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Women's History

Phyllis Willett

Phyllis Willett dedicated her life to social justice work and the labor movement. NUHW would not exist if it weren’t for Phyllis, who volunteered as a one-woman Operations Department after helping to found the union in 2009.  

Victoria Woodhull

Suffragette Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for president of the United States, knew all too well the hardships of women in America.

Claudette Colvin

Nearly a year before Rosa Park’s historic act of civil disobedience, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin was arrested on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman. 

Caroline Severance

Simone de Beauvoir is a prominent figure in feminist theory and feminist existentialism, having penned a groundbreaking treatise on gender that ushered in a new wave of feminist thought.

Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir is a prominent figure in feminist theory and feminist existentialism, having penned a groundbreaking treatise on gender that ushered in a new wave of feminist thought.

Dorothea Dix

Dorothea Dix was a fierce advocate for the rights of people with mental illness, her work paved the way for some of the modern-day changes in how mental illness is treated.

Dorothy Day

Dorothy Day was an American journalist, social activist, and anarchist who spearheaded the Catholic Worker Movement, which tackled issues of social justice, and founded “houses of hospitality” to help those in need.

Harriet Tubman

Known as the “Moses of her people,” Harriet Tubman is the most well-known “conductor” of the Underground Railroad, escorting over 300 enslaved people to freedom during a ten-year span after she escaped slavery herself.

Waris Dirie

Waris Dirie has been a fierce advocate for women's right to bodily autonomy, devoted to help to eradicate the process of FGM worldwide.

Dr. Marci Bowers

Dr. Marci Bowers is a gynecologist and surgeon who has spent more than 30 years helping people recover from trauma and become their true selves.

Shirley Ware

As the first Black organizer at Llocal 250, the nation's second-largest healthcare union, Shirley was a beloved leader and fierce advocate for workers' rights.

Harriott and Sarah Hunt

Harriot and Sarah Hunt opened the door to the medical profession for women in America and helped popularize a holistic approach to treatment, especially for female patients, that encompassed education, diet, hygiene, and mental health.
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