Women’s History Month: Wise Words from Trailblazers

Since the first observance in 1911, people worldwide celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8. In the U.S., the entire month of March is dedicated to women’s history. And while the Dowitcher gals certainly don’t need a national holiday to entice us to celebrate all the incredible, strong, and talented women in our lives, we’re glad that March is known as Women’s History Month because it gave us a reason to compile a short list of amazing and inspirational women. Hope you enjoy these wise words from some of our favorite women!

The Scientists

Did you know that Rosalind Franklin, a pioneering molecular biologist who was instrumental in the research and discovery work that led to the understanding of the structure of DNA, never got credit for it in her lifetime? Recognition for this achievement goes to her male counterparts – James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins – who all received a Nobel Prize for the double-helix model of DNA in 1962, four years after Franklin’s death at age 37 from ovarian cancer.

The Activists

Mary McLeod Bethune was one of the most powerful and prominent African American women of the first half of the 20th century. Known as the “First Lady of the Struggle,” she was a leading educator and civil rights activist who devoted her life to improving the lives of African Americans. Not only did she found a school, Bethune-Cookman College, she was president of the National Council of Negro Women, and an administrator in the Roosevelt administration.

The Artists

One of my all-time favorite photographers, Margaret Bourke-White was an unstoppable force who broke through the glass ceiling time and time again. She was one of the first four photographers for LIFE magazine and also holds the title for the first cover, of Fort Peck Dam. During the early 1930s, she was the first Western photographer allowed into the USSR. Not only that, she was America’s first accredited female war photographer (in WWII) and was even authorized to fly on combat missions. She was also the last person to interview Mahatma Gandhi before his assassination in 1948. MBW’s friends called her “Maggie the Indestructible.” Fearless and ahead of her time, Margaret Bourke-White was a badass before the word even existed.

The Businesswomen

Katharine Graham was America’s first female Fortune 500 CEO. Born in New York City in 1917, Graham was the daughter of the publisher of The Washington Post. Her husband later became the Post’s publisher but after his suicide in 1963, Graham took control of the family business. She led the newspaper to prominence in the second half of the twentieth century, overseeing coverage of stories such as the Watergate scandal. For more than twenty years, Graham controlled the fifth largest publishing empire in the nation. She became a role model for other women in the male-dominated business world, and spoke openly about the issues women faced. She’s quoted as saying, “the thing women must do to rise to power is to redefine their femininity. Once power was considered a masculine attribute. In fact, power has no sex.”

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As a women-owned and -run business we’re nothing but proud of our team, on a daily basis. We’re constantly inspired and awed by them. Here’s to all the kickass women in your life!