legal herstory pioneers

Select contributions:

• Between 1971 and 1977, member of Congress from New York.

• In 1973, primary sponsor of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

• In 1974, primary sponsor of the Equality Act. 

• Authored the Comprehensive Child Development Act.

• In 1991, co-founded the Women's Environment and Development Organization, an international activist and advocacy network. 

​

Biography: Trackbill, WEDO

​

Select contributions:

• In 1914, first woman to be an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of California.

•  In 1920, first woman to be the Assistant Attorney General of the United States.

• In 1942, first woman to be appointed a presiding appellate court justice in California.

• In 1950, served by special assignment on one case in the California Supreme Court,
  becoming the first woman to sit on that court.

 

Biography: Wikipedia, CA Courts

Select contributions:

• In 1889, co-founded Hull House, the first settlement house in the United States.

• In 1919, co-founded the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, later becoming the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

• In 1920, co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”).

• Wrote articles advocating for women’s suffrage.

• Co-founded the Women’s Trade Union League (“WTUL”) and lobbied for protective labor laws
  for women, including an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage.

 

Biography: Women's History, Jane Addams

Select contributions:

• In 1982, joined the academic staff at Georgetown University, directing University's program on women in global politics.

• In 1993, appointed Ambassador to the United Nations by President Clinton.

• In 1997, became the first woman U.S. Secretary of State. 

 

Biography: State Department, Wikipedia

Select contributions:

• In 1943, became the first black woman to be admitted to Columbia Law School.

• In 1947, became the first black woman to practice law in North Carolina.

• In 1968, became the first black woman elected as a judge in North Carolina.

• In 1969, created the Judgment Day Program for first-time juvenile offenders in her court as an alternative to sentencing and incarceration to allow for rehabilitation. 

 

Biography: Columbia, NC Archives, Wikipedia 

Select contributions:

• In 1917, successfully defended women's right to vote in municipal elections under charter of East Cleveland, State ex rel. Taylor v. French, et al.

• In 1919, secured the women streetcar conductors' right to retain employment after men returned from WWI, Employees v. Cleveland Railway Co.

• In 1920, elected as a judge in the Court of Common Pleas Cuyahoga County, OH.

• In 1922, elected to the OH Supreme Court, the first woman elected to any state supreme court.

• In 1934, appointed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the first woman to be appointed to the federal appellate court.

 

Biography: National Park Service

Select contributions:

• In 1980, fought against L.A. County’s practice of shackling pregnant female prisoners during labor and childbirth. 

• In 1983, sued an L.A. restaurant for refusing to seat same sex couples.

• In 1984, sued an L.A. dry cleaners for charging more for women's clothing than men's.

• In 1997, represented a woman who was fired for being pregnant.

• In 2004, filed the first suit challenging the ban on same sex marriage in California.

• In 2008, represented CA women farmworkers in a class action suit for gender discrimination.

 

Biography: LA Times, The New Yorker

Select contributions:

• In 1922, was the first female prosecutor in Chicago.

• In 1926, was the first Black woman admitted to practice before SCOTUS. 

• In 1936, lobbied Congress for the Bankhead-Jones Act, enacted in 1937, which helped low-income farm workers become farm owners.

​

Biography: Black Past

​

Select contributions:

• Between 1971-1973, was the first woman co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

• In 1972, was the keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention, the first woman to do so from either major party.

• In 1972, was the first woman to be appointed Counselor to the President. 

• Founded the Office of Women's Programs in the White House, now know as The White House Council on Women and Girls.

• In 1976, was the first woman to be appointed U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

​

Biography: Wikipedia, Congress 

Select contributions:

• In 1921, became the first woman tenure track law professor.

•  In 1932, wrote the book, Insuring the Essentials: Minimum Wage Plus Social Insurance - A Living Wage Program, which advocating for a living wage, social security and other programs.

• In 1935, drafted the language for the Social Security Act. 

​

Biography: Berkeley Law

​

Select contributions:

• In 1915, was the first woman inducted into the Michigan chapter of the Order of the Coif.

• In 1916, first woman admitted to practice in the territory of Hawaii.

• In 1923, appointed to the Uniform Law Comm'n.

• Between 1934-1953, served as attorney for the territorial legislative body during session, writing much of the legislation of the time.

• In 1950, only woman delegate to the Hawaii Constitutional Convention.

• In 1953, only woman appointed to a major cabinet post in Hawaii, Commissioner of Public Lands

 

Biography:    Wikipedia, ULC, Newspaper

Select contributions:

• In 1869, was the first woman law student in the United States with Phoebe Couzins.

• In 1870, was the first woman admitted to the Missouri bar and the first woman to try a case in a court in the United States.

​

Biography: Washington University Journal, the                     Brooklyn Daily Eagle   

​

Select contributions:

• In 1897, was the first woman appointed Cook County Public Guardian in Illinois.

• In 1913, created the Girls' Court, staffed by women, hearing only cases of girls as she believed they were neglected by the system.

• From 1916 to 1917, served as vice chair of the National Woman's Party.

• In 1923, was the first woman to be elected Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

• Established "Mary Clubs," group homes for girls. 

• Nicknamed "Suitcase Mary", for providing young women leaving the judicial system with a suitcase of clothing and toiletries. 

 

Biography: Jane Addams, Wikipedia

Select contributions:

• In 1904, founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls.

• In 1911, founded the Mary McLeod Hospital and Training School for Nurses.

• In 1924, elected president of the National Association of Colored Women, focusing on political advocacy and women's empowerment.

• Advisor to 4 presidents between 1904 and 1947.

• In 1936, became the first Black woman to head an agency as Director of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration.

• In 1942, served as a member of the advisory board that created the Women's Army Corps.

 

Biography: Smithsonian, Women's History

​

Select contributions:

• In 1974, inserted the words "or sex or marital status" into the antidiscrimination clause of the 1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act during mark up in the Banking and Currency Committee.

• In 1976, as Chair of the Democratic National Convention, became the first woman to preside over a national political convention.  

​

Biography: House of Representatives 

​

Select Contributions:

• In 1931, was the first Black woman to graduate from Yale with a law degree.

• In 1939, was the first Black woman to become a judge in the United States.

• As a judge in New York family courts, successfully advocated for ending the assignment of probation officers to children based on race and the practice of segregation in child placement facilities.

​

Biography: McLeod, Jacqueline A., Daughter of the Empire State: The Life of Judge Jane Bolin, p. 62 (University of Illinois Press, 2011), Biography

Select Contributions:

• In 1976, elected to the Marin County Board of Supervisors, serving as its first woman president.

• From 1983 to 1993, was member of Congress representing California’s 6th district.

• From 1993 to 2017, was the Senator representing California. 

• In 1991, led women House members to the Senate Judiciary Committee demanding that Anita Hill’s sexual harassment allegations be taken seriously.

• Co-authored, sponsored, or co-sponsored the Violence Against Women Act (1994), the Female Veteran Suicide Prevention Act (2016), the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (2013), the Reinvest in American Education Act (1992), among others.

 

Biography: Wikipedia, Congress, Gov Info 

Select Contributions:

• In 1868, founded the Chicago Legal News, which published information about legal opinions, published laws and ordinances, and criticized corruption. 

• 1869, her application to become the first Illinois lawyer was denied. In 1890, the Illinois Supreme Court granted her a license to practice law, nunc pro tunc to 1869.

• Helped write the Illinois Married Women's Property Act of 1861 and the Earnings Act of 1869.

​

Biography: ThoughtCo., Library of Congress

Select contributions:

• In 1992, was the first Black woman senator.

• Was the first woman to sit on the Senate Finance Committee.

• In 1993, with Senator Mikulski, wore pants on the U.S. Senate floor in defiance of the rule that prohibited women from wearing pants.

• In 1993, successfully convinced the Senate not to renew the design patent for the United Daughters of the Confederacy as it contained the Confederate flag, which had been routinely renewed for almost 100 years.

• Sponsored the Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act enacted in 1994.

• In 1999-2001, served as the U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.

• In 2023, nominated by President Biden to serve as chair of the United States African Development Foundation.

Biography: Wikipedia, Congress, House History 

Select contributions:

• In 1892, was the first woman admitted to the Kentucky Bar.

• In 1904, was the first woman to graduate from the University of Chicago with a J.D. degree.

• In 1907, was the first woman to earn membership in the Order of the Coif.

• Became a professor at the University of Chicago, essentially creating a social work course of study.

• Involved in the creation of the social welfare policies in the New Deal. 

• Was the first woman chosen to represent the United States at an international conference.

 

Biography: U Chicago, Wikipedia

Select contributions:

• Beginning in 1638, as an unmarried landowner and businesswoman in Maryland, acted as an attorney in arguing cases for herself, her brother and other women in the court of common pleas. 

• In 1648, appeared before the all-male Maryland legislature and asked for the right to vote, which was denied.

• Acted as attorney for Lord Baltimore in settling debts in the protection of the colony.

 

Biography:  Britannica, Wikipedia 

Select contributions:

• In 1981, co-founded the National Women's Law Center.

• Between 1981 and 2017, served as co-president of the National Women's Law Center.

• Served as counsel in numerous cases involving gender and economic equity including Haffer v. Temple University, which expanded women's sports programs and Parents Without Partners v. Massinga, establishing the right to child support for custodial parents regardless of income.

• Advocated for legislation to further gender and economic equity.

 

Biography:  Wikipedia, NWLC, VFA 

Select contributions:

• In 1895, was the first woman to register to vote in Utah.

• In 1896, elected to the Utah State Senate, becoming the first woman in the United States to serve as a state senator.

• Testified in Congress regarding Utah's women's suffrage work.

• Sponsored legislation to improve the working conditions for women and girls.

• Helped establish Utah's first state board of health.

​

Biography: Utah Women's History

Select contributions:

• In 1932, was the first Black woman to receive a law degree from Fordham University.

• In 1935, only woman appointed to the Mayor's Commission on Conditions in Harlem, after the March riots.

• In 1935, only woman and only Black person appointed to New York Special Prosecutor's law staff, charged with prosecuting organized crime.

• In 1930's, discovered the connection between illegal prostitution and powerful organized crime figures in New York, including Lucky Luciano.

• Her work in the New York district attorneys' office led to Lucky Luciano's conviction, the most successful case against organized crime in U.S. history.

Biography: Wikipedia, Carter, Stephen L., Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America's Most Powerful Mobster, p. 90, (Picador, 2018)

Select contributions:

• In 1968, became the first Black woman in Congress.

• Sponsored legislation to increase federal funding for childcare, for guaranteed minimum income, federal assistance for education and national school lunch.

• In 1972, was the first Black woman and first woman to seek a major party's nomination for President when she sought the Democratic Party's nomination.

 

Biography: History, Women's History, U.S. House

Select contributions:

• In 1962, developed continuing education programs for women at the University of Wisconsin.

• Beginning in 1964, chaired the Wisconsin Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women, reviewing and changing laws unfair to women regarding pay equity, access to credit, divorce and marital property, and sexual assault. 

• In 1966, was one of the founders and the chair of the National Organization for Women. 

• Also founded the National Women's Political Caucus and the Wisconsin Women's Network.

 

Biography: Wikipedia, University of Wisconsin 

Select contributions:

• Advocated for consumer protections and women's rights.

• In 1922, was the first woman assigned to the post of appraiser of merchandise for the United States Department of Treasury at the Port of Cleveland.

• In 1928, was the first woman appointed to a federal court when President Coolidge appointed her to the U.S. Customs Court. 

 

Biography: U.S. Courts

Select Contributions: 

• In the 1970's, advocated for children as counsel at the Children's Defense Fund and the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

• In 1978, appointed by President Carter to the Legal Services Corporation board, ensuring equal access to justice, served as the first woman chair.

• In the 1980's, as fist lady of Arkansas, and in the 1990's as First Lady of the United States, advocated for health care reform and helped create the Children's Health Insurance Program.

• In 2000, was New York's first woman U.S. Senator, where she advocated for working families, higher minimum wage, and microcredit loans for women entrepreneurs.

• In 2016, was the first woman to earn a major party's nomination for president. 

• From 2009-2013, U.S. Secretary of State.

Biography: White House. 

Select Contributions: 

• In 1869, along with Lemme Barkeloo, were the two  women law students in the United States.

• In 1871, was the first woman to graduate from law school in the United States and the first woman to graduate from Washington University.

• In 1887, became the first woman U. S. Marshal.

​

Biography: Wikipedia

Select Contributions: 

• In 1902, was the first woman to be admitted to the Kansas Bar and believed to be the first Native American woman lawyer. 

• In 1906, began and led the successful fight to protect the Heron Indian Cemetery, which became a national historic landmark 100 years later.

• In 1910, was the first Native American woman, and third woman, to argue before the U. S. Supreme Court.

​

Biography: Women's Museum, Amy's Smart Girls

Select contributions:

• In 1931, became the first woman to hold a full professorship in law.

• In 1939, helped to create a new legal subject, Mineral Rights (Oil and Gas), authoring the definitive treatise on the subject.

• Wrote the first authoritative book on community property law in Louisiana.

• Was instrumental in the establishment of a family law court in East Baton Rouge, LA and other reforms in child welfare and family law.

​

Biography: ​Kay, Herma Hill, Paving the Way, 43-44             (1921), In Memoriam: Harriet Spiller Daggett, 27           La. L. Rev. (1966).

Select Contributions: 

• In 1910,  drafted a report titled, Work Accidents and the Law, which served as the basis for the first worker's compensation law.

• In 1913, co-founded the Congressional Union, which became the National Woman's Party.

• In 1917, co-founded the National Civil Liberties Bureau (later renamed the American Civil Liberties Union) to protect the Bill of Rights. 

• In 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment she co-drafted was introduced in Congress.

 

Biography: ACLU, Wikipedia

Select Contributions: 

• In 1970, helped coordinate Senate testimony for the Equal Rights Amendment and testified.

• In 1971, co-founded The Women’s Action Alliance (“WAA”), providing resources for women and fighting to end sexism and sex discrimination.

• In 1971, co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus.

• In 1972, co-founded and co-directed the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project with Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

• Brought lawsuits for gender equity, including Ackerman v. Bd. of Ed. of N.Y.C. (1974), which sought paternity leave.

 

Biography: ACLU, Wikipedia, Feigen Law

Select Contributions: 

• In 1979, was the first woman to represent the Queens, NY in Congress.

• In 1981, sponsored the Economic Equity Act, which reformed pension options for women, protected the rights of widows and divorcees, among other things.

• In 1984, first woman vice presidential candidate on a major party ticket.

• Founded the Americans Concerned for Tomorrow PAC, focused on electing women in the 1986 Congressional elections. 

• In 1995, was Vice Chair of the U.S.  Delegation to the Fourth World Conference on Women. 

 

Biography: House, Wikipedia

Select Contributions: 

• In 1878, lobbied the California Governor to sign into law the Woman Lawyer's Bill, giving women the right to practice law in California. Thereafter, became the first woman lawyer in California.

• In 1893, presented the concept of the public defender program and drafted the model statute, which was codified in California in 1921.

​

Biography: California Bar Journal

Select Contributions: 

• In 1963, on behalf of the ACLU, testified in Congress in favor of the Equal Pay bill. 

• Co-founder of the National Organization for Women.

• In 1965, was the first woman attorney in the General Counsel's office of the EEOC. 

• Drafted the EEOC’s decision finding airlines violated Title VII when they terminated or grounded stewardesses based on their age and marital status. 

• Drafted the EEOC’s first Guidelines on Pregnancy and Childbirth.

​

Biography: Wikipedia, Stanford 

Select contributions:

• In 1963, led an equal pay campaign with her women Rutgers University colleagues, when she learned they were being paid less than their men counterparts.

• In 1971, successfully argued Reed v. Reed, wherein the Supreme Court held for the first time  that a law categorically providing for differential treatment of men and women violates the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.

• In 1972, co-founded the Women's Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union.

• In 1980, appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeal for D.C.

• In 1993, confirmed as an Associate Justice, US Supreme Court, serving on the Court until 2020.

• In 2007, drafted the dissent in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., inspiring the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. 

Biography: Wikipedia, ACLU, Rutgers 

Select contributions:

• In 1871, wrote a series of articles for the Woman's Journal advocating for women's suffrage.

• In 1874, became the first woman lawyer in Wisconsin.

• In 1876, wrote, “Woman in the Legal Profession,” countering the arguments against women as lawyers, which was read at the Fourth Congress of
  Association for the Advancement of Women.

• Drafted a law prohibiting courts from denying bar admission to women , which was passed in 1877 by an all-male legislature.

• In 1879, opened Wisconsin’s first all-women law firm with Angie King.

 

Biography: Goodell, Wikipedia

Select contributions:

• In 1981, co-founded the National Women's Law Center.

• Between 1981 and 2017, served as co-president of the National Women's Law Center.

• Served as counsel in numerous cases involving gender and economic equity including Haffer v. Temple University, which expanded women's sports programs and Parents Without Partners v. Massinga, establishing the right to child support for custodial parents regardless of income.

• Advocated for legislation to further gender and economic equity.

 

Biography:  Wikipedia, NWLC

Select contributions:

• In 1964, framed the Sex Discrimination amendment to Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

• In 1970, filed the discharge petition bringing the Equal Rights Amendment to the House Floor for a vote and ultimate passage.

​

Biography: House of Representatives

Select contributions:

• In 1882, the Connecticut Supreme Court issued a decision granting her the right to practice law in the state (In re Hall).

• Practiced law for 40 years, specializing in wills and property rights cases for women.

• In 1884, became Connecticut's first woman notary public.

​

Biography: CT History, CT Hall of Fame

Select contributions:

• In 1965, became the first Black woman to be a United States Ambassador.

• In 1969, became the first Black woman to be dean of a law school after accepting the position at Howard University of Law. 

• In 1971, was named to IBM's board of directors of IBM, becoming the first Black woman to sit on a Fortune 500 company's board.

• In 1977, became the first Black woman to serve in the Cabinet after being appointed Secretary for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

​

Biography: Wikipedia, State Dept.

Select contributions:

• In 1962, appointed assistant chief of the California Division of Fair Employment Practices enforcing anti-discrimination laws. 

• In 1964, first woman appointed to the EEOC, resigning two years later  in protest of the EEOC's refusal to take action on sex discrimination cases.

• In 1966, co-founded the National Organization for Women, serving as its president from 1970-1971, helping to organize the Women's Strike for Equality.

​

Biography: History Makers, Black Past, Wikipedia 

Select contributions:

• In 1954, successfully advocated for an amendment to the Texas Constitution to allow women to sit on juries.

• In 1935, became Texas's first woman state judge.

• In 1961, became Texas's first woman federal judge.

• In 1963, swore in President, Lyndon Johnson, upon President Kennedy's assassination, becoming the first woman to swear in a U.S. President.

​

Biography: Women in Texas History

Select Contributions:

• In 1871, after having passed the bar exam but being denied admission to the Bar, successfully lobbied for the passage of legislation in Illinois prohibiting the exclusion of persons from any occupation, profession, or employment on the basis of sex.

• In 1872, became Illinois' first woman lawyer.

​

Biography: Illinois State Bar Association

Select contributions:

• In 1969, sponsored Texas's ratification of the ERA and successfully proposed an equal rights amendment to the Texas Constitution.

• In 1971, in the Texas Senate, advocated to establish a minimum wage law, antidiscrimination statements in business contracts, and a Fair Employment Practices Commission.

• In 1972, was the first Black woman elected to Congress from the South.

• In 1975, as a congresswoman, cosponsored legislation expanding the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to include Latinx, Native, and Asian Americans.

 

Biography: Women's History, TSHA​

Select contributions:

• Was instrumental in launching no-fault divorce in California.

• In 1968, served as the Co-Reporter of the committee that drafted the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act, that was widely adopted in the U.S.

• In 1992, became the first woman dean of UC Berkeley School of Law.

 

Biography: Berkeley, Wikipedia​

Select contributions:

• In 1979, was the first Black woman on a federal appellate court when she was appointed as the first woman to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. 

• In 1979, was the first woman elected to a fellowship in the American College of Trial Lawyers.

• In 1984, authored the opinion, McCray v. Abrams, setting forth a new test making it harder for jurors to be struck based on race. This test was largely adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court in Batson v. Kentucky.

• Considered as a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.

​

Biography: Second Circuit, History, Wikipedia ​

Select contributions:

• In 1893, became the first woman appointed to a
  statewide office in Illinois, Chief Factory Inspector.

• In 1899, became the first General Secretary of the National Consumers League (NCL), helping create shorter workdays and minimum wage laws.

• In 1906, successfully advocated for the Pure Food and Drug Act, a consumer protection law.

• In 1909, helped found the NAACP.

• In 1921, successfully lobbied for the passage of the Sheppard-Towner Act, which provided federal funds for maternity and childcare.

 

Biography: Wikipedia, Women's History​

Select contributions:

• In 1908, was the first woman lawyer admitted to practice in Alabama, after a classmate succeeded in having legislation passed changing the Code of Alabama to allow women to practice law.

• Active on the legislative committees of the Birmingham and Alabama Equal Suffrage Associations.

• Searched attics and basements of courthouses collecting, preserving, and donating lost, forgotten and decaying documents and papers including census records, land records, biographies of state officials, etc. 

 

Biography: Samford University, Alabama Women's             Hall of Fame, Wikipedia ​

Select Contributions:

• In 1968, advisory sponsor to this Miss America Protest, demonstrating that the pageant exploited women. 

• In 1969, organized lawyers to challenge the constitutionality of New York’s antiabortion laws in a class action lawsuit, Abramowicz v. Lefkowitz, using women who suffered from illegal abortions as expert witnesses.

• In 1971, founded the Feminist Party, which nominated Shirley Chisholm for President.

• In 1973, formulated and participated in the protest to highlight the lack of women's bathrooms at Harvard University.

 

Biography:  Radcliffe, Notable Bios, Wikipedia  

Select Contributions:

• In 1936, as chair of a committee studying procedure in women's courts, advocated for better treatment of sex workers and stronger prosecution of the clients and pimps. 

• From 1938-1943, served as the U.S. representative to the League of Nations Committee for the Study of the Status of Women. 

• From 1946-1950, served as the U.S. representative to the United Nations Committee for the Study of the Status of Women. 

• In 1966, as co-counsel in White v. Crook,  successfully argued that women have an equal right to serve on juries. 

 

Biography:  Wikipedia 

Select Contributions:

• In 1870, became the first American woman to graduate from law school. 

• Denied the right to practice law due to her gender.

• Advocated for social reform including women's suffrage and temperance.

​

Biography: Legal Pioneers

Select contributions:

• In 1865, was the first woman to receive a medical degree in New York, but was only able to practice as a physician's assistant. 

• In 1872, 1873, 1874, her applications to sit for the Pennsylvania Bar exam were rejected.

• In 1881, was the first woman admitted to study at Penn Law.

• In 1883, became the first woman to hold both a medical and a law degree. 

• in 1886, became the first woman licensed to practice by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. 

• In 1871, tried to vote but her ballot was rejected. She appealed her ballot rejection to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and lost. 

 

Biography: Alexander Street, Philadelphia citizen

​

Select contributions:

• In 1946, was the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Chicago Law School.

• In 1963, argued Beatrice Lynumn v. The State of Illinois before the United States Supreme Court, which set the precedent for the 1966 landmark decision Miranda v. Arizona.

• In the Nixon Administration, served as the first woman Deputy Solicitor General, as well as vice chairman of the U.S. Advisory Commission on International, Educational and Cultural Affairs  representative to the U.N. General Assembly.

• Between 1989-1993, served in  President Bush's State Department as Ambassador-At-Large and Coordinator for Refugee Affairs.

 

Biography: New York Times, BlackPast 

​

Select contributions:

• Was the first woman to try a case before the Colorado Supreme Court.

• In 1902, successfully argued Clayton v. Hallett, before the Colorado Supreme Court, which established Colorado's law of charitable bequests.

• Practiced probate law, ultimately helping to re-draft Colorado's probate statutes.

• In 1918, was one of the first two women to be admitted to the American Bar Association.

 

Biography: Colorado's Hall of Fame, The Legacy of             Mary Lathrop 

​

Select contributions:

• In 1873, completed law studies at George Washington University Law School, but denied a diploma until President Grant intervened. 

• In 1876, after denied admission to the Supreme Court Bar due to gender, drafted legislation, passed by Congress allowing qualified women to practice in federal court.

• In 1880, as the first woman member of the Supreme Court Bar, became the first woman to argue in front of the Supreme Court. 

• In 1884 (and 1888), first woman to be on the official ballot for POTUS, on the ticket of the National Equal Rights Party.

 

Biography: SCOTUS, National Archives

Select contributions:

• In 1971, as law clerk for Judge Raymond J. Pettine, was the first woman law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

• In 1981, became the first woman partner to lead the litigation department of Foley, Hoag, & Eliot.

• In 1995, was the first woman appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

• In 1996, wrote a dissenting opinion later adopted by Congress. An all-men panel held that rape committed at gunpoint by a carjacker did not constitute "serious bodily injury" under the federal sentencing guidelines. In her dissent from the denial of a rehearing en banc, she wrote that clearly Congress intended "serious bodily injury" to include abduction and rape. Congress adopted this position.

•  In 2008, was the first woman appointed as chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Biography: Wikipedia, Wellesley, First Circuit

Select contributions:

• In 1978, advocated for the Indian Child Welfare Act preventing children from being removed from their culture.

• In 1980,  wrote the grant for and oversaw the Bell Project, a community development project, which served as a model for other grant programs for Cherokee and other tribes.

• In 1981, appointed as the first director of the Community Development Department of the Cherokee Nation.

• In 1983, first woman elected to serve as Deputy Chief of the Cherokee Nation.

• In 1985, first woman elected to serve as the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation or of any major Native tribe.

• As Chief, worked to improve education, healthcare, and housing services resulting in a decline in infant mortality and an increase in educational achievement.

• In 2004, was a founding board member of Women Empowering Women for Indian Nations (WEWIN) to promote and empower Indigenous women's leadership.

Biography: Wikipedia, National Women's History Museum

Select contributions:

• In 1869, sat for the Iowa State bar exam, even though it was restricted to "males over 21".

• In 1869, became the first woman admitted to the licensed bar in the United States when she was admitted in Iowa, after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that women could not be denied the right to practice law in Iowa.

• Advocated for equal education opportunities and voting rights for women.

 

Biography: IDHR, Iowa Judicial Branch

Select contributions:

• In 1921, began serving as counsel for the Suffragist National Women's Party.

• In 1949, became the first woman to serve on a United States District Court.

 

Biography: Britannica

Select contributions:

• In 1933, in her master's thesis, Some Factors Affecting Secondary Education for Negroes in Maryland Counties (Excluding Baltimore) attacked the racist dual school system including salary scales and curricula.

• In 1975, first woman chair of the Board of Regents at Morgan State University.

• In 1984, first woman to be the national president of the NAACP.

• Advocated for equal pay for Black teachers, the majority of which were women.

​

Biography: Wikipedia, Morgan State University 

Select contributions:

• In 1942, as a law student, was named as the assistant to the chief reporter in drafting the Uniform Commercial Code. In 1949, was named the associate chief reporter in drafting the Uniform Commercial Code. 

• In 1944, became the one of the first women partners at a major wall street firm. 

• In 1947, became the first woman to teach at Harvard, and in 1951, became the first woman to teach at the University of Chicago.

• In 1974, became the first woman president of the AALS, while dean of the University of Miami School of Law.

 

Biography: Wikipedia, Univ. of Miami

​

Select contributions:

• In 1909, participated in the shirtwaist and laundry worker strikes advocating for higher wages, shorter hours, and safer working conditions.

• In 1913, helped organize and led the Women's Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C.

• In 1915, joined the Ford Peace Ship in an effort to stop WWI through negotiation.

• In 1916, toured the United States to gain support for a Constitutional amendment to grant women the right to vote.

 

Biography: Vassar, New York Times  

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Select contributions:

• In 1964, was the first Asian-American woman and first woman of color to serve in Congress.

• In 1972, was the first Asian American to run for President.

• Advocated for issues related to childcare and education including the Early Childhood Education Act and the Comprehensive Child Development Act.

• Advocated for gender equality in education as a drafter and/or sponsor of legislation including Title IX, and the Gender Equity in Education Act.

 

Biography: Biography, House History 

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Select contributions:

• In 1950, wrote the original complaint in Brown v. Board of Education.

• In 1962, successfully argued Meredith v. Fair, granting Mr. Meredith the right to be the first Black student to attend the University of Mississippi.

• In 1964, was the first Black woman in the New York State Senate.

• In 1966, became the first Black woman appointed and confirmed to the federal judiciary, when she was confirmed as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York.

 

Biography: Wikipedia, U.S. Courts

Select contributions:

• In 1837, organized the Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women.

• In 1840, was denied a seat at the International Anti-Slavery Convention in London leading to her organization of the Women’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls in 1848 with Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

• In 1844, helped create the Northern Association of the City and County of Philadelphia for the Relief and Employment of Poor Women and served as its president.

• In 1848, was first signatory of the Declaration of Sentiments at Seneca Falls.

• In 1866, served as the first President of the American Equal Rights Association.

 

Biography: Nat'l Women's History, Wikipedia, Archives

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• In 1944, formulated the challenge to the "separate" part of "separate but equal," which was successfully used by Thurgood Marshall in 1954 in arguing Brown v. Board of Education.

• Wrote the definitive book on segregation, "States' Laws on Race and Color."

• Coined the term "Jane Crow" to explain the segregation of the sexes.

• In 1966, one of the founding members of the National Organization for Women ("NOW").

• In 1966, as co-counsel in White v. Crook,  successfully argued that women have an equal right to serve on juries.

 

Biography: Pauli Murray Center, The New Yorker

Select contributions:

• In 1896, the Mussey Act was passed in Washington D.C., providing property and guardianship protections for married women.

• In 1898, after being denied admission to law school, opened the first law school for women, the Washington College of Law with Emma Gillett, the first law school founded by women.

• In 1898, was the the first female law dean in America and served in this role until 1913.

• In 1917, founded the D.C. Woman’s Bar Association.

• Co-drafted the Cable Act of 1922 allowing married women to retain their U.S. citizenship.

 

Biography: Wikipedia, WCL, Britannica, WBADC

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• In 1967, successfully defended a white supremacist group's freedom of speech in Carroll v. Town of Princess Anne.

• In 1970, successfully represented 60 women in their EEOC complaint of sex discrimination, resulting in their employer, Newsweek, agreeing to allow women to be reporters.

• In 1970, appointed as Chair of the New York City Commission on Human Rights where she held the country's first hearings on gender discrimination. 

• In 1977, was the first woman to chair the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 

• In 1990, elected as a delegate to the House of Representatives for the District of Columbia. 

 

Biography: Wikipedia, ACLU, AP News

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• In 1973, was the first woman to serve as a state's Majority Leader, when she became the Majority Leader in the Arizona State Senate.

• In 1981, became the first woman nominated and first woman confirmed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

 

Biography: Wikipedia  

Select contributions:

• In 2002, became Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives.

• In 2007, became the first woman Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

• In 2019, became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

• Advocated for gender equity, marriage equality, civil rights, and healthcare reform. 

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Biography: Wikipedia 

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Select contributions:

• In 1933, as Secretary of Labor for President Roosevelt, became the first woman to serve in a Presidential cabinet.

• Was instrumental in crafting the New Deal, which included a 40 hour work week, minimum wage, unemployment compensation, and an end to child labor.

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Biography: Frances Perkins Center, AFL-CIO 

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Select contributions:​

• In 1967, as Chair of the Texas Family Law Section of the Texas Bar, crafted the Texas Marital Property Act of 1967, giving women the same rights as their husbands upon marriage. 

• In the 1970s, became the first woman trustee of the Bar Foundation.

• In 1979, became the first woman elected to be a member of the board of directors of the Texas State Bar.

• Advocated for better conditions for women at the Texas State Capitol.

 

Biography: ABA,  TSHA

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Select contributions:

• Actively worked to amend the constitutions of Washington and Montana to give women the right to vote, both of which were amended in 1911 and 1914, respectively. 

• In 1916, was elected to serve in Congress, becoming the first woman elected to U.S. national office.

• In 1918, presented the 19th Amendment to the House for a vote.

 

Biography: Biography, House of Representatives

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Select contributions:

• In 1943, first woman elected as the President of the Federal Bar Association.

• In 1961, served on President Kennedy's Commission on the Status of Women and then appointed by President Johnson to the Citizen's Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

• In 1966, co-founded the National Organization of Women, serving as Chair of its Legal Committee from 1966-1969 and founding the Legal Defense Fund.

• Created the Marguerite Rawalt Legal Defense Fund, focusing on women's equity cases.

 

Biography: Fed Bar, TSHA, Wikipedia 

Select contributions:

• In 1978, became the first woman state attorney in Florida as the State Attorney for Dade County.

• In Miami, created victims' advocacy program to support victims throughout their trials.

• In 1993, became the first woman Attorney General of the United States.  

• In 1996, advocated for rights for and funding to support victims of violent crimes.

• In 1998, advocated for including crimes related to gender, disability and sexual orientation as hate crimes.

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Biography: Washington Post, CNN, Britannica

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Select contributions:

• In 1910, passed the enumerator's exam and became an enumerator for the Census Bureau.

• In 1912, led the Charity League, which created the Protection Home for Negro Girls

• In 1918, first Black woman admitted to the Iowa Bar.

• In 1921, first woman elected president of a co-ed bar association, the Iowa Colored Bar Association.

• In 1925, co-founded the National Bar Association after admission to the American Bar Association was denied to her and other Black lawyers.

• Focused her legal practice on women's rights in estate cases.

 

Biography: UIPress, Census Bureau, Wikipedia

Select contributions:

• First Black woman lawyer, having graduated from Howard University School of Law in 1872.  

• First woman admitted to the District of Columbia Bar.

• In 1885, secured a rare reversal of a denied divorce decree based on domestic violence, as the first woman to argue before the District of Columbia Supreme Court. 

 

Biography: History, Wikipedia 

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Select contributions:

• In 1973, was the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado and the first to serve on the House Armed Services Committee.

• In 1977, was a founding member of the Congressional Women's Caucus.

• Crafted and/or advocated for the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act, 1985 Military Family Act, Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Act (1992), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (1993).  

• Advocated for reform in the military regarding sexual harassment and successfully advocated  the Armed Services Committee's recommendation that women be able to fly combat missions.

 

Biography: Wikipedia, House History, Congress

Select contributions:

• First woman to serve in both houses of congress.

• In 1948, responsible for the passage of the Women's Armed Forces Integration Act, giving women in the armed forced regular status and eligibility for benefits.

• On June 1, 1950, was the first senator to speak out against McCarthy, giving an impassioned speech on the floor against his tactics.

• In January 1964, first woman to be a candidate for a major party nomination for president. Barry Goldwater won the nomination.

 

Biography: House History

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Select contributions:

• First woman to serve in both houses of a state legislature and both houses of Congress.

• Co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues.

• In 2001, first Republican woman to serve a full-term on the Senate Finance Committee, considered the most powerful in Congress.

• Crafted and/or advocated for the inclusion of women in clinical research (1990), the Women's Health Equity Act (1990's-2000's), the creation of the Office of Women's Health Research (1993), the resolution calling on the NCI to reissue guidelines for breast cancer screenings (1997),   

 

Biography: Wikipedia, House History

Select contributions:

• Became a student activist while an undergraduate student at Princeton University, focusing on faculty hiring and curriculum. 

• In 1992, became the youngest judge in the District Court for the Southern District of New York.

• In 1998, confirmed to the Second Circuit Cout of Appeals where she served on the Second Circuit Task Force on Gender, Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts.

• In 2009, became Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and the first woman of color on SCOTUS.
   

Biography: Wikipedia 

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Select contributions:

• In 1937, successfully advocated for women's right to serve on jury panel in New York. 

• In 1938, became the first woman assistant district attorney in Erie County, New York.

• In 1944, proposed the first equal pay act, a bill to amend the NLRA to make it unlawful “to discriminate against any employee, in the rate of compensation paid, on account of sex.” 
   

Biography: House History, Wikipedia  

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Select contributions:

• In 1895, became the first Black woman appointed to the District of Columbia Board of Education.

• In 1896, co-founded the National Association of Colored Women. Her words, “Lifting as we climb,” became the motto of the NACW.

• 1910, co-founded the College Alumnae Club, n/k/a the National Association of University Women.

• In 1917, picketed the Wilson White House with members of the National Woman’s Party for suffrage.

• In 1922, organized the Silent March in support of passing anti-lynching legislation.

• In 1948, became the first Black member of the American Association of University Women, after winning an anti-discrimination lawsuit.

 

Biography: NAUW, Wikipedia, Women's History

Select contributions:

• In 1971 and 1972, was the youngest person to argue in front of the Supreme Court and win when she argued Roe v. Wade. 

• Advocating for reforms to Texas rape law including expanding the statute of limitations on reporting rape from two to three years and barring the questioning of a rape victim regarding her sexual history.

• In 1978-1981, as a Special Assistant to the President and the chair of the Interdepartmental Task Force on Women, was a key strategist for ratification of the ERA and the Senate's extension of the ratification deadline.

 

Biography: NY Times, Weddington, Practice Panther, National Archives 

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Select contributions:

• Between 1992 and 2005, served in the NJ General Assembly, sponsoring legislation like requiring health insurance companies to pay for 48 hours of hospital care for mothers and their newborns. 

• Between 2005 and 2022, served in the New Jersey Senate.

• In 2018, instrumental in passing the NJ Equal Pay Act, the strongest pay equity law in the nation.

• In 2019, introduced legislation prohibiting NDA's in employment contracts in cases of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

• In 2022, primary sponsor of S3416, codifying marriage equality in New Jersey.

• In 2022, lead sponsor of the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act in New Jersey.

 

Biography: Rutgers, Wikipedia, NJ Senate Dems 

Select contributions:

• First woman public defender in Los Angeles County, defending only women and mostly on prostitution charges.

• In 1921, appointed assistant attorney general, second woman to hold the post, making her the highest ranking woman in the U.S. government.  

• In 1927, successfully argued before the Supreme Court that taxes should be paid on illegal income, opening the door to IRS tax evasion cases against mob bosses. 

• Responsible for federal prison reforms, including the first woman's facility, industrial programs for prison inmates, and a first-time offender facility.

 

Biography: WAMS, Wikipedia  

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Select contributions:

• In 1870, became the first woman stockbroker, with her sister, and the first to own a brokerage firm.

• In 1870, published a newspaper promoting women's suffrage and political reform, the Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly.

• In 1871, became the first woman to address a congressional committee, arguing for women's suffrage.  

• In 1872, became the first woman to run for President, although too young to do so, after being nominated by the Equal Rights Party.

 

Biography: NPS, History, Wikipedia 

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