Womanica

Sue Cowan Williams (1910-1994) was a teacher in Little Rock, Arkansas, who filed and won a lawsuit to end pay discrimination against Black teachers in the segregated South. Hher case helped shape the organization’s legal strategy for civil rights in schools across the country.

Florence Reece (1900-1986) was a writer, musician, and poet who wrote about unions, coal miners’ rights, and her own lived experiences. Florence was a coal miner’s wife and experienced the bloody Harlan County War, which she used as inspiration for her material. She is best known for her song “Which Side Are You On”, and her poetry and labor song collection Against the Current.

Ela Bhatt (1933-2022) was an activist and organizer who founded the Self-Employed Women’s Association of India (SEWA), which serves primarily low-income women across India. She went on to become an influential figure, known internationally for her work in cooperatives, labor organizing, and microfinance.

Mina Miller Edison (1865-1947) was the second wife of American inventor and businessman Thomas Edison. She was an advocate for acknowledging the domestic labor required of women. She called herself a “home executive” and emphasized the importance of women’s work as actual work, not an idealized calling.

Florence St. John (c.1896-1970) was a General Motors factory worker who led her co-workers in a lawsuit against the company demanding equal pay for women. The win was the first significant damages payout in a discrimination case in the history of America law.

Sue Ko Lee (1910-1996) was a labor organizer who participated in one of the longest strikes in the history of San Francisco’s Chinatown. She and other garment workers joined forces with a white-led union to win better pay and shorter hours — and a huge victory for the Chinese American workforce.

Margo St. James (1937-2021) was a prominent advocate for the rights of sex workers. In 1962, she was wrongfully arrested on prostitution charges – an experience that inspired the rest of her life of activism.

Amelia Bloomer (1818-1894) was an early suffragist, editor, and social advocate. After writing about a less-restrictive style of dressing for women, she became inextricably linked with it. She’s the reason we think of pantaloons as “bloomers.” And ever since, the women’s rights movement has used them as a symbol of protest and equality.

Elizabeth Duncan Koontz (1919-1989) was an educator and civil rights leader, known for her pioneering efforts in advancing racial equality and women's rights. She was the first Black president of the National Education Association and later became the first Black woman to serve as the director of the Women's Bureau in the U.S. Department of Labor.

Whitney Duan, or Duan Weihong, (1966-unknown) is a Chinese real estate billionaire who made her fortune by mixing business with politics. In 2017, she suddenly went missing and has only resurfaced a handful of times since.