Former United States Senator Olympia J. Snowe has been in politics since she was in her early twenties. When she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives at the age of 31, Snowe became the youngest Republican woman, and the first Greek-American woman ever elected to Congress. She was also the first woman in American history to serve in both houses of State Legislature and both houses of Congress.
In July of 2016, Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first woman in history to represent a major party in a United States presidential election. She is also the first woman to win the Iowa Presidential Caucus, the first First Lady elected to the United States Senate, and the first female senator from New York.
As a child Condoleezza Rice dreamed of becoming a concert pianist. Her love for international music translated into a successful career in international diplomacy. Throughout her career, Rice became the first African American woman to hold several positions, including Secretary of State.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is the senior US Representative from Florida, the first Latina elected to the US Congress, and the first Republican in congress to publicly support the passage of the marriage equality act.
In the first two decades of the twentieth century, Goldstein became the face of Australian feminism.
Edith Cowan’s remarkable leadership in overcoming obstacles to women’s public participation was forged through personal tragedy.
Representing Tasmania on the party’s Federal Executive, she was the only woman amongst the ’36 faceless men’ depicted in 1963 as controlling the Party, although her presence went largely unnoticed in contemporary coverage.
During the war as the deputy president of the Launceston Women’s Voluntary National Register, McIntyre was responsible for organising training schemes for women who wanted to be involved in the war effort. Her wartime experiences led her to argue for women to have ‘more say in the running of the country’.
Australian environmental activist and politician
Scientist and environmentalist Louise Crossley (1942 – 30 July 2015) was closely involved in the establishment of the Tasmanian Greens and the Global Greens.