has been faced with for her very public opinions. She continues to lecture and write about human rights issues and joined the Nobel Women’s Initiative to promote rights of women. Having experienced the limitations on her rights and opportunities personally, Shirin Ebadi is still fighting for the equality of women in Iran, and she is still trying to spread the message of peace, free speech, and the protection of the country’s precious children. Her voice has been a vital force calling for change amidst so much turmoil and unrest, and her lifetime of work is a testament to the difference one woman can make.

Today, be inspired to…Defend the rights of those who need you–children, elderly, homeless, disadvantaged, or anyone who needs support.

Photo credit: randomhouse.com

Shirley Chisholm

Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman to be elected to Congress and the first woman to run for the democratic presidential nomination. Educated in Christ Church, Barbados and New York City, Shirley honed her debating skills while attending Brooklyn College. She got her first experience in leadership by managing childcare centers, then expanded into volunteer work with the Bedford-Stuyvesant Political League and the League of Women Voters. Her interest in politics grew, and in 1964, Shirley ran for and was elected to the New York State Assembly. During her four years there, she would arrange unemployment benefits for domestic workers and create remedial education programs. Next she ran for a spot in the House of Representatives with the slogan “Unbought and Unbossed.” Her elected made her the first African American woman in Congress. While in Congress, she served on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the Education and Labor Committee, and she also helped found the Congressional Black Caucus and the National Women’s Political Caucus. Shirley had aspirations higher than Congress though—she began preparing a campaign to became the democratic presidential candidate, but organizational problems and media insults hurt her chances. Undeterred, Shirley continued to work in the political field until she retired to care for her injured husband. Shirley was always honest, outspoken, and pointed when talking about her experience as a congresswoman. She said she actually had a harder time being a politician as a woman than she did being black. She was brave and bold enough to believe that she could do anything and to try to do anything, qualities alone that demand admiration. She also devoted her work to caring for those most in need—children, the poor, those living in the inner city, and anyone she felt needed a voice. Shirley Chisholm broke the glass ceiling in a few places and accomplished a lot of goals during her time in Congress, and her go-get-em attitude and frank attitude inspires us all to achieve our goals, no matter how high.

Today, be inspired to…Be a little unbought and unbossed. Shirley would want you to.

There’s a pretty cool documentary out there about Shirley Chisholm’s campaign for President, and you should check it out some time.

Photo credit: history.com

Nora Stanton Blatch Barney

Nora Stanton Blatch Barney was an engineer, women’s rights activist, and architect around the turn of the twentieth century. Raised by women’s rights activist herself (Elizabeth Cady Stanton was her grandmother), she was highly educated for a girl and became the first woman in the United States to earn a degree in Civil Engineering. After graduating from Cornell with her degree, she continued to take further classes at Columbia University to expand her knowledge into electricity. Nora became the first woman to become a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and began working for the American Bridge Company and the New York City Board of Water Supply. She also worked as an assistant for Lee De Forest, the inventor of the radio vacuum tube, before taking more engineering-oriented positions with the Radley Steel Construction Company and the New York Public Service Commission. Later in life, she would continue to work as a real estate developer. Busy civil engineer and architect that she was, Nora still devoted a lot of time to the women’s rights movement, even starting a suffrage club while still in college. She campaigned for women’s rights as a young woman, and took her mother’s place as president of the Women’s Political Union. She helped with the publishing of Women’s Political World periodical and wrote her own pamphlet Women as Human Beings. She enjoyed her work and worked because she wanted to—after she married for the first time, her husband couldn’t understand why she would not simply give up her job and assume her natural womanly role at home. But true to her upbringing, Nora didn’t give up being the first female civil engineer or an architect just because someone else thought she would be better off at home. She exemplified one very important fact that seemed to mystify men—women often seem to derive a sense of pride, accomplishment, and worth from their work, much as men do. Who knew! Nora Stanton Blatch Barney followed in the footsteps of the women that went before her, most specifically her mother and grandmother, and continued to blaze the trail they had started as an intelligent, highly-educated woman; competent engineer; and a steadfast feminist.

Today, be inspired to…Be with people who understand why you do what you do. If your friend or love derides, belittles, or simply refuses to understand why you enjoy your job, hobby, or interests, they are not respecting what is most meaningful to you, and by association, they aren’t respecting you either.

Photo credit: global.britannica.com

Wangari Maathai

Wangari Maathai was an environmentalist, activist, and women’s rights supporter. She studied chemistry and began to take an interest in environmental issues while in the United States, and after continuing her education in several places, she became the first East African woman to earn a doctorate degree. She also became the first female chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy in Nairobi and the first female associate professor. As chair of the board of the Environmental Liaison Centre in Kenya, Wangari began to try to connect the environmental and unemployment problems of the country in a way that would help alleviate both. Envirocare Ltd was the first solution, getting those who needed work to plant tree nurseries. Next, Wangari declared World Environment Day and started the Green Belt Movement. Through the Green Belt Movement, she was able to pay women to plant seedlings and fight deforestation and water shortages. Many other African countries formed their own Green Belt programs modeled on the success of Kenya’s. Wangari also worked for the Economic Commission for Africa and after some controversy became vice-chairman of the National Council of Women of Kenya, which she helped focus on environmental issues. She was active in many other organizations in Kenya, especially those specifically for women who shared her passions. Despite much friction from the government and troubles in her personal life, Wangari Maathai worked hard to preserve the environment of her country by planting trees and encouraging good environmental practices, hoping to built a better tomorrow for Kenya and the rest of Africa.

Today, be inspired to…Plant a tree! Or maybe just recycle some paper to save a tree.

Photo credit: takingrootfilm.com

Helen Taussig

Helen Taussig was the doctor who founded the field of pediatric cardiology and is known for saving the lives of many children born with heart defects. Despite an illness that delayed her education and severe dyslexia, Helen was bright enough to be admitted to Harvard Medical School, though the university would not grant her a degree and she was discriminated against as a female student. She did eventually obtained her medical degree from John Hopkins instead where she would also do her cardiology fellowship. She became the head of the pediatric department where she studied the condition anoxemia or “blue baby syndrome.” Together Helen, Dr. Alfred Blalock, and Dr. Vivien Thomas developed a method to correct the artery blockages that caused the condition with the Blalock-Taussig-Thomas shunt. The performing of the procedure on human infants is considered the beginning of pediatric cardiology as a field. Even after becoming a professor at John Hopkins, Helen continued to study and publish research on conditions that affected infants like phocomelia, succeeding in having the drug that caused it banned, and was one of the first to use x-rays and fluoroscopy to student infant hearts and lungs. A prolific writer even after her retirement, Helen Taussig was honored with the Lasker Award, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Legion d’Honneur, and the Howland Award, and the children’s cardiac center at John Hopkins was named in her honor for the priceless work she did to save the lives of so many precious infants.

Today, be inspired to…Care about the little ones. There are still so many things that threaten the lives of infants today, but we have made such great strides in helping them survive and thrive today. Lets hope we only keep improving our care for them.

Photo credit: medicalarchives.jhmi.edu

side note: Way to drop the ball, Harvard.