In honor of Women’s “HerStory” Month, below is a list of some prolific and also some not-so-well-known women born in March who have influenced their community, field, and the world:
- Myra Sadker
- Spent their entire life devoted to researching how girls and boys are socialized in education
- Wrote the first book for teachers on the issue of sexism (Sexism in School and Society)
- “The Myra Sadker Foundation” is an organization “committed to continuing Myra’s spirit and work in gender equity”
- Geraldyn (Jerrie) Cobb
- Chosen to be among a group of 13 women for the Mercury astronaut selection process
- Unfortunately the program was cancelled once it became public that the “Mercury 13” were women
- After the incident with NASA, Jerrie devoted her life to being a missionary pilot for South America
- In 1973 President Nixon awarded Jerrie the Harmon Trophy and in 1981 she received the Nobel Peace Prize
- Chosen to be among a group of 13 women for the Mercury astronaut selection process
- Janet Guthrie
- In 1976 Janet became the first woman to compete in a NASCAR Winston Cup superspeedway stock car race
- In 1977 became the first woman to qualify for and compete in the Indy 500
- One of the first athletes named to the Women’s Sports Hall of Fame and her helmet and driver’s suit are in the Smithsonian
- Tammy Duckworth
- First woman with a physical disability to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
- Also first person born in Thailand elected to the House
- Tammy received a Purple Heart for her service in the Iraq War in 2004
- Appointed by President Obama to be Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs in 2009
- First woman with a physical disability to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Graduated first in her class at Columbia in 1959
- First woman professor to earn tenure at Columbia
- Worked with President Obama to pass the very first piece of legislation he signed during his presidency (Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009)
- Myrlie Evers-Williams
- Served on the board of the NAACP for 30 years
- One of the first African American women to run for Congress
- In 1989, Myrlie founded the Medgar Evers Institute which focuses on history, education, and reconciliation
- Emmy Noether
- Was the second woman to earn a doctoral degree in mathematics in Germany
- Ironically, the institution she received this degree from would not hire her as an instructor because of their “no women professors” policy
- Developed “Noether’s Theorem” that builds off of general relativity and particle physics
- For most of Emmy’s career she was unpaid as an instructor and often had to publish articles under a man’s name
- Was the second woman to earn a doctoral degree in mathematics in Germany
- Matilda Joslyn Gage
- Co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869
- With Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda helped to write the multivolume History of Woman Suffrage
- Worked as an abolitionist with the Underground Railroad
- Gloria Steinem
- In 1968 Gloria helped to found “New York” magazine
- In 1972 co-founded “Ms.” magazine
- Received the first Doctorate of Human Justice by Simmons College
- President Obama awarded Gloria the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013
- In 1968 Gloria helped to found “New York” magazine
- Sandra Day O’Connor
- President Reagan nominated Sandra to the Supreme court, becoming the first woman to serve the nation’s highest court
- Arizona State University named its law school after Sandra
- Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama in 2009
- Julia Alvarez
- Decorated author whose work focuses on the intersectionality of two cultures
- In 2009 was awarded the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award for Outstanding Achievement
- How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, one of Julia’s most famous works, has won several accolades and has been converted into a play
- Liz Claiborne
- First woman to found a company that ended up on the Fortune 500 list
- Won a design contest held by “Harper’s Bazaar” magazine at the age of 19
- First woman to become chair and CEO of a Fortune 500 company
(shared by the Diversity Committee, Department of Residence Life, Housing and Dining Services)