Era: 1847-1929

Nationality: British          

Occupation: Author, Public speaker, Campaigner, Activist, Leader of National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), Founder of Newnham College for Women in Cambridge. Political figure.       

Social Status: Comfortable – private boarding school in London. Two properties.         

Family: Businessman father, home-maker mother. 8th of 10 children. Her older sister became the first female doctor in Britain. Liberal household, Married a feminist and politician, Henry Fawcett, and they both believed in education for all, One child – Phillipa, first female to top the Cambridge maths exam.     

Workplace: Secretary to her blind husband, Author, Newnham College, Public speaking venues.

Influence: A key figure in the fight for equality in Education and Government.

Era: 1858-1928

Nationality: British          

Occupation: Political Activist (militant), Founder of Women’s Franchise League, Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), 

Social Status: Comfortable. Didn’t ‘need’ to work.

Family: Politician, actor, and businessman father, and politically active, home-maker mother, One of 11 children. Liberal household, encouraged to fight for equality in some aspects – but NOT gender, wanting their daughters to marry young and not have paid employment. Married Richard Pankhurst, a pro-women’s rights barrister. She didn’t want to marry but would gain more social rights if she did. Had 5 children: Christabel, Estelle Sylvia, Francis, Adela, and Henry.

Workplace: Headquarters for WSPU.

Influence: A key figure in the successful (militant) fight for women’s suffrage.

Era: 1867-1919

Nationality: African American     

Occupation: Businesswoman – hair care, entrepreneur, philanthropist, activist. Began at around 10 years old as a domestic servant, laundress, then entrepreneur. 

Social Status: Extremely poor (slavery) to first female self-made millionaire in America.

Family: Both parents were slaves,  with 5 children, Sarah was born last into her parents’ freedom. She was orphaned at aged 7. She married at aged 14 and had her only daughter at 18. Married twice (widowed then divorced) – the latter being influential in her development as a businesswoman.

Workplace: Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company

Influence: Supported women’s economic independence by hiring mainly women for her haircare empire, philanthropist for many organisations, African American rights activist.

Era: 1939-1945 during WWII

Nationality: American (but occurred in all WWII-related countries)           

Occupation: Factory worker (mostly war-related industries such as shipyards and ammunition)

Social Status: Mostly low socio-economic women who were laid off during the depression but also ‘housewives’ who wanted to help with the war effort, and those who wanted to gain independence.

Family: Usually had a family to provide for, especially the majority who had been jobless during the depression. With husbands away at war, they were single mothers.

Workplace: Factories, using heavy machinery and equipment, working on production lines.

Influence: As a symbol of hope at the time that everyone could chip in for the war effort, it was hugely successful. As a lasting feminist icon, it has become a symbol for gender equality in the workplace and played a part in achieving tangible law changes to women’s (and men’s) factory wages and conditions.

Era: 1934-

Nationality: American    

Occupation: Writer and journalist, feminist, activist. 

Social Status: Struggling family – low-wage travelling salesman father, then when divorced, living in a single-parent household with her mentally ill mother who could not sustain employment.

Family: Grandmother was a key figure in First Wave US feminism – chairwoman for National Woman Suffrage Association, first woman elected to the Toledo Board of Education. Separated parents, mother will mental health challenges, exacerbated by gendered medical care and employment discrimination. Widowed, is a step-mother to actor Christian Bale.

Workplace: Freelance writer, journalism offices such as New York Magazine (gendered experiences), then the office of Ms. Magazine (mostly women), public speaker (conferences, TV, and rallies).

Influence: Long-lasting influence due to her Second Wave US feminism campaigning for equal rights for women, continues to be a political figure in her support of candidates she feels will improve gender equality.

Era: 1942-

Nationality: Australian   

Occupation: Journalist, author, founding editor of Cleo magazine, Editor in chief of Cleo and the Australian Women’s Weekly, TV personality, Chair of the ABC.

Social Status: Well-off at first, then divorced parents so a dip in status. Worked from 15 years of age in journalism.

Family: Journalist father (she was born in the US while her father was a New York correspondent), home-maker mother. Married early and had two children.

Workplace: Journalism offices (gendered experiences), Cleo office (mostly women), boardrooms, chat shows.

Influence: Australian of the Year for her legacy in journalism and advocacy work. Feminist icon due to her Cleo magazine dealing with women’s issues during 2^nd Wave feminism. Youngest ever female editor at the Telegraph at 23yrs old. 

Era: 1954-

Nationality: African American     

Occupation: Businesswoman, Talk-show host, producer, actor, author, philanthropist.

Social Status: Extremely poor beginnings to extremely rich in adulthood (North America’s first black multibillionaire).

Family: Raised by her single teenage mother, suffered sexual abuse, had a child who died at birth when 14yrs old, lived teenage years with her father. Has a longstanding partner and no living children.

Workplace: Newsrooms, Oprah Winfrey Show talk show offices/studio for 25 years.

Influence: Hosted the highest-rated TV chat show in US history. Spoke directly to women, many housewives, about self-improvement, spirituality, literature, and self-help. Was a role model for black women and full-figured women. Opened and teaches at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, South Africa. A link to Gloria Steinem’s Ms. Magazine “The November 1988 Ms. observed that "in a society where fat is taboo, she made it in a medium that worships thin and celebrates a bland, white-bread prettiness of body and personality [...] But Winfrey made fat sexy, elegant – damned near gorgeous – with her drop-dead wardrobe, easy body language, and cheerful sensuality.".

Era: 1945-

Nationality: Sri Lankan   

Occupation: First female President of Sri Lanka, member of the Council of Women World Leaders and the Global Leadership Foundation.

Social Status: Financially well-off due to her parents both being Sri Lankan Prime Ministers but lived in danger and spent time in Europe for education and safety reasons.

Family: Daughter of an assassinated Prime Minister (father) and Prime Minister mother – the world’s first female Prime Minister. Widowed to an actor/politician who was assassinated, has two children.

Workplace: Parliament (gendered environment).

Influence: Her legacy as the first female President is inspiring to many women, but as the Chair of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation, her efforts to create a unified and peaceful Sri Lanka continue. This influence has an enormous effect on women and girls, who are the worst-off during times of conflict, both economically, educationally, and physically (many UN articles on this fact). In 2018 she was awarded the French Legion of Honour, the highest rank of the National Order of France for her military and peace efforts.

Era: 1956-

Nationality: American    

Occupation: Actor, gender equality advocate (the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media), model, executive producer.

Social Status: Middle class. Public school education but had the opportunity to be an exchange student in Sweden.

Family: Daughter of a teacher’s assistant (mother) and a Civil Engineer and church deacon (father). Has a brother. Has been married three times and has three children.

Workplace: Hollywood (gendered #MeToo), Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.

Influence: Her voice during the #MeToo movement in Hollywood was influential but it’s her work on gender equality in the media industry that will see lasting change. Her on-the-ground efforts to increase female representation in film and TV characters, and to also reduce harmful gendered stereotypes of women and girls, plus to see an increase of character diversity in all its forms, have awarded her two Humanitarian Awards.

Era: 1997-

Nationality: Pakistani     

Occupation: Activist for female education, Mala Fund founder.

Social Status: Lower-middle class family, respected in their community.

Family: Daughter to an illiterate homemaker mother and a father, an education equality activist and owner of a chain of private schools. She has two younger brothers. The household was a hive of political and social discussion, with Mala’s father, and Malala being open activists for anti-Taliban oppression and pro equal rights for female education (which led to her being shot by the Taliban).

Workplace: Graduated from Oxford Uni in 2020. Work of global influence held in UN assembly meetings and the Mala Fund office.

Influence: Her activism through her BBC blogging as an 11 year old and a documentary participant had such influence that the Taliban targeted her. Her UN speeches and being the youngest recipient of the UN Peace prize have influenced both powerful politicians and ordinary students around the world. Her continued work on the Mala Fund and its website content, continues to educate and inspire to both increase gender equality in Education and to inspire activism in young girls and women.