Her untiring efforts to engage and acknowledge the activism of women’s groups in support of a new statute bore fruit as women shaped many provisions of the new law passed to replace the Wiley Act: The 1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Effie Alberta Read, Ph. D., M. D., one of very few women in the FDA’s Bureau of Chemistry when she joined the agency in 1907, was among the best trained analysts when she arrived.
In August, 1965, FDA’s Food and Drug Review announced that the agency had hired its first “woman” inspector, Mrs. Imogene Gollinger.
After being nominated as the first female Commissioner of FDA by President Bill Clinton, she became the first FDA Commissioner to go through the grueling Senate confirmation process in 1999. Supporters of the nomination maintained that given both her medical acumen and administrative talent and experience, she was the most qualified Commissioner FDA had ever had.
Mary Engle Pennington became FDA’s first female lab chief under Harvey Wiley following passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act. Her bacteriological research helped revolutionize the food supply, making more safe, fresh foods available at affordable prices, particularly in newly industrialized areas of the country.
Her work on the regulation of generic drugs and products for rare diseases helped make valuable treatments more available.
Dr. Mattie Rae Spivey Fox made substantial contributions to the field of trace nutrient investigations and the work of the FDA in regulating food, and thereby advanced the health and well-being of the public.
Australian doctor; director of the Victorian Health Department’s section of infant welfare 1926-1946. She wrote books on the care of infants and young children and her 1937 report for the National Health and Medical Research Council prompted government funding of the Lady Gowrie Child Centres.
Samia Baho has made an outstanding contribution to addressing the various barriers to ensure appropriate services are available for African women in Victoria, Australia.
Dr Jenkins is a woman of Gunditjama descent and an advocate for gender equity, Aboriginal health and education.