"Woman must not accept; she must challenge.
She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her;
she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression."
— Margaret Sanger

In 2018 more and more women are taking a stand and refusing to standby idly while their long sought after rights are in jeopardy of being taken away by the government. But there was a time when partaking in a peaceful protest such as the Women's March was not possible for most women. Throughout history the important role women played in the public sphere has almost completely been ignored. Since we are coming to the end of Women's History Month it is important to pay homage to ten of the thousands of amazing women who paved the way so that the women of 2018 could have the opportunity to not only have their voices heard but to make a difference in society.

1.Dorothea Dix

Dorothea Dix was a social reformer whose devotion to the welfare of the mentally ill lead to widespread international reforms. 

2. Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a major advocate for reform movements who organized the meeting at Seneca Falls, New York, where the American Women’s Rights movement was launched.

3. Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth collected supplies for black regiments during the Civil War and immersed herself in advocating for freed people during the Reconstruction period.

4. Clara Barton

Clara Barton was a Civil War nurse who founded the American Red Cross.

5. Marie Currie

Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. She won the Nobel Prize in Physics with her husband in 1903.

6. Margret Sanger

Margret Sanger coined and promoted Birth control as a safe way for women to prevent pregnancy. She later opened America’s first birth control clinic, which is now known as Planned Parenthood.

7. Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Fitzgerald made history as the first African-American woman to win a Grammy Award. This accomplishment was just the first for Fitzgerald she went on to win twelve additional Grammy Awards.

8. Maya Angelo

Maya Angelo made literary history when her memoir “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” became the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman.

9. Sandra Day O’Conner

Sandra Day O’ Conner was the first female justice appointed to the Supreme Court, by President Ronald Regan.

10. Sally Ride

In 1983, astronaut and astrophysicist Sally Ride became the first American woman in space aboard the space shuttle Challenger.