Since 1988, each U.S. President has passed annual proclamations, declaring March as Women’s History Month. It’s important, collectively as women, that we acknowledge the contributions women have made to society and the advancement of women going forward.
It’s imperative that we educate ourselves on a few of the leading ladies who have paved the way for us in art, STEM, politics and athletics:
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo is considered one of Mexico’s greatest artists and is known for her outspoken bravery. Her unibrow and floral crown are iconic in today’s popular culture. Her work is said to make political statements, in that it expresses topics that challenge societal norms. While some argue Kahlo expresses victimhood as a silent sufferer of patriarchy, others agree that her frank artistic expression of political and societal issues is what makes her work so highly revered.
Margaret Hamilton
Margaret Hamilton was the lead software engineer during the Apollo Project. She wrote code by hand, which was used for the moon landing in 1969. She was a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and assisted in writing code for the world’s first portable computer. In fact, she was the one who coined the term “software engineer.”
At the time, computer science was just coming into existence and the position of a software engineer did not exist until Hamilton began calling herself one. She challenged the male-dominated field of engineering to allow women to enter STEM fields. On November 22, 2016, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contribution to the successful landing of Apollo 11.
Queen Lili’uokalani
Queen Lili’uokalani was the first and only Queen of the Kingdom of Hawaii. During her reign, she attempted to draft a new constitution to restore power to the monarchy and voting rights to the economically disenfranchised. The Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in 1894 and she traveled to Washington D.C. to convince Grover Cleveland to restore the Hawaiian monarchy in 1886. Lili’uokalani fought against the annexation of Hawaii for years until it’s annexation in 1898. Although her attempts to reestablish the Hawaiian monarchy failed, she demonstrated strength when faced with adversity and stood up to preserve Hawaiian culture. Today, a statue of the Queen stands in front of the Hawaii State Capitol Building.
Kathrine Switzer
Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered entry, in 1967. During the race, she was physically attacked by a race official trying to take her entry numbers from her sweatshirt. Despite being grabbed, Switzer was determined to finish the race and she did. The incident challenged the sport’s world status quo of women’s participation in athletic events. Switzer’s ongoing work to empower women about the globe earned her a spot in the 2011 National Women’s Hall of Fame.