Discover the Women of the Hall

These are the Inductees of the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Select any of the women to discover their stories and learn how they have influenced other women and this country.

Achievements Year Born Where Born Year Inducted Last Name
Year Born: to
Birth State or Country: or
Year Inducted: to
First Letter of Last Name: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Inductee Name Achievements Born Where Born Inducted More

Barbara Iglewski Science 1938 Pennsylvania 2015

Barbara Iglewski

Year Honored: 2015
Birth: 1938 - 2023
Born In: Pennsylvania
Achievements: Science

Microbiologist whose landmark discovery that pathogenic bacteria communicate with each other via a system known as “quorum sensing” served as the foundation for an entire field of study and has led to drug development to interrupt the bacterial communication process.


Jane Fonda Arts, Government, Humanities 1937 2019

Jane Fonda

Year Honored: 2019
Birth: 1937 -
Achievements: Arts, Government, Humanities

A two-time Academy Award winning actress (Best Actress in 1971 for Klute and in 1978 for Coming Home), activist, businesswoman, author, producer for film and television and philanthropist, Jane Fonda has revolutionized how we see things from the screen to fitness to representations of women and girls in the media. From the counterculture of the 1960s to today’s feminism, Native American rights and environmentalism; from Kluteto 9 to 5 to Grace and Frankie: Fonda has been a visionary and powerful influencer. Through the Jane Fonda Foundation and the Fonda Family Foundation, Fonda funds causes related toyouth and education, adolescent reproductive health, the environment, human services, and the arts. In 2005, together with Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem, she co-founded the Women’s Media Center, an organization that works to increase the visibility and power of women in media. Fonda serves on the board of the organization. She is the recipient of many honors and awards, including two Academy Awards, two BAFTAs, four Golden Globes, a Primetime Emmy Award, the AFI Life Achievement Award, and the Honorary Golden Lion. In 2007, Fonda received an Honorary Palme d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival, making her one of three people to ever be granted this honor until then. She was also recognized with a Tony Award nomination for her role on Broadway in Moisés Kaufman’s 33 Variations. In 2018, a documentary following Fonda’s remarkable journey, Jane Fonda in Five Acts, was released.


Karen DeCrow Karen DeCrow Government, Humanities 1937 Illinois 2009
Karen DeCrow

Karen DeCrow

Year Honored: 2009
Birth: 1937 - 2014
Born In: Illinois
Achievements: Government, Humanities

A nationally recognized attorney, author and activist, Karen DeCrow is one of the most celebrated leaders of the women’s movement. From 1974-1977, she served as the National President of the National Organization for Women (NOW), where she was instrumental in obtaining significant legislative and legal gains and tirelessly advocated on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). DeCrow has written numerous books and articles and has lectured throughout the world on topics such as law, gender equality, and politics. In 1970, she served as National Coordinator of the Women’s Strike, and in 1988 she co-founded World Women Watch.


Madeleine Korbel Albright Government 1937 Czechoslovakia 1998

Madeleine Korbel Albright

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1937 - 2022
Born In: Czechoslovakia
Achievements: Government

First female Secretary of State and highest ranking woman in the U.S. government under President Clinton. As a professor at Georgetown University, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in international affairs and Russian and Central and Eastern European politics. In President Clinton’s first term, she was the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and a member of the National Security Council.


Barbara A. Mikulski Government 1936 Maryland 2011

Barbara A. Mikulski

Year Honored: 2011
Birth: 1936 -
Born In: Maryland
Achievements: Government

The first female Democratic United States Senator elected in her own right, Barbara Mikulski has been a political trailblazer for more than thirty years. During her tenure as a Senator, Mikulski has developed and supported legislation promoting equal healthcare for American women, Medicare reform, better care for veterans, greater student access to quality education, increased funding for scientific research, and more. Senator Mikulski currently serves as the Dean of the Women in the Senate, and is a senior member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; a senior member of the Appropriations Committee; and a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. In 2011, Senator Mikulski officially became the longest serving female Senator in United States history.


Allucquére Rosanne Stone Arts, Education, Humanities 1936 New Jersey 2024

Allucquére Rosanne Stone

Year Honored: 2024
Birth: 1936 -
Born In: New Jersey
Achievements: Arts, Education, Humanities

Allucquére Rosanne Stone, also known as Sandy Stone, is an academic, media theorist, artist, audio engineer, and computer programmer. A founder of the academic discipline of transgender studies, Stone’s trailblazing work created space for trans scholars to unfold the vast spectrum of gender.


Barbara Jordan Government 1936 1990

Barbara Jordan

Year Honored: 1990
Birth: 1936 - 1996
Achievements: Government

First African American woman elected to Congress from the south and the first African American woman to deliver the keynote address at the convention of a major political party (Democratic Convention, 1976). Known as having a brilliant legal mind, Jordan became a professor and lecturer after retiring from Congress.


Elizabeth Hanford Dole Government, Humanities 1936 North Carolina 1995

Elizabeth Hanford Dole

Year Honored: 1995
Birth: 1936 -
Born In: North Carolina
Achievements: Government, Humanities

First woman to hold two cabinet positions as Secretary of Transportation under Ronald Reagan and Secretary of Labor for President George Bush. Dole later became President of the American Red Cross.


Sylvia A. Earle Science 1935 New Jersey 2000

Sylvia A. Earle

Year Honored: 2000
Birth: 1935 -
Born In: New Jersey
Achievements: Science

An undersea explorer since age 13, Earle became an internationally recognized marine biologist, author, lecturer and scientific consultant. Denied the opportunity to participate in the U.S. Navy “Tektite Project” to study the ocean, she founded “Tektite II”, an all-female expedition that spent two weeks exploring the ocean floor. The founder of two companies to design and build undersea vehicles, she is chief scientist and consultant to oceanographic and marine research centers throughout the world.


Tenley Albright Athletics, Science 1935 Massachusetts 2015

Tenley Albright

Year Honored: 2015
Birth: 1935 -
Born In: Massachusetts
Achievements: Athletics, Science

The first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating.  Named one of the “100 Greatest Female Athletes.”  A successful surgeon and leader in blood plasma research, she works in international efforts to eradicate polio.


Barbara Rose Johns Powell Education, Government 1935 2020

Barbara Rose Johns Powell

Year Honored: 2020
Birth: 1935 - 1991
Achievements: Education, Government

A young, civil rights leader, and pioneer. At the age of 16, Powell led a student strike, for equal education, at R.R. Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia.


Geraldine Ferraro Government 1935 New York 1994

Geraldine Ferraro

Year Honored: 1994
Birth: 1935 - 2011
Born In: New York
Achievements: Government

First woman nominated by a major political party as a candidate for Vice President of the United States. Chosen to serve as the running mate of Democratic Presidential Nominee Walter Mondale in 1984, Ferraro had been an Assistant District Attorney in New York and later served in the United States Congress.


Rozanne L. Ridgway Government 1935 Minnesota 1998

Rozanne L. Ridgway

Year Honored: 1998
Birth: 1935 -
Born In: Minnesota
Achievements: Government

Foreign policy advisor under six consecutive U.S. presidents from Richard Nixon to William Clinton. Beginning in 1975, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; her last appointment was Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs. A former Chair of the Atlantic Council of the U.S., a foreign policy think tank, her work has spanned almost four decades.


Rita Rossi Colwell Science 1934 Massachusetts 2005

Rita Rossi Colwell

Year Honored: 2005
Birth: 1934 -
Born In: Massachusetts
Achievements: Science

Dr. Rita R. Colwell became the first woman and first biologist to head the National Science Foundation in 1998, spearheading the agency’s emphases in K-12 science and mathematics education, graduate science and engineering education/training and the increased participation of women and minorities in science and engineering.


Gloria Steinem Humanities 1934 Ohio 1993

Gloria Steinem

Year Honored: 1993
Birth: 1934 -
Born In: Ohio
Achievements: Humanities

Feminist leader, writer and social activist. A founder of Ms. Magazine, Steinem also co-convened the National Women’s Political Caucus and helped create the Ms. Foundation for Women. A best-selling author, her latest works are Revolution from Within: A Book of Self Esteem for Women and Moving Beyond Words.


Kate Millett Arts, Education, Humanities 1934 Minnesota 2013

Kate Millett

Year Honored: 2013
Birth: 1934 - 2017
Born In: Minnesota
Achievements: Arts, Education, Humanities

A feminist activist, writer, visual artist, filmmaker, teacher and human rights advocate, Kate Millett has been described as one of the most influential Americans of the twentieth century. Millett began her career as an English instructor and in 1966, became the first Chair of the Education Committee of the newly formed National Organization for Women. In 1968, she authored a pioneering report published by NOW, Token Learning: A Study of Women’s Higher Education in America, in which she challenged women’s colleges to provide an equal education for women. Millett is perhaps best-known for her landmark work in feminist theory, Sexual Politics (1970). She currently serves as the Director of the Millett Center for the Arts, a creative work space that provides artist in residence accommodation and studio facilities to women artists from around the world.


Peggy McIntosh Education, Humanities 1934 New York 2024

Peggy McIntosh

Year Honored: 2024
Birth: 1934 -
Born In: New York
Achievements: Education, Humanities

Peggy McIntosh is renowned as an educational innovator, feminist activist, author, and public speaker. McIntosh derived her understanding of white privilege from observing parallels with male privilege.


Ruth Bader Ginsburg Government 1933 New York 2002

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Year Honored: 2002
Birth: 1933 - 2020
Born In: New York
Achievements: Government

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has spent her career working to eliminate gender-based stereotyping and discrimination. Justice Ginsburg is the second woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court in its 212 year history.


Matilda Raffa Cuomo Education, Government, Humanities, Philanthropy 1931 New York 2017

Matilda Raffa Cuomo

Year Honored: 2017
Birth: 1931 -
Born In: New York
Achievements: Education, Government, Humanities, Philanthropy

Established the nation’s first school-based one-to-one mentoring program, connecting over 10,000 students to trained mentors, and helping them to succeed in school, graduate, and advance in the workplace. The reach of this program, Mentoring USA, has expanded internationally.


Toni Morrison Arts, Humanities 1931 2020

Toni Morrison

Year Honored: 2020
Birth: 1931 - 2018
Achievements: Arts, Humanities

An author and book editor who fostered a new generation of Black writers. Morrison has been unapologetic about her focus on Black people’s experiences, and the power with which she has brought this focus.


Barbara Hillary Athletics 1931 2020

Barbara Hillary

Year Honored: 2020
Birth: 1931 - 2019
Achievements: Athletics

The first Black woman to have ever traveled to both the North and South Pole- both after the age of 75. Inspired by her expeditions, Hillary took interest in the effects of climate change on the polar caps and became a fierce advocate for combating climate change.


Allie B. Latimer Government 1931 Pennsylvania 2009

Allie B. Latimer

Year Honored: 2009
Birth: 1931 -
Born In: Pennsylvania
Achievements: Government

An attorney, civil rights activist and humanitarian, Allie B. Latimer was instrumental in organizing Federally Employed Women (FEW) in 1968, and served as the organization’s founding president until 1969. In 1977, as a federal attorney, Latimer was the first African American and first woman to serve as General Counsel of a major federal agency as well as the first African American and first woman to attain the GS-18 salary level at the General Services Administration. She was also recognized as part of the ‘second wave of feminist pioneers’ by the Veteran Feminists of America (VFA).


Wilma L. Vaught Government 1930 Illinois 2000

Wilma L. Vaught

Year Honored: 2000
Birth: 1930 -
Born In: Illinois
Achievements: Government

One of the most decorated military women in U.S. history, Brigadier General Vaught, USAF, Retired, broke through many gender barriers to achieve a series of “firsts” that paved the way for military women serving today. She may be best known and most revered for her 12-year quest to permanently honor women in the military, raising over $45 million to build a major national memorial. The stunning 33,000 sq. ft. Women in Military Service for America Memorial facility and education center stands today at the gateway to Arlington National Cemetery.


Elaine Roulet Humanities 1930 1993

Elaine Roulet

Year Honored: 1993
Birth: 1930 - 2020
Achievements: Humanities

Crusader for some of society’s most sharply disadvantaged, children of women in prison. A Sister of St. Joseph, Roulet has created many social reform and welfare organizations. She is best known for her work at the Bedford Hills Correction Center in New York, where she enabled mothers in prison to keep their babies for a year, a program now being patterned nationwide.

1 2 3 4 5 6 13