“The women who go first and speak out help shape a better world for all of us.” Which women in history do you think fit this description? Which do you personally admire? Who are your female heroes or mentors?

Perkins states that “The women who go first and speak out help shape a better world for all of us.” Which women in history do you think fit this description? Which do you personally admire? Who are your female heroes or mentors?

The following women attended Yale, Sonia Sotomayor, Janet Yellen, Elizabeth Kolbert, Jodie Foster, Maya Lin, Angela Bassett, Anne Applebaum, Sigourney Weaver, Marian Wright Edelman. I admire Janet Yellen who is an economist, public servant, and educator serving as the 78th United States secretary of the treasury since January 26, 2021. She is the first woman to hold that role.

Michelle Obama is the first woman who comes to mind. She really had to endure a lot as the first Black First Lady. She's bright, articulate, and seems to have a really good heart, and also seems to be very down-to-earth.

The person who comes to mind first and foremost is Eleanor Roosevelt. She was a staunch supporter of women's right to vote; advocated for and worked with the League of Women Voters; believed in racial justice and advocated for the NAACP and the Urban League; chaired the United Nations Human Rights Commission; chaired the President's Committee on the Status of Women which released a ground breaking study about gender equality; worked in support of the Equal Pay Act; pushed Congress to take swifter action in housing desegregation and protections for the Freedom Riders and other activists during the civil rights movement.

This is a very interesting question for me. I've been reflecting on my childhood and what I was or wasn't specifically told about women in history. As a child, I had a lot of non-fiction chapter books in my personal library- -introductions to Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Molly Pitcher, Helen Keller, Florence Nightingale, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
These books made it seem like women have always had important roles in our society and were always accepted. My little chapter book never once mentioned that Helen Keller was a "socialist" who fought for the right to vote!

I remember making jokes with my friends about burning bras, without truly realizing how symbolic that was. My brother and I giggled when we noticed Our Bodies Ourselves on our mom's bookshelf, not realizing how amazing that was. I never specifically learned how hard women have had to fight for anything other than the right to vote- -and who the women were that were literally risking their lives to speak out.

I don't know that I really knew enough about the efforts of women throughout history to have a role model- -other than someone like Harriet Tubman. But was she really a role model or just someone I could pick because her name was very well known? I think the #MeToo movement and the Women's March on Washington were true eye openers for me. I've turned to a lot more non-fiction lately and am educating myself about the history of the US and the role women, immigrants, and minorities have played.

I recently read about the Copper Mine strikes in Michigan in the 1900's and was introduced to Mother Jones. (I'm embarrassed to admit that I had no idea she was a real person! What???) I think she would have been an incredible role model. I'm also very inspired by Stacey Abrams.

My mind is jumping all over as I think about answering this question. In the past, during our childhood education, we were “told” who those women were. Some of the same names come to mind as mentioned above: Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart Harriet Tubman, Florence Nightingale, Hillary Clinton (back in 1969 at Wellesley), Marin Alsop, Margaret Thatcher—women who set themselves apart pretty much on their own and will show up in history books. Others are known to us because they married famous men and then showed their individuality, like Abigail Adams, Michelle Obama, and Betty Ford (women are still benefitting from what Mrs. Ford did for them by dealing publicly with her breast cancer and addiction). For me, though, and maybe because we’re now into our second year of this pandemic, the women I realize I admire most are the unsung ones: single moms; moms who both work and “do school” with their kids at home; health care workers who put their own lives on the line before we had a covid vaccine. Some of their stories might have been in the news, but their names won’t become part of the historical record.

kimk stole my thunder. Michelle Obama was the first name that popped into my head as well. Her class, poise, and ability to never take the bait and "go low" in the face of such hostility was and is simply amazing. Still, I definitely like that a number of comments in this thread and others also recognize the unsung heroes who are equally amazing in their own ways. It is impossible to pick just one.