WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH – SEVEN TRAILBLAZERS IN HISTORY

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we are featuring women to know in history who have paved the path for girls and women today. Below you will find exceptional women and some of their notable career highlights – the list is not comprehensive, but rather an overview of major career accomplishments by historic female trailblazers.

Sandra Day O’Connor

  • First female to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States (elected 1981)

  • In 2009 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Barack Obama

  • Known for being firm, but just as a justice of the Supreme Court and held moderately conservative views

  • She was the deciding factor in many Supreme Court decisions and wrote over 100 majority opinions

  • Served on the Supreme Court of the United States for 24 years and was respected across the political aisle

Rosa Parks

  • Avid civil rights activist in the mid-1900s during a time when segregation was celebrated in the South – famous for refusing to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man (black people were ordered to give up their seats for white people during this time)

  • Awarded the NAACP Spingarn Medal and the MLK Jr. award

  • Author of two books (My Story and Quiet Strength)

  • In December of 2000, The Rosa Parks Library and Museum was dedicated on the campus of Troy University in Montgomery, Alabama. The museum is famous for its statue of Rosa sitting on a bus bench.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

  • Graduated first in her class from Columbia Law School

  • Co-founded the first law journal on women’s rights (Women’s Rights Law Reporter)

  • Co-founded the Women’s Rights Project at ACLU (American Civil Liberty Union)

  • She took on a majority of gender inequality cases and championed women’s rights in a respectful and diligent manner

  • First female Jewish Justice nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States (second to Sandra Day O’Connor)

Elizabeth Blackwell

  • The first female to receive a medical degree in the United States (after being rejected by multiple medical schools)

  • Her decision to be accepted by Geneva Medical School was decided by the 150 male students in the class by unanimous vote

  • The first woman on the UK Medical Register

  • Established a successful private medical practice

  • Her sister was the third woman to receive a medical degree in the United States

Amelia Earhart

  • First female to fly solo and non-stop across the Atlantic

  • She accepted a position at the magazine Cosmopolitan to campaign for greater acceptance of women in aviation

  • She disappeared in 1937 in a highly publicized trip across the Pacific Ocean and has not been found since

  • Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by the United States Armed Forces for accomplishing an extraordinary aerial flight achievement

Valentina Tereshkova

  • First female in space aboard the then-Soviet Union’s Vostok 6 on a solo mission (1963)

  • 64 women have since gone to space thanks to Valentina’s trailblazing moment of orbiting around Earth solo

  • She spent more than 70 hours orbiting the Earth during her flight

  • She was a Head of State in the Soviet Union (before its fall) and was elected a member of the World Peace Council in 1966

Billie Jean King

  • A famous tennis athlete, she and her doubles partner Karen Hantze won the Wimbledon Ladies Doubles Championship shortly after graduating high school

  • She was the No. 1 ranked tennis player in the world, winning the Wimbledon Ladies Singles Championship and the U.S. Nationals (now U.S. Open)

  • She spoke out on gender inequality within the sport of tennis and started her own tennis league in response to unfair treatment by Wimbledon and the U.S. Open

  • First female athlete to earn more than $100,000

  • First female athlete to be named sportsperson of the year by Sports Illustrated

THE CHANGE IN COACHING OVER TIME

I have been coaching youth sports for over 25 years, primarily softball and wrestling. During that time, I have seen sports and coaching attitudes change considerably. When I was a kid myself, we had few options, with no cell phones, no internet, and no HULU.  We would wake up on the weekends or any day during the Summer and everyone would play the sport of the season with no parent involvement and no coaches.  My coaches at Bogan High School did a good job both in golf and wrestling but most the fun was off the golf course and wrestling mats in social settings. I can’t recall ever getting positive encouragement during competition nor did I ever expect it. I’ve always felt you needed to make things fun for the kids to want to play, even when I started the Beverly Bandits at the beginning of the newly founded Beverly recreation program back in 1995. I coached multiple teams and I would make sure regardless of how good or bad we played, I would always take the kids across the street to 7-11 for a slurpy and a candy bar. Kids loved it and even if I had barked out constructive criticism or screamed at them during the game out of my frustration, everyone always had fun with a simple treat at the end of each game.

As time went passing by, I noticed a few changes in the game – kids no longer played sports unless it was organized with coaches, and they watched far less baseball on T.V. because the internet offered so many other options, not to mention video games. Kids became better athletes through specialized training; they became faster and stronger. Parents became more involved, as youth sports, in general, became more of a business. I always felt I was more of an old-school type coach: fundamental defense with aggressive offense and solid pitching would win most battles.  I would bark during the games and try to have fun with the team afterward. As the years passed, I realized that players were becoming more sensitive and less productive when I would bark or scream. I noticed that certain players needed a kick in the you-know-what to get the most out of them, but more and more players needed positive words of encouragement to get the best out of them. I’m a creature of habit – I was used to my old school ways but I also wanted to get the best out of my athletes, so something had to change. I now try my best to teach still using constructive criticism but without ever screaming in a player’s face. I also do my best to now provide positive words of encouragement when needed, which is more and more often.

I feel the days of negative reinforcement with disparaging words in any sport, in hopes of getting the best of an athlete in any sport, is a dying breed. Today’s athletes need positivity to be their best and it’s the old school coaches that actually need to embrace the change if they want to keep the players and families happy and productive.

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOUNG GIRLS AND WOMEN

This time of year, the only thing we find ourselves wanting to do is cozy up with a good book, a fuzzy blanket, and a warm coffee or tea. If you are an avid reader, you likely have a laundry list of books on your list to read; if you are just getting into reading, this is your place to start! Or, if you are a loved one of a girl who needs some good reads, check out our list below. There are inspiring books and fiction novels – a book for every girl or woman in your life.

We pulled together a list of books for every type of reader – if you have more to add, send us an email with your recommendations! We have recommendations for each age group below and will continue to add to this list as they come in.

Age group: Elementary school

  1. The Never Girls series

  2. Roller Girl

  3. Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History

  4. The Complete Gallagher Girls collection

  5. The World Needs Who You Were Made To Be

  6. Millie Maven series

Age group: Middle school

  1. The Mysterious Benedict Society

  2. Princess of Glass

  3. Brown Girl Dreaming

  4. York: The Shadow Cipher

  5. Goodbye Stranger

  6. Drama, Rumors & Secrets

Age group: High school

  1. Brave, Not Perfect

  2. How Far You Have Come

  3. Well, That Was Awkward

  4. Body Image Workbook for Teens

  5. Break The Fall

  6. The Hate U Give

Age group: Young adults/women of all ages

  1. Untamed

  2. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series

  3. What Will It Take To Make A Woman President?

  4. Lead From the Outside

  5. The Last Thing He Told Me

  6. That’s What She Said

A good book is medicine for the soul and a great way to expand your vocabulary, learn about interesting things and places, and challenge the way you think about something. Send us your book recommendations and we will add them to this list!