First of all, this is not a burning your bra type of blog (which was first done by Mary Phelps Jacobs in 1914 by the way) so don’t panic.

International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8th March.

I think quite often this day is focused on discussions whether women and gender equality and what is left to achieve. However, for me it is an opportunity to celebrate amazing people who have made our world brighter and fuller whether in science, invention or just inspiration.

I have been a Women in Business Network franchisee since 2013 so I thought I would ask my members their top 5 inspirational women.

In business we all need inspiration

In business we all need inspiration, and it is these pioneers that will create and develop the younger generation, so this month I have asked my members to give me their obscure women that inspire them.

Mary Curie

Originally from Poland, and well known for being the first woman to get the Nobel Peace Prize, she travelled across the country to help better herself. Her upbringing was seemingly very difficult, and to me, she owns up to her own personal mistakes with her children and was forthcoming in terms of wanting to develop her knowledge. When it came to the Nobel Peace Prize nomination, it was, in fact, her husband that insisted she receive the prize.

Mary herself ensured that everyone on her team that got one, too, for their work to the pioneering findings. There is a great picture of her in the World Science conference where she is sitting proudly next to Albert Einstein and is the only woman in the room.

Sadly, at the time, she was more well known for scandal of having an affair with a married man, and her love letters were publicly printed in a national French magazine by the wife. This scandal took away the focus from her fantastic scientific findings.

Amelia Earheart

A pioneer in American aviation, Amelia was the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She also was one of the first aviators to promote commercia air travel, wrote bestselling books about her flying experiences, and was also instrumental in the formation of the Ninety-Nines, which is an organisation for female pilots.

After piloting the nonstop solo transatlantic flight in 1932 and earning the United States Distinguished Flying Cross, she became a visiting faculty member at Purdue University in 1935, as an advisor to aeronautical engineering & a career counsellor to female students. Not only did she help inspire future female pilots, she also was a fundamental part of the National Woman’s Party, as well as an early supporter of Equal Rights Amendment.

It is likely she died in the Pacific during the circumnavigation of the globe in 1937 with co-pilot Fred Noonan, which sparked conspiracy theories & investigations into their deaths.

Melanie Perkins

If you run a business that uses designs for your social media, marketing, or presentations, you will have probably heard of the powerhouse that is Canva. Inspired by fellow students who found Adobe and Microsoft “crazy hard” she and fellow co-founder Cliff Obrecht wanted to make a collaborative, accessible, and easy to use tool to create designs.

Starting with a yearbook design system for users to design & collaborate together, they then decided to go big. In 2010 they pitched to Silicon Valley investor Bill Tai who connected her with all of his contacts.

By 2012 they had tech advisor & co-founder of Google Maps, Lars Adams on board as well as many others on the development side to help close their first funding round – causing them to be oversubscribed with $1.5M invested & matched by the Australian government! Within 5 years, the company had catapulted in popularity and Melanie was showcased as one of tech’s youngest female CEO’s, and within 7 years the company is now worth $3.2Billion.

Katherine Johnson

Known as the “human computer” Katherine was an incredible mathematician in NASA, who showed strong skills in mathematics from a young age. Because the school she was attending did not offer public schooling for African American students past the eighth grade so her parents enrolled her in Institute High School, West Virginia to continue her education. She continued to further her education by taking every maths course offered by her West Virginia State college, receive mentoring from multiple professors, and finished her degrees in mathematics & French by the age of 18.

In 1952, after a career in teaching, becoming a mother, and being a research mathematician, she was recommended by a relative to apply for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) as a mathematician. During her 33-year career with NACA, which in 1958 was superseded by NASA, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations as well as implementing computers to speed up the tasks, while having to manage many of the difficulties African American women had to face in the workplace. From calculating trajectories & launch windows, to emergency return paths for spaceflights, she was essential for helping get the first American in space, the first American in orbit, and rendezvous paths for the Apollo Lunar Module & Command module on flights to the moon.

I highly recommend watching “Hidden Figures” to find out more about her, and fellow black female NASA engineers & mathematicians.

Elizabeth Phillips Nee Maggie

Elizabeth Phillips Nee Maggie - (great name by the way!) came up with the concept of Monopoly. She was an American game designer, writer, feminist and Georgist who invented The Landlord’s Game which was the precursor to the game we all know. In 1903, after creating the game and playing it with her friends, she decided to get a patent on the game.

It was originally designed to demonstrate the economic ill effects of land monopolism and the use of land value tax as a remedy. The game continued to develop throughout the years, from the main aim to obtain wealth to eventually have 2 settings – one being monopolist which was to own industries, create monopolies, and win by forcing others out of theirs; and the second being Prosperity – where the goal was to create products and interact with opponents.

The Parker Brothers published a modified version of the game, known as Monopoly in 1934 stating that it was invented in the basement of Charles Darrow, one of the brothers. Elizabeth stated that she had not been credited for the game, and had made a mere $500 from her invention, criticising the brothers in an interview in 1936 with a Washington DC newspaper. Darrow continued to be known as the inventor of the game until Ralph Anspach discovered Elizabeth’s patents, yet still did not receive credit until after her death 1948. She was not credited for the impact she had had on the board game community, after such an incredible creation

Who Inspires You?

We have only talked about 5 women today, and there are so many more – can you suggest any more that inspire you?

Personally, the most inspirational ones are those that do not shout from the rooftops about their success, remain humble, always wanted to achieve more and wanted to help others through their own successes.