Women's Equality Day Round Up

According to a proclamation by the President of the United States of America:

“Our Nation is grateful for the bold leadership of American women who have opened doors of opportunity for women of future generations. On Women's Equality Day we honor the suffragists and all those who seek to expand equality in our world.”

This week marks eighty-seven years since the 19th amendment was ratified, and it is a great opportunity to highlight some of the women who have fought for equality. 

A group of women that really stood out to me were those who changed the way female journalists were viewed in the 1920s and 1930s.  Women like Margaret Bourke-White, Lee Miller, and Dickey Chappelle weren’t the “sob sisters” whose stories were relegated to the Women’s sections of newspapers.  They wanted to be where the action was, and they didn’t stop until they got there.  Catherine Gourley tells the stories of these and other women who set the stage for female journalists today in War, Women, and the News: How Female Journalists Won the Battle to Cover World War II.  Middle and high schoolers with an interest in history or journalism will be hooked by the daring adventures of these women.

Elementary and middle schoolers get an A to Z introduction to a determined group of women in Amelia to Zora: Twenty-Six Women Who Changed the World by Cynthia Chin-Lee.  Some of these women your students have probably heard about a million times, but others will be new to them.  The illustrations by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy are a striking complement to the text. This is a great first stop to whet readers’ appetite for more information on these amazing women.

Younger readers interested in politics might be interested in knowing more about Jeannette Rankin, the first woman to win a seat in the House of Representatives. Jeannette Rankin: First Lady of Congress by Trish Marx tells the story of Rankin’s fight for suffrage, her election to office, and her commitment to peace.  This illustration chapter book biography is a simple introduction to a woman who spent her life working to better the lives of women and children. 

Expand your students’ knowledge of these diverse and determined women in their efforts to change the world as they knew it with these books this Women’s Equality Day.