International Women's Day: A Cause for Celebration

On this International Woman’s Day, consider this:

• Six centuries ago, a woman was named king.
• In 1916, a woman launched the first birth control clinic.
• A woman’s 1873 novel sparked Florida tourism.

In observance of the global celebration of International Women's Day, I felt it important to write about women as part of our Living Well series. March is also National Women’s History Month. While I have selected a few notable women of achievement, nearly everywhere you look in our state, women are making an impact- even in less visible roles.

"From the arts to the environment, conservation to politics, human rights, literature and education, Florida has had women in almoost every field," said Lisa Dunbar, curator of the Museum of Florida History, in Tallahassee. The museum is open daily and does not charge for admission. Learn about the women of Gulfport at the Gulfport Historical Museum or check out a book from the Gulfport Public Library.

In Florida, women have left an indelible mark throughout history and you can find some of their photos here, on the Florida Memory website.

Yet remarkable achievements by women throughout the world date farther back in history. On. Nov. 16, 1384, a woman named Jadwiga was crowned king of Poland. In 1873, Harriet Beecher Stowe, the famed abolitionist, wrote Palmetto Leaves, which helped bolster badly-needed tourism in Florida.

In 1912, Radcliffe-educated and deaf astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt developed a way to measure the brightness and distance of stars. In 1916, women’s rights activist Margaret Sanger opened the first U.S. birth-control clinic in Brooklyn N.Y., later founding the American Birth Control League, which eventually became Planned Parenthood.

Ivy J. C. Stranahan was a Floridian who fought for the rights of Seminole tribe members. In 1917, as president of the state’s suffrage league, she also lobbied for the right of women to vote. She is a member of the Florida Women's Hall of Fame

In 1921, Edith Wharton’s book "The Age of Innocence" made her the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize, Nelly Tayloe Ross of Wyoming, was the first female governor elected in the United States, on Nov. 4, 1924. 

Mary McLeod Bethune, an educator and civil rights champion, was appointed to the National Youth Administration by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and also served as a delegate of the founding conference of the United Nations by President Harry Truman. She established a school in Daytona Beach that eventually became Bethune-Cookman College.

African-American anthropologist and Barnard College educated Zora Neale Hurston worked for the Works Progress Administration’s Writing Project in the 1930s, collecting stories of Florida folklife. She was a prolific writer publishing articles, plays, poems and four novels.  About a half million copies of her works sell some five decades after her death. 

Marjory Stoneman Douglas, a vitally important Floridian, environmental activist and journalist, published "The Everglades: River of Grass", in 1947, which opposed draining the Everglades, recognizing its ecological value. The book remains in print. Douglas lived to be 108 and throughout her life campaigned for restoration of the Everglades, championing women’s and civil rights. In 1993, President Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Honor for her conservation work.

Mary Ann Carroll, the only female member of the 26-member African-American Florida Highwaymen artists, crafted a style of luminous painting and depictions of tropical scenes- capturing bits of “old Florida" along with her collegaues.  In the process.   Excluded from traditional gallery shows in the days of segregation, the group  turned to selling their stylized paintings along Florida’s eastern highways.  The painters have been inducted into the Florida Hall of Fame. Born in 1940, Carroll is still painting.

From sports to aviation, writing to science,military service to marine biology and horticulture, Florida has been home to diverse and skilled women. For more firsts by women, check out this website.

Ongoing turmoil in the Mid-East sheds light on the continuing plight of women and their fight for parity, as well as the need to understand the role of women in our state, our nation and the world.

Consider that:

until 1837 - no woman in the United States had graduated from college.

until 1877 - no woman in the United States held a doctorate degree.

until 1920 - women were barred from voting in any national election.

until 1936 - the National Recovery Act mandated that women working in government had to make 25 percent less than men performing the same job.

until 1965-  states could outlaw birth control,  even for married couples.

until 1974 -  women had no legal protection against sexual harassment in the workplace.

until 1984 - no woman had ever run for president or vice-president on a national party ticket.

until 1994- there was no comprehensive national legislation addressing violence against women.

Source: "Women: A Celebration of Strength," published in 2007, by Legal Momentum

Since 1987, March has been designated Women's History Month. A presidential proclamation urges Americans to mark it with programs, ceremonies and events honoring "the history, accomplishments and contributions of American women". The list below offers a few resources that might inspire ways to celebrate women who improved our lives, made scientific discoveries, created art or music, improved education or preserved Florida’s ecology. You might consider reading about those who have campaigned against human suffering, just as one of the inductees into the Mar. 20, 2011 Florida Women's Hall of Fame Ceremony has done.

Here’s to women who have positively impacted our ability to live well, pursue advanced education and who serve their community.  I encourage each of you to add a few sites or important quotes  in celebration of Women's History Month.

Women in the Arts

Women in Music

Women’s Health

Women in Science and Technology

National Women’s Law Center

National Association of Women in Law Enforcement

Becoming an outdoorswoman