International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day

Today is International Women’s Day. Today, and every day we look towards the leaders in our world and close communities. We reserve respect for the effort and success they have to improve everyday life. We raise awareness today of the global impact on gender inclusion.

The toy manufacturer, Mattel has released a range of Barbie Dolls that have highlighted the contributions of strong female leads. Some of those dolls include snowboarder Chloe Kim, Amelia Earhart, Frida Kahlo, Bindi Irwin, Patty Jenkins, and more. We would like to take the time to highlight the women in the medical and healthcare fields that have and continue to impact further research and care.

Elizabeth Blackwell

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first female medical student accepted into a program for future doctors. Coincidentally, the faculty thought her application to be a joke, so they unanimously voted to admit her. She is also the first female doctor.

Clara Barton

Clara Barton would nurse Civil War soldiers back to health. Her most famous feat was founding the Red Cross. Today, the Red Cross is responsible for aiding the relief of natural disasters and a slew of other programs including bone marrow and blood donation.

Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale is another example of an outstanding nurse. A British caretaker, she treated soldiers from the Crimean War. Her medical contributions formed the basis for the modern field of nursing.

Henrietta Lacks

Henrietta Lacks is one of the central figures in the continued research of cancer. Lacks ultimately succumbed to cervical cancer, but researchers harvested her cells. These cells, known as HeLa, have been multiplied for decades and are still in use for cancer research.

Marie Curie

Marie Curie was a Polish physicist and chemist, and the first female recipient of a Nobel Prize. Her research in radioactivity of radium contributed to rethinking about physics.

Rosalind Franklin

Rosalind Franklin was accredited with contributing to finding the structure of DNA. She postulated that DNA is made up of two double helixes. Because of her research, Watson and Crick won the Nobel Prize for the structure of DNA.

Margaret Sanger

Margaret Sanger was the first prominent voice in activism for contraception by women. She was the first to use “birth control” as a term. She opened the first birth control clinic and her organization would later be known as Planned Parenthood. Birth Control virtually ushered in Second Wave Feminism and contributed to the sexual revolution of the 60’s. Today, Planned Parenthood offers many services for people of all ages. These services include contraception, offering birth control at a lower price, STD testing, abortion referral, and even men’s health services.