Discover the Women of the Hall

Reshaped American attitudes toward women’s lives and rights through decades of social activism, strategic thinking and powerful writing. Her book The Feminine Mystique (1963) triggered the contemporary women’s movement. Her latest work is the best-selling The Fountain of Age.

Religious leader. Schiess led the successful effort in 1974 to have women ordained as priests in the Episcopal Church in America, elevating the position of women in the Episcopal Church at all levels.

Former first lady of Arkansas, Betty Bumpers dedicated herself to world peace and health initiatives for children across the United States. As First Lady of Arkansas, Mrs. Bumpers spearheaded an immunization program in her state that became a national model. She also co-founded Every Child by Two with Rosalynn Carter, a national immunization program. Mrs. Bumpers was active in the global campaign to eradicate polio.

Former First Lady (1977-1981), Rosalynn Carter was an advocate for mental health, early childhood immunizations, human rights, conflict resolution, and health promotion worldwide.

One of the most celebrated champions of human and civil rights, Coretta Scott King, in partnership with her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ignited democracy movements worldwide. For over forty years, King traveled extensively as a messenger of peace, justice and social action. Notably, in 1974, she formed and co-chaired the National Committee for Full Employment, formed the Coalition of Conscience (1983), and co-convened the Soviet-American Women’s Summit (1990). In 1969, she became the founding president, chair and chief executive officer of The King Center, the first institution built in memory of an African American leader. As a lifelong advocate for non-violence and coalition building, King’s legacy will continue to serve as an example for years to come.

For more than forty years, Bernice Resnick Sandler has been a tireless advocate of educational equity for women and girls. In 1970, Sandler filed the first charges of sex discrimination against 250 educational institutions. It was this strategy that led to the first federal investigations of campus sex discrimination at a time when no laws existed to prohibit discrimination based on sex in education. Subsequently, Sandler was instrumental in the development, passage and implementation of Title IX, the legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. An expert in strategies and policies to prevent and respond to sex discrimination in higher education, Sandler has given more than 2,500 presentations. She currently serves as a Senior Scholar in Residence at the Women’s Research and Education Institute in Washington, DC.

Co-founder (with Cesar Chavez) of the United Farm Workers of America, the nation’s first successful and largest farm workers union. The UFW is dedicated to helping immigrant / migrant people of all ages. Huerta is known as a brilliant organizer, speaker, lobbyist, political strategist and human rights advocate.

A groundbreaking playwright and essayist best known as the author of A Raisin in the Sun, which ensured a place for the Black experience in American theatre. She was the first Black woman to have a show produced on Broadway, the first Black playwright and the youngest American to receive the prestigious New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best American Play, and the first Black American to win the distinguished Drama Desk Award.

Crusader for some of society’s most sharply disadvantaged, children of women in prison. A Sister of St. Joseph, Roulet has created many social reform and welfare organizations. She is best known for her work at the Bedford Hills Correction Center in New York, where she enabled mothers in prison to keep their babies for a year, a program now being patterned nationwide.

An author and book editor who fostered a new generation of Black writers. Morrison has been unapologetic about her focus on Black people’s experiences, and the power with which she has brought this focus.

Established the nation’s first school-based one-to-one mentoring program, connecting over 10,000 students to trained mentors, and helping them to succeed in school, graduate, and advance in the workplace. The reach of this program, Mentoring USA, has expanded internationally.

A feminist activist, writer, visual artist, filmmaker, teacher and human rights advocate, Kate Millett has been described as one of the most influential Americans of the twentieth century. Millett began her career as an English instructor and in 1966, became the first Chair of the Education Committee of the newly formed National Organization for Women. In 1968, she authored a pioneering report published by NOW, Token Learning: A Study of Women’s Higher Education in America, in which she challenged women’s colleges to provide an equal education for women. Millett is perhaps best-known for her landmark work in feminist theory, Sexual Politics (1970). She currently serves as the Director of the Millett Center for the Arts, a creative work space that provides artist in residence accommodation and studio facilities to women artists from around the world.

Peggy McIntosh is renowned as an educational innovator, feminist activist, author, and public speaker. McIntosh derived her understanding of white privilege from observing parallels with male privilege.

Feminist leader, writer and social activist. A founder of Ms. Magazine, Steinem also co-convened the National Women’s Political Caucus and helped create the Ms. Foundation for Women. A best-selling author, her latest works are Revolution from Within: A Book of Self Esteem for Women and Moving Beyond Words.

First woman to hold two cabinet positions as Secretary of Transportation under Ronald Reagan and Secretary of Labor for President George Bush. Dole later became President of the American Red Cross.

Allucquére Rosanne Stone, also known as Sandy Stone, is an academic, media theorist, artist, audio engineer, and computer programmer. A founder of the academic discipline of transgender studies, Stone’s trailblazing work created space for trans scholars to unfold the vast spectrum of gender.

A nationally recognized attorney, author and activist, Karen DeCrow is one of the most celebrated leaders of the women’s movement. From 1974-1977, she served as the National President of the National Organization for Women (NOW), where she was instrumental in obtaining significant legislative and legal gains and tirelessly advocated on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). DeCrow has written numerous books and articles and has lectured throughout the world on topics such as law, gender equality, and politics. In 1970, she served as National Coordinator of the Women’s Strike, and in 1988 she co-founded World Women Watch.

A two-time Academy Award winning actress (Best Actress in 1971 for Klute and in 1978 for Coming Home), activist, businesswoman, author, producer for film and television and philanthropist, Jane Fonda has revolutionized how we see things from the screen to fitness to representations of women and girls in the media. From the counterculture of the 1960s to today’s feminism, Native American rights and environmentalism; from Kluteto 9 to 5 to Grace and Frankie: Fonda has been a visionary and powerful influencer. Through the Jane Fonda Foundation and the Fonda Family Foundation, Fonda funds causes related toyouth and education, adolescent reproductive health, the environment, human services, and the arts. In 2005, together with Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem, she co-founded the Women’s Media Center, an organization that works to increase the visibility and power of women in media. Fonda serves on the board of the organization. She is the recipient of many honors and awards, including two Academy Awards, two BAFTAs, four Golden Globes, a Primetime Emmy Award, the AFI Life Achievement Award, and the Honorary Golden Lion. In 2007, Fonda received an Honorary Palme d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival, making her one of three people to ever be granted this honor until then. She was also recognized with a Tony Award nomination for her role on Broadway in Moisés Kaufman’s 33 Variations. In 2018, a documentary following Fonda’s remarkable journey, Jane Fonda in Five Acts, was released.

For over a decade, Lilly Ledbetter has fought to achieve pay equity. Upon retiring from her position as a manager with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Ledbetter discovered that she had been paid considerably less than her male colleagues. She filed a formal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission and later initiated a lawsuit against Goodyear alleging pay discrimination. Although a jury initially awarded her compensation, the Supreme Court ruled that Ledbetter could not receive any money because she had filed her complaint more than 180 days after receiving her first discriminatory paycheck. Since then, Ledbetter has continuously lobbied for equal pay for men and women; her efforts proved successful when President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law in 2009.

Her life and work has been dedicated to the achievement of women’s equality and human rights.  She has been at the forefront of nearly every significant women’s rights victory.  Responsible for coining the phrase “gender gap” referring to the difference in the way women and men vote and popularizing its usage in election and polling analyses to enhance women’s voting clout.

Attorney and civil rights advocate who founded the Children’s Defense Fund, the nation’s strongest advocacy group for children. A passionate champion for youth, Edelman’s organization works on health care and assistance for homeless children.

Susan Kelly-Dreiss has worked for over 30 years to enact legal protections, implement innovative services and heighten public awareness on behalf of battered women and their children. In 1976, Kelly-Dreiss lobbied for passage of Pennsylvania’s first domestic violence law, and later that same year, she co-founded the nation’s first domestic violence coalition, the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV). She was a founding member of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and has played a key role in drafting federal legislation including the Federal Violence Prevention and Services Act and the Violence Against Women Act.

Civil rights advocate Carlotta Walls LaNier, at age 14, was the youngest of the Little Rock Nine; the nine African-American students who integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.  A recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal, she works to ensure equal access to education for children of color.

Founder of CHILDFIND, a nationwide organization which helps locate missing children. Yerkovich developed the program after her own daughter was abducted. Her concept was the prototype for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.