A vocal leader of the 20th century women’s suffrage movement, Alice Paul advocated for and helped secure passage of the 19th Amendment.

Althea Gibson was a star tennis player and the first Black woman to win the U.S. Nationals, French Championship, and Wimbledon.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a skilled performer and woman guitarist, credited with the creation of rock and roll.

The first woman to join the International Association of Fire Chiefs, “Chief Nancy” led Rode Island’s Cedar Hill Volunteer Fire Department beginning in 1931.

Gerda Lerner, the “godmother of women’s history,” fled Nazi-occupied Austria and became an accomplished historian and advocate for female scholars.

Dr. Regina Benjamin was the 18th US Surgeon General during the Obama Administration, and the youngest person and first African-American on the AMA Board of Trustees.

Known as “America’s first female cryptanalyst,” Elizebeth Smith Friedman’s pioneering work in the field of codebreaking helped the country through pivotal moments in the 20th Century.

Economist Esther Duflo was on the team awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their work on global poverty issues. Duflo became the second woman to ever win the prize.

Mary Joan Nielubowicz was the only woman in the Navy Nurse Corps to earn the rank of Commodore and the first non-physician to earn the role of Deputy Commander for Health Care Operations in 1984.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (commonly referred to by her initials, AOC) is the youngest woman and youngest Latina to ever serve in the United States Congress.

Nydia M. Velázquez, the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in Congress, is the Representative for New York’s 7th Congressional District.

In 1959, Lorraine Hansberry made history as the first African American woman to have a show produced on Broadway—A Raisin in the Sun.

Born into slavery, Elizabeth Keckley’s story is one of perseverance and ingenuity in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

Dr. Janet Yellen, confirmed in January 2021 as the first female Treasury Secretary of the United States, is no stranger to breaking glass ceilings.

Elsie Robinson was a journalist, fiction writer and poet. She was best known for her nationally syndicated column, Listen, World! which was read by more than 20 million Americans between 1921-1956.

Andrea Jenkins made history in 2017 when she became the first African American, openly transgender woman elected to public office in the United States.

A prominent actress and the first openly transgender person nominated for an Emmy, Laverne Cox has promoted visibility and awareness on behalf of the transgender community.

Rachel Levine became the highest-ranking openly transgender government official in U.S. history when she was confirmed by the Senate as the 17th Assistant Secretary for Health in March 2021.

Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark was a pathbreaking psychologist whose research helped desegregate schools in the United States.

Naomi Osaka is one of the world’s greatest tennis players, and her mental health advocacy has inspired many others to share their own stories.