Women's History

In 2020 we celebrated "the centennial anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. But giving women the legal right to vote wasn't automatic entrance into the voting booth for women who weren't white. Women - and men - of color faced many institutional barriers to actually exercising  that right to vote, including poll taxes and literacy tests. Native Americans weren't granted voting rights until 1924 and those in power did everything they could to keep their votes from being cast, too. Here are some resources about the suffragist movement in America and the women of all races who fought to have a say in their country."

- SLJ February 2020

Databases:

• Britannica Launchpacks - Social Studies: combines up-to-date, curriculum-aligned content sets with tools that make it easier for teachers to differentiate instruction and for students to understand core K-12 Social Studies topics. 

Websites:

• 10 Women in STEAM Who Changed the World: From life-changing discoveries to groundbreaking technologies, countless women in Canada have changed the course of history for the better and are making history as we speak with their scientific accomplishments.

• 2020 Women's Vote Centennial Initiative: shares programs, projects, and activities for the anniversary and has curated information from various organizations and institutions.

• 50 Most Important Women in Science for 2025: The gender gap in STEM is a complex issue with many interrelated causes. Some argue that there are fewer women who are genuinely interested in STEM careers. While there is some truth to this, we can never deny that discrimination and sexism are big hurdles.

• Crusade for the Vote, National Women's History Museum (NWHM): includes history, educational resources, and primary sources. The NWHM also offers two electronic field trips on the subject.

• Library of Congress - Women's Suffrage: offers a teaching guide, history, and resources.

• TedTalks - The Hidden Women of STEM - Alexis Scott: Did you know some extraordinary women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math feel invisible in their fields? This Talk explores what it means to be a female hidden figure in STEM and what one can do to change it.

• TedTalks - The History (and Future) of Women in STEM: Nathalia Holt, author of "Rise of the Rocket Girls," inspires with key lessons from NASA's female pioneers. Artfully, Dr. Holt translates each historical reference into evidence for modern workplace reform and reiterates a powerful need for female mentorship. The long forgotten success of these frontier women in science transcends their generation, setting forth important lessons about how to recruit and retain women in science today as masterfully as it was done fifty years ago.

• TedTalks - How to Nurture Brilliant Women in STEM: Inspiring talks from women who have pushed the boundaries in their field and are paving the way for the next generation of girls to earn their place in traditionally male-dominated professions.

• TedTalks - Young Women in STEM: Women have faced discrimination in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math) for centuries. What does this mean for teenage girls aspiring to become scientists? This talk looks at what causes the discrepancies in the workplace and what this means personally to the speaker, a young girl interested in STEM. Linnea Hummer is a high school student currently attending Frankfurt International School, living in Frankfurt, Germany. She was born in Bethesda Maryland, USA where she lived the first 12 years of her life. She is an America, Austrian, and Italian citizen and is bilingual, speaking German at home. Ever since she was little she has been fascinated with STEM (science, technology, math, engineering) fields. Even in elementary school she participated in every science fair and was a proud member of the math competition team. As she became a teenager she kept her love for science but also started to become very active with service programs, taking a particularly strong interest in women’s rights and their representation in STEM fields. In the future, she hopes to be an awesome engineer!

• Turning Point Suffragist Memorial: is a nonprofit organization dedicated to getting a memorial for suffragists. The site spotlights African American and Jewish suffragists.

Articles:

• "African American Women and the Nineteenth Amendment" by Sharon Harley. National Park Service.

• "How Black Suffragists Fought for the Right to Vote and a Modicum of Respect" by Martha S. Jones, National Endowment for the Humanities.

Worksheets:

• Female Pioneers of STEAM

Movie Trailers:

• Gorillas in the Mist: Dian Fossey, Primatologist

• Contact: Dr. Ellie Arroway, Astronomer

• The Imitation Game: Joan Clarke, codebreaker

• Radioactive: Dr. Marie Curie, Chemist and Physicist

• Florence Nightingale - The Lady With the Lamp: Florence Nightingale, Nursing Pioneer

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: an eye-opening documentary about bioethics.