Women’s History MonthIn 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week.

The U.S. Congress followed suit the next year, passing a resolution establishing a national

celebration.

Six years later, the National Women’s History Project successfully petitioned Congress to

expand the event to the entire month of March.

Women’s History MonthThroughout history, women have broken barriers, through legitimate channels and

otherwise, to serve in the military and defend our nation.

However, women were not integrated into the military until 1948, when President

Harry Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act.

Women’s History MonthCoach Summit began coaching the University of

Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team in 1974, and has since become the all-time winningest

coach in the history of NCAA basketball. She has also authored two books, been inducted in to the

women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and is the only person to have two NCAA Division I basketball courts named in her honor. Her

dedication and success in the field of women’s sports has encouraged young women everywhere

to pursue their athletic dreams. Pat Head Summit

Women’s History Month

“Differences can be a strength rather than a handicap.”

-Condoleezza Rice

Women’s History Month

In 1933, Frances Perkins was appointed Secretary of Labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, making

her the first female cabinet member in the United States. She held the position for 12 years, longer than anyone

had before her. After serving as Secretary of Labor, Perkins served on the U.S. Civil Service Commission under President Truman until 1952. After leaving her

government service career, she spent the rest of her life teaching and lecturing. She died in 1965.

Frances Perkins

Women’s History MonthInez Milholland Boissevain gave her life working for

the Woman Suffrage movement. Milholland was a lawyer who also fought for the rights of working class women, spoke out for racial equality, and worked for prison reform. In 1913, she helped plan the Woman

Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C., and she famously led the parade wearing a cape and crown atop a white

horse.

Inez Milholland Boissevain

Women’s History MonthThe first women ever tenured in the physics departments of Princeton, MIT, and Harvard, Lisa Randall is hard at work in the areas of particle physics and cosmology, part of a journey to determine the makeup of the

universe. In 2004 she held the distinction of being the most cited theoretical physicist of

the past five years. She continues to do ground-breaking research in particle physics and cosmology, and currently serves on the

editorial boards of several theoretical physics journals.

Lisa Randall

Women’s History Month

“If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one.”

-Dolly Parton

Women’s History MonthIf you’ve ever heard of Hasbro, Playskool, Mr. Potato

Head, Disney, Procter & Gamble, or eBay, you’ve been influenced by Meg Whitman, who is considered one of the most powerful corporate executives in the world. Having joined eBay as the company’s Chief

Executive Officer in 1998, she saw the company grow from 30 employees to over 15,500, with revenue

growing from over $4 million to over $8.64 billion. Meg Whitman is a prime example of how a woman

can succeed in business.

Meg Whitman

Women’s History Month

As the CEO of PepsiCo, the world’s 4th largest food and beverage company, Indra Nooyi has won back-to-back

listings as a “World’s Most Powerful Woman”. In addition to serving as PepsiCo’s CEO, Nooyi was instrumental in the

establishment of Yum! Brands, which now operates Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver’s, and A&W

Restaurants. Yum! Brands is currently listed as a Fortune 500 company and is the world’s largest fast food

corporation.

Indra Nooyi

Women’s History Month

Condoleezza Rice is a diplomat, political scientist, and the first African-American woman and

citizen to serve as the Secretary of State at the time of her 2005

appointment. Condoleezza Rice

Women’s History Month

“I was taught from a young age that many people would treat me as a second-class citizen because I was

African-American and because I was female.”

-Dana Owens (Queen Latifah)

Women’s History Month

In 1861, Dorothea Dix volunteered for appointment as Superintendent of Women

Nurses. During the Civil War, she recruited and trained over 6,000 nurses to serve in

the war.

Dorothea Dix

Women’s History MonthDuring the Civil War, Clara Barton learned that most of the suffering on the front lines

was due to lack of supplies. She single-handedly organized supply depots for

medical equipment and care kits and was nicknamed the “angel of the battlefield.” Her ideas and determination created an

organization that came to be known as the American Red Cross.

Clara Barton

Women’s History MonthBetty Mae Tiger Jumper is known among Native American women as the first of her

Tribe to graduate from high school, read and write English, and learn modern medicine as a nurse. Jumper was later elected to be Chief

of the Seminole Tribe, thus becoming the first female Chief of a federally recognized

tribe in America.

Betty Mae Tiger Jumper

Women’s History Month

“Life is not so much what you accomplish as what you overcome.”

-Robin Roberts

Women’s History Month

Among many firsts, Patricia Bath is the first African American to complete a

residency in ophthalmology and the first African-American female doctor to

receive a medical patent. She invented the Laserphaco Probe for cataract

treatment in 1986.

Patricia Bath

Women’s History Month

Elizabeth Blackburn, the Nobel Prize–winning molecular biologist who as of 2 years ago became the first woman president of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in

San Diego, CaliforniaElizabeth Blackburn

Women’s History Month

First woman to design a memorial on the National Mall. Maya Lin is an

American architect and sculptor best known for her design of the Vietnam

Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Maya Lin

Women’s History Month

“You are the one that possesses the keys to your being. You carry the passport to your

own happiness.”

-Diane von Furstenberg

Women’s History Month

Geisha J. Williams is a businesswoman and the president and CEO of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) since March 2017. Geisha Williams is the first Latina CEO of a Fortune

500 company. Geisha Williams

Women’s History Month

Kathryn Smith is the first woman to become a full-time

coach in the NFL.

Kathryn Smith

Women’s History MonthDr. Carla Diane Hayden, a

librarian, is the 14th Librarian of Congress. Hayden is the first woman and the first African

American to hold the post. She is the first professional librarian

appointed to the post in over 60 years.

Carla Hayden

Women’s History Month

“Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames

of achievement.”

-Golda Meir

Women’s History Month

Ann Elizabeth Dunwoody, a retired general of the United States Army, is the first woman in U.S. military and uniformed service history to achieve a four-star officer rank. She received

her fourth star on November 14, 2008.

Ann Dunwoody

Women’s History Month

Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan, a geologist and a former NASA astronaut, as a crew member on three Space Shuttle missions, she was the first

American woman to walk in space on 11 October 1984.

Kathryn Sullivan

Women’s History Month

Lt. Col. Christine MauIn 2011, she was part of

the first all-female combat sortie over Afghanistan. In 2015, she became the first female pilot of an F-35 jet.

Capt. Kristen GriestIn 2015, she was one of the first three women to earn

the Ranger tab. In 2016, she became the Army’s first female infantry officer.

Women continue to challenge gender roles and pave the road for future generations.

Sgt. Cristina Fuentes Montenegro In 2013, she was one of the first three women to earn her USMC

infantry qualifications.