Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos

Join us and expand the story of America. Legal: http://s.si.edu/legal

About us

The Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum expands the story of America through the often-untold accounts and accomplishments of women—individually and collectively—to better understand our past and inspire our future.

Website
https://womenshistory.si.edu/
Industry
Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos
Company size
11-50 employees
Type
Government Agency
Founded
2020
Specialties
Women's history

Employees at Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

Updates

  • Join us from 11 a.m. - 2p.m. EDT! https://s.si.edu/3NuAYau

    Join us for a Wikipedia edit-a-thon on women, credit, and financial power to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prohibited lenders from discriminating against consumers based on their sex or marital status. Learn about Emily Card, a legislative fellow who wrote the 1974 bill. Less than 20% of biographies in English-language Wikipedia are about women. With your help, we are working to change that. New editors are encouraged to attend the introductory session at 11am. This event is presented with support from Wikimedia DC. ➡️ October 28, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. EDT. RSVP: https://s.si.edu/3NuAYau

    • Black background with text that reads, "Know who doesn't have a Wiki page? The person who wrote the bill giving women credit cards in their own names."
    • Black and white photo of Emily Card sitting at a desk, smiling, with a globe in the background.
  • As a result of congressional fellow Emily Card’s efforts, on October 28, 1974, Congress passed the Equal Credit Opportunity Act which made it illegal for banks to discriminate in lending based on sex or marital status. Hear more from Smithsonian curator Rachel Seidman, PhD, and Emily Card, to learn how the ECOA came to be and its impact on women’s lives in “We Do Declare: Women’s Voices on Independence.” https://s.si.edu/4ekBFhL #OnThisDay

  • We’re launching "We Do Declare: Women’s Voices on Independence," a multi-year oral history and education project that explores the multifaceted meaning of independence to women in their own lives over the past 50 years through the lens of economic power. Timed with today’s 50th anniversary of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), which made it illegal for banks to discriminate against women applying for loans based on their sex or marital status, our first set of oral histories commemorate this important historical milestone for women and their economic independence. Learn more about how the ECOA came to be from the woman who helped pass the law, and those who benefitted from its passage. https://s.si.edu/48mNQJe

    • Graphic featuring text that states '50 years ago, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act gave women the right to own credit cards in their own names.' Below is the logo of the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum.
    • Two women walking past the First Women's Bank, with an announcement about the oral history project 'We Do Declare: Women's Voices on Independence and Economic Power' overlaid on the image.
    • Black and white photo of Emily Card, who helped write the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, smiling and dressed in professional attire.
    • The United States Capitol building at dusk with clear skies. Text overlay encourages learning more about the history of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, with a link to the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum website.
  • Born #OnThisDay in 1830, attorney and social justice activist Belva Lockwood was a trailblazer for women's rights. She became the first woman to run for president in 1884. She was also the first woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court. A champion for women's suffrage, she ran for president as the Equal Rights Party nominee decades before women won the right to vote in 1920. She ran again in 1888. In this portrait, the artist Nellie Mathes Horne emphasized Lockwood’s intellectual achievements, representing her in the academic robes she received with her honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Syracuse University in 1909. https://s.si.edu/4fh1EHs 🖼️: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of the Committee for "A Tribute to Mrs. Belva Ann Lockwood" through Mrs. Anna Kelton Wiley, 1917

    • Portrait of Belva Lockwood, wearing a dark robe with a velvet collar and a decorative brooch. She stands against a subdued background, looking directly at the viewer with a slight smile.
  • Suffragist, educator, and politician Nina Otero-Warren was born on #OnThisDay 1881. In 1918, Otero-Warren became superintendent of public schools in Santa Fe County, making her the first woman government official in New Mexico. In 1922, she ran for Congress under the Republican Party of New Mexico but lost to the Democratic candidate by less than 9%. 🪙 In 2022, she was honored with her own U.S. quarter as part of our American Women Quarters™ Program in partnership with United States Mint. Read more: https://s.si.edu/3BSWoeJ 📷: Portrait of Adelina Otero-Warren from the Library of Congress. Glass-plate negative by Bain News Service, [1923]. Prints and Photographs Division; U.S. Mint Photo by Amanda Crastz-Flores

    • Black and white portrait of Adelina Otero-Warren wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a light-colored jacket, exuding a confident smile.
    • A person's hand holding a display for the American Women Quarters Program featuring a Nina Otero-Warren quarter.
  • Our first digital exhibition "Becoming Visible: Bringing American Women's History Into Focus" is nominated for an Anthem Award! The Anthem Community Voice Award aims to engage the public in meaningful initiatives and raise awareness of finalists' transformative changes. Revisit the exhibition, which explores the uneven process of women becoming visible in American history through the stories of five remarkable women from the past.

    Becoming Visible

    Becoming Visible

    becomingvisible.si.edu

  • "Queen of Salsa" Celia Cruz was born #OnThisDay in 1925. During a career that lasted more than 60 years, Cruz helped popularize salsa music in the United States. By celebrating her Cuban culture, she also helped Afro-Latino Americans embrace their own heritage. As a lead singer of Cuban orchestra La Sonora Matancera, Cruz performed across Latin America. Cruz arrived in the U.S. in 1961. She became one of few women to succeed in the male-dominated world of salsa music. Cruz performed salsa in Spanish, celebrating her Afro-Latino culture during the U.S. Civil Rights movement. She won five Grammy Awards. 🪙 This year, she was honored with her own U.S. quarter as part of our American Women Quarters™ Program in partnership with United States Mint. https://s.si.edu/4ffGNVb 📷: Celia Cruz was honored with the Smithsonian's James Smithson Bicentennial Medal in 2001.

    • Celia Cruz, wearing a red wig and orange dress, proudly holding a Smithsonian Institution award and medal.
    • A close-up of a hand holding a U.S. quarter featuring Celia Cruz.
  • Join us for a Wikipedia edit-a-thon on women, credit, and financial power to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prohibited lenders from discriminating against consumers based on their sex or marital status. Learn about Emily Card, a legislative fellow who wrote the 1974 bill. Less than 20% of biographies in English-language Wikipedia are about women. With your help, we are working to change that. New editors are encouraged to attend the introductory session at 11am. This event is presented with support from Wikimedia DC. ➡️ October 28, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. EDT. RSVP: https://s.si.edu/3NuAYau

    • Black background with text that reads, "Know who doesn't have a Wiki page? The person who wrote the bill giving women credit cards in their own names."
    • Black and white photo of Emily Card sitting at a desk, smiling, with a globe in the background.
  • Come join the team at the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum! We’re working to expand the story of America through the often-untold accounts and accomplishments of women individually and collectively—to better understand our past and inspire our future. We’re looking for dedicated individuals to help us create space for women’s history on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., deepen our nation’s stories, and inspire conversation, connection, and change. We are seeking an Advancement Associate who can provide technical and administrative support and assist with a full range of advancement functions including drafting documents and presentations, conducting donor research, and assisting with donor prospect management, assisting with the national volunteer network, membership program, donor events and meetings, and board meetings; as well as performing data management, gift processing, stewardship, procurement, travel arrangements and other related administrative tasks. Applications for consideration will be accepted through October 30, 2024. Click here to apply: https://s.si.edu/4h5aU3i

    Advancement Associate (IS-1001-09)

    Advancement Associate (IS-1001-09)

  • ✍️ In the early 1900s, science as a profession was largely inaccessible to women. Despite societal constraints, a few pioneering women found a path to contribute through illustration. Drawing was a decidedly “womanly” pastime in the early 20th Century, so illustration became an acceptable avenue for women to document and interpret the natural world despite the gender bias in traditional scientific roles. These are the stories of four women—Violet Dandridge, Aime Motter Awl, Carolyn Bartlett Gast, and Marilyn Schotte—in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Department of Invertebrate Zoology who broke through the gendered barriers of science and made significant contributions to scientific discovery through art. Read more: https://s.si.edu/3YabST8 1️⃣,3️⃣ Illustration of the lateral view of a feather star (Ptilocrinus pinnatus) by Violet Dandridge published in “A Monograph of the Existing Crinoids” by Austin Hobart Clark in 1915. 2️⃣ Image courtesy of Bedinger Family History and Genealogy. 4️⃣ Illustration of a new species of crab, Aegla parana, by Amie Awl featured in a publication by Waldo Schmitt in 1942. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution. 5️⃣ Illustration of a Loriciferan (Pliciloricus enigmaticus) by Carolyn Gast from the publication describing this new species in 1986. Discovering new phyla is rare; Loricifera was only the third new phylum discovered in the 1900s. Image courtesy of Higgins & Kristensen, 1986. 6️⃣ Marilyn Schotte at her retirement party in 2009. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Department of Invertebrate Zoology. 7️⃣ Schotte’s illustration of Malacanthura schotteae featured in Kensley’s original 1982 publication, “Revision of southern African Anthuridea.” Image courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution.

    • 'How Illustration Opened a Door for Early Women in Science at the Smithsonian.' Illustration of a feather star with five wings sticking out from the end. 
    • Aged black and white portrait of Violent Dandridge, born in 1878, died in 1956, from the waist up turned towards the camera.
    • Illustration of a feather star with five wings sticking out from the end. 
    • Drawn illustration of a crab with two claws on the right side of the page and detailed sections of anatomy drawn on the left side of the page.
    • An illustration of a new species of phyla with a cone shaped bottom and thin tendrils coming out of the top.
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