After reading the book on Frances Perkins the first woman to be appointed to the cabinet under FDR, I have to say she impacted us in ways many aren’t aware of.  She served as executive secretary of the Committee on Safety of the City of New York, Served as executive director of the NY Council of Women for War Work, appointed to the Industrial Commission of the NY State Dept of Labor, served as executive secretary of the Council on Immigrant Education, appointed to the Industrial Board of the state labor dept., served as secretary of labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, served as a U.S. Civil Service Commissioner, was inducted into the National Woman’s Hal of Fame and inducted into the Labor Hall of Fame, in 1997 Gov. Wiliam Weld of Mass. declared March 1 to be Frances Perkins Women in Politics Day,President Carter and Sec of Labor Ray Marshall dedicated the headquarters building of the U.S. Dept of Labor in Washington, D.C. to her memory, and a 15 cent stamp was issued in her honor. She was instrumental in getting the fair labor act passed, workmans compensation, controlling child labor, social security and fought for social justice. Perkins advanced such causes as abolition of child labor ans securing the vote for women. Frances Perkins literally opened the door for future women to enter politics and be taken seriously. 

I look at the women in my church who fight for the rights of others and who even in their 90’s are role models .

On a national level ,  although we do not always agree - Oprah. 

There are so many women whose lives and acts have made a difference. Although we are asked to focus on LIVING women, I can’t begin to think about the topic without thinking of Betty Friedan, without whom we would not have had the modern American feminist movement. But, certainly, Gloria Steinem must be placed at the head of the list for her lifelong dedication to the cause of equality for women. I would also include the pioneering women of the broadcast world: Barbara Walters; Lesley Stahl; Nina Totenberg; Diane Sawyer and so on. Women who made it in a male-dominated world of reporting. Maureen Dowd springs to mind, and Anna Quindlen as well.

Joan Ganz Cooney’s work in children’s educational TV is the stuff of legend, and her influence runs both wide and deep.

Oprah Winfrey. No need to say more - the name says it all! And the great Dr. Maya Angelou, whose wise words and thoughtful insights into the lives of women everywhere have made her a living national treasure.

Last, but not least, the huge armies of women who teach our children, nurse us when we are ill, counsel us when we are off-course, and create beauty to nourish our souls. In other words: YOU! ME! All of us together are the power to change the world today, and shape the future tomorrow.

Belle Abzug! Without her there would be no Gloria Stienem.

As a young writer, Gloria Steinhem took an assignment as a Playboy Club bunny. When her article was published, it was a match that lit the equality fuse. It was talked about everywhere and kind of introduced the Women’s Movement. She and others went through a lot to get a magazine going and bring legitimacy to the issue. People tried to ridicule them and more. We owe these women a lot.

Elinor