Wilma Mankiller

Susan B. Anthony once said, “I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand.” (Brainy Quote) Susan B. Anthony is a recognizable name, but one that is not rightfully credited for the equal society we live in today. During her time, “equal” was a feared term for many American citizens, and at the mention of this word, many turned their heads. To some, equal meant white, middle-class men giving away their to control to those who were “unfit” to have any sort of decision-making role in society; women and African American’s. Whether it was her Quaker upbringing or her inborn strength, Susan B. Anthony refused to live in a world where any type of person was treated unequally. Although she started as an abolitionist and temperance movement activist, she went on to become one of the most influential suffragists in United States History. Susan B. Anthony’s fiery passion and courage regarding the equal rights of all people, regardless of gender or color, started a revolutionary movement that impacted not only the United States, but the entire world.

The gender bias found in relation to leadership in the civil rights movement often excludes African-American women’s contributions as being of less importance and prominence; however, in hindsight informal leaders were on equal level with formal leaders and bridge leaders served an important function resulting from exclusion.

One woman who has relentlessly served as nationwide leader for the empowerment of women is Eleanor Smeal. This inspiring woman has been on the frontlines for women’s rights for nearly thirty years, and continues to invoke change in legislation today. She is considered a highly

Prior to the 20th Century, the idea of equal rights or even something similar to equal rights was just a distant thought of a few. The drive towards equal rights was a seed waiting to be planted and once it was, the seed sprouted and became strongly rooted. We of the 21st Century are benefiting from a society established on these roots. A societal change was a result of the sacrifices of past leaders, namely a woman by the name of Alice Paul. Alice Paul was an amazing leader, possessing qualities that all aspiring leaders should try to emulate. By investigating the leadership styles Alice Paul incorporated, we can determine how she was able to influence the movement, the results of her contributions and how the leadership styles are able

Equality for women has been an ongoing debate for years. Most people recognize the inequality for women in areas besides the business world. However, women in politics is one of the most well-known topics. Until a few years ago, the thought of having a woman as president was absurd. It wasn’t until the 2008 election that the idea of a woman for president would change drastically. Both Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton decided to run in the 2008 presidential election. Although neither of the two were elected, they both still made a dramatic impact on the views of women in politics. Michelle Bernard states that the 2008 election was a breakthrough for women in general. However, Marie Cocco disagrees, stating that the loss was a major disappointment for women. Although both authors feel strongly about their

These efforts continued into the Civil Rights Era, as organizations and people like Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and Shirley Chisholm worked to get women to the equality in jobs and in government that we have reached today. Compared to a century and a half ago, women have advanced greatly as a group in American

Out of the many contemporary adults who are inspiring leaders, there is one who prominently catches my attention. Leymah Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist who spends her time spreading awareness about the issues that women and girls face throughout the world. Sometimes, women are afraid to stand up for themselves or voice their opinions about the situations they encounter. Although Leymah Gbowee does not have the power to help every individual female, she does what she can to encourage as many females as possible to stand strong behind their beliefs and rights as human beings.

When we hear the term activist from the Civil Rights Movement, we associate that term with Black, religious men from the twentieth century that we most commonly learned about in our classes growing up. Those men were known for fighting against social injustices and impacting the lives of black citizens; they include Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. If someone like Rosa Parks were mentioned in class, we would focus more on her gender than her achievements. It was easy to assume that only men were leading and participating in the Civil Rights Movement. In her book, Witnessing and Testifying: Black Women, Religion, and Civil Rights, Rosetta E. Ross focuses on key women in the Civil Rights Movement who exercised their faith, despite the injustice that surrounded them, to improve the lives of others.

Women learned from their involvement with the civil rights movement to “think radically about the personal worth and abilities of people whose role in society had gone unchallenged before.” These thoughts, naturally, became part of how women began to place themselves within the civil rights movement and to truly start to think about what being a woman in a civil rights organization, like SNCC meant. In a way SNCC acted similarly to the radical abolitionists of the nineteenth century in that they “suggested ways that individual discontent could become the basis for large scale political activism.” They began to think about the societal institutions that they were expected to be a part or such as marriage and childrearing. Women in the movement had “developed too much self-confidence and self-respect to accept subordinate roles passively.”

Eleanor Roosevelt is the world’s First Lady and is an example for an authentic leader. She stood for women’s rights and for the social justice for the poor and disadvantaged. She worked to empower women to participate in voting and in political leadership (Davidson, 2014). As as an authentic leader, she knew the purpose of her work, established and maintained relationships, had values, self-discipline, and passion to her mission (Northouse, 2016, p. 197). Her purpose was to advance human rights and women’s civil rights.

Feminist leaders were also inspired by the Civil Rights movement, through which many of them had gained civic organizing experience. At the same time, according to tavaana.org, black women played a key role in the Civil Rights movement, especially through local organizations, but were shut out of leadership roles. Meanwhile in the 1970’s, the women's anti-war movement was joined by a new generation of more radical young women protesting "the way in which the traditional women's peace movement condoned and even enforced the gender hierarchy in which men made war and women wept.”[Ibid. 367

At times the women’s activism movement was able to cooperate across racial and gender lines in favor of common interests. They were able to work together in order “to demand additional rights based on sex.” In addition, they were able to jointly support other causes such as the Spanish American War. However, this cooperation had limits and was often unable to overcome the racial and class differences between them. “Women who organized primarily on the basis of sex usually worked within rather than across racial and ethnic lines.” In addition, several organizations that were run by women tended to favor the needs of women who were of the same ethnicity, and neglected the needs of

According to Michelle Bachelet, “Gender equality will only be reached if we are able to empower women.” Throughout the course of history, women have had to fight for equality. Equal rights, equal judgement, and even equal pay are some of the things that most women do not receive. Women were expected to take on specific roles and to stick to those roles. Whether it be political or social roles; many women believed they could do the job of any man just as good, if not better. To broadcast the discomfort, people gather together and host rallies, protests and even create orginizations to raise awareness about the inequality. Others choose different routes to express their indiferences. X.J. Kennedy, Susan Glaspell and Christina Rossetti chose

Wangari Maathai, who pioneered the movement, was an extremely brave leader. She rallied women to stand up not only to the male leaders around them, but to the government as a whole. However, the movement faced some of the same problems that the early feminists did. Their lack of prior experience in speaking in public settings was a detriment. With no sufficient models around to demonstrate how this sort of movement should be presented, many people in that case would have given up and waited for someone else to take action. Wangari, however, persevered, encouraging women to learn how to plant trees, store rainwater and provide the firewood and food needed to support a family. She became a role model to many women who never before had a strong female figure to look up to. In the text book, we read about “Activism, Change. And Feminist Futures”. One of the points it covered was the 10 most powerful women in the world. All of the women on that list are active role models in the global community who show how important it is for women to take charge of their own destiny. They, along with women like Wangari, are actively working towards a better world for all

Women’s empowerment is a noted concept in social change, which is much discussed, often elusive and sometimes abused. Yet in the context of development, women’s leadership and agency in social change have been levers for women’s empowerment within communities. Women have sought to fight entrenched interests for community benefits, and have garnered through their collective strength, a new identity. Women’s rights around the world are an important indicator to understand global well-being.