During Women’s History Month, the National Panhellenic Conference will spotlight of a number of sorority women who have persisted with courage and conviction in their efforts to help end discrimination and break down barriers for other women. This is part one in that series.
Since today, March 8, is also International Women’s Day, which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women, we are pulling from our blog archives to highlight the work of two sorority women who, in their lifetimes, have helped lead the press for progress for women.
Carrie Chapman Catt, Pi Beta Phi
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| Photo Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society. In this 1883 portrait, Carrie Chapman Catt is proudly wearing her arrow badge in the style of the day. |
Carrie Chapman Catt, a member of Pi Beta Phi, was a notable women’s suffragist and founder of the League of Women Voters. To pay for her education, she worked as a teacher and she was the only woman in her graduating class in 1880. Later on, she became superintendent of schools, becoming one of the first women in the county to be named to such a position. She was involved in advocacy all of her life. In addition to her work at the League of Women Voters, she supported the formation of the United Nations.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Alpha Epsilon Phi
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| Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg |
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi, has served as a United States Supreme Court Justice since 1993. During her time as a law student and professor, she broke many barriers for women. In 1971, she played a major role in the creation of the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). At the ACLU, she appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court with six landmark cases on gender discrimination. And, in 1999, she received the American Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award for her contributions to gender equality and civil rights.
