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Women Who Broke Barriers Every Year Since 1950

Women Who Broke Barriers Every Year Since 1950

Regardless of the field of endeavor — science, sports, business, politics — women have smashed long-held traditions, customs, and shibboleths to take their rightful place in the world. 

As we prepare to mark women’s history month, 24/7 Tempo has taken this opportunity to acknowledge the progress in women’s rights and celebrate women who broke barriers the year you were born. We compiled our list from a trove of sources, including websites focusing on history, women’s rights, sports, and economics such as britannica.com, womenshistory.org, biography.com, nationalgeographic.com, and espn.com.  

In the post-war era, many opportunities have opened up for women as the economy expanded, colleges swelled with female students, and perceptions about a women’s role in society were challenged. Even so, women still had to fight, and still have to fight, for their rights. It’s a story that’s older than you think — these are the women’s protests that changed history.

 For many women on the list, an accomplishment in a given year might be one of several instances in which they distinguished themselves. For example, Hillary Clinton has made a career out of female “firsts.” When she was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2001, Clinton became the first first lady to win a public office post. In 2016, she was the first woman to receive a presidential nomination from a major political party. 

The challenges other women confronted go beyond their gender. Many have also faced racial and religious biases. Besides the fact that they are women of color, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib have endured bias because of their faith. Still, they became the first Muslim women elected to Congress in 2018. Omar and Tlaib were part of a historically large class of women running for office in 2018, a step toward gender parity in the United States. These are the countries where women are still not equal to men.

Source: PredragImages / Getty Images

1950: Marion Donovan
> Category: Inventions

Marion Donovan invented the first disposable diaper. She patented it in 1951. Donovan had been rebuffed by companies run by men, so she sold the diapers directly to retailers.

Source: David McNew / Getty Images

1951: Lucille Ball
> Category: Entertainment

Zany comedian Lucille Ball was a television innovator who broke barriers. Her show featured an inter-ethnic marriage (to Cuba-American singer Desi Arnaz) that was not widely accepted at the time. Ball eventually became the first woman to own a studio.

Source: cizauskas / Flickr

1952: Ella Baker
> Category: Activism

Ella Baker was a civil rights figure who became the first woman to lead the New York chapter of the NAACP. Baker was also one of the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.

Source: FPG / Getty Images

1953: Jacqueline Cochran
> Category: Science

Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier when she piloted an F-86 plane.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

1954: Jewel L. Prestage
> Category: Education

Jewel L. Prestage became the first African-American woman to get a doctorate in political science, which she received from the University of Iowa.

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

1955: Rosa Parks
> Category: Activism

Rosa Parks played a key role in the civil rights movement when she refused to give up a seat on a bus to a white person in Montgomery, Alabama. This led to the Montgomery bus boycott and integration of buses.

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

1956: Autherine Lucy
> Category: Education

Autherine Lucy endured physical and verbal abuse to become the first African-American woman to attend the University of Alabama.

Source: .

1957: Marie Tharp
> Category: Science

Marie Tharp helped create the first map of the floor of the North Atlantic was published in 1957. Because she was a woman, Tharp was not allowed on research vessels, so she worked as a cartographer on land and helped outline the ocean floor by using data collected by her partner, Bruce Heezen.

Source: NASA Image and Video Library / Wikimedia Commons

1958: Mary Winston Jackson
> Category: Science

Mary Winston Jackson was the first African-American female engineer at NASA. She was portrayed by actress Janelle Monáe in the motion picture “Hidden Figures.”

Source: marines.mil / Wikimedia Commons

1959: Arlene Pieper
> Category: Sports

Arlene Pieper ran the Pikes Peak Marathon in 1959, the first woman to complete any marathon in the United States. She ran up and then down the 14,115-foot Colorado mountain.

Source: Hulton Archive / Getty Images

1960: Wilma Rudolph
> Category: Sports

Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals in one Olympics. At the Olympic Games in Rome, Rudolph won the 100- and 200-meter sprints, and then anchored the victorious U.S. team in the 4×100-meter relay.

Source: Dlu776 / Wikimedia Commons

1961: Dana Ulery
> Category: Science

Dana Ulery became the first woman engineer hired at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via Wikimedia Commons

1962: Rachel Carson
> Category: Science

Noted biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson alerted the world to the dangers of pesticides with her groundbreaking book “Silent Spring,” which was published in 1962.

Source: Keystone / Getty Images

1963: Valentina Tereshkova
> Category: Science

Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to fly in space.

Source: Express Newspapers / Getty Images

1964: Geraldine Mock
> Category: Aviation

Geraldine Mock was the first woman to fly solo around the world. She joined other aviation pioneers from Ohio such as the Wright Brothers and Neil Armstrong.

Source: summonedbyfells / Flickr

1965: Myrtle Simpson
> Category: Science

Radiologist and explorer Myrtle Simpson became the first woman to ski across Greenland.

Source: recuerdosdepandora / Flickr

1966: Bobbi Gibb
> Category: Sports

Clad in men’s shorts and boys’ running shoes, Bobbi Gibb became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon unofficially.

Source: Darren McCollester / Getty Images

1967: Kathrine Switzer
> Category: Sports

Kathrine Switzer, a 20-year-old journalism student, became the first woman to officially enter and complete the the Boston Marathon.

Source: Pictorial Parade / Getty Images

1968: Shirley Chisholm
> Category: Politics

New Yorker Shirley Chisholm became the first African-American congresswoman. She represented a part of Brooklyn.

Source: Jamie Squire / Getty Images

1969: Diane Crump
> Category: Sports

Diane Crump was the first woman allowed to compete as a jockey in the United States. In 1970, she became the first woman to ride at the famous Kentucky Derby.

Source: Ted West / Getty Images

1970: Billie Jean King
> Category: Sports

Billie Jean King became an early outspoken advocate for equal pay for women tennis players and for LGBTQ rights.

Source: Rama & Musée Bolo / Wikimedia Commons

1971: Evelyn Berezin
> Category: Inventions

Evelyn Berezin invented the word processor. She was also the founder of Redactron Corporation, which became the first company exclusively engaged in manufacturing and selling word processors.

Source: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

1972: Gloria Steinem
> Category: Activism

One of the most high-profile feminists, Gloria Steinem co-founded Ms. magazine, the first glossy publication run and owned by women.

Source: Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

1973: Patsy Cline
> Category: Entertainment

Country singer Patsy Cline, who died in a plane crash in 1963, became the first solo woman to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Source: Naval History and Heritage Command / Wikimedia Commons

1974: Rosemary Mariner
> Category: Military

Rosemary Mariner, who was among the first female fliers in the Navy, became the first woman to fly a tactical fighter jet.

Source: Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

1975: Junko Tabei
> Category: Sports

Junko Tabei from Japan flouted cultural conventions by leaving her toddler with her husband to become the first woman to summit Mount Everest. She was also the first woman to climb the highest peak on every continent, collectively known as the “Seven Summits.”

Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

1976: Emily Howell Warner
> Category: Aviation

Emily Howell Warner became the first female captain of a major U.S. carrier, Frontier Airlines.

Source: Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images

1977: Janet Guthrie
> Category: Sports

Janet Guthrie, a trained physicist and engineer, became the first woman to compete at the Indianapolis 500, the nation’s most prestigious auto racing event.

Source: U.S. Department of Defense / Wikimedia Commons

1978: Mary E. Clarke
> Category: Military

Mary E. Clarke became the U.S. Army’s first woman two-star general.

Source: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons

1979: Ann Meyers
> Category: Sports

Women’s basketball superstar Ann Meyers was the first woman signed to an NBA contract when she signed with the Indiana Pacers. She was cut a week later.

Source: Winter Park Public Library / Wikimedia Commons

1980: Paula Hawkins
> Category: Politics

Florida Republican Paula Hawkins became the first woman elected to a full Senate term who had not been preceded by her father or husband. She is still the only female senator from Florida.

Source: Keystone / Getty Images

1981: Sandra Day O’Connor
> Category: Law

Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman nominated to the Supreme Court and would become the first woman to serve on the nation’s top court.

Source: Win McNamee / Getty Images

1982: Madonna
> Category: Entertainment

A woman who helped define 1980s style and attitude, Madonna challenged conventions of what female entertainers should be and became one of the biggest stars of the decade.

Source: Sandy Huffaker / Getty Images

1983: Sally Ride
> Category: Science

Sally Ride became the first American woman in space when she rode the space shuttle Challenger. She is also the first known gay astronaut.

Source: Emma McIntyre / Getty Images

1984: Barbra Streisand
> Category: Entertainment

Barbra Streisand, who has been honored with Oscar and Grammy awards, was the first — and so far only — woman to win a Golden Globe for direction.

Source: City of Portland Oregon / portlandoregon.gov/archives

1985: Penny Harrington
> Category: Law enforcement

Law-enforcement trailblazer Penny Harrington became the first female chief of police of a major city. She was chief of police in Portland, Oregon.

Source: Paras Griffin / Getty Images

1986: Oprah Winfrey
> Category: Entertainment/Activism

Host of one of the most popular TV talk shows ever, and the first African-American woman to become a self-made billionaire, Oprah Winfrey became the first woman to own and produce a television talk show.

Source: Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

1987: Aretha Franklin
> Category: Entertainment

The “Queen of Soul,” Aretha Franklin became the first woman artist inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Source: Robert Laberge / Getty Images

1988: Shawna Robinson
> Category: Sports

Shawna Robinson, from Des Moines, Iowa, became the first woman to win a NASCAR race, at New Asheville Speedway, in North Carolina.

Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

1989: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
> Category: Politics

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida was the first Hispanic woman elected to the U.S. Congress. She represented Florida’s 27th Congressional District.

Source: AFGE / Wikimedia Commons

1990: Sharon Pratt Dixon
> Category: Politics

Sharon Pratt Dixon became the first black woman elected to serve as mayor of a major U.S. city when she was elected to lead Washington, D.C.

Source: 1991 FIFA World Cup / Wikimedia Commons

1991: U.S. women’s soccer team
> Category: Sports

The United States won the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup that was held in China, accelerating the popularity of the sport in America.

Source: Scott Halleran / Getty Images

1992: Manon Rheaume
> Category: Sports

Goaltender Manon Rheaume from Quebec became the first woman to sign a contract with the NHL, by inking a pact with Tampa Bay Lightning. She played in an exhibition game against the St. Louis Blues and stopped seven of nine shots.

Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images

1993: Janet Reno
> Category: Politics

Florida-born Janet Reno became the nation’s first female attorney general. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton.

Source: Bob Levey / Getty Images

1994: Mia Hamm
> Category: Sports

As American women’s soccer grew in force, Mia Hamm became the face of the sport. She was named U.S. Soccer’s Female Athlete of the Year in 1994.

Source: nasacommons / Flickr

1995: Eileen Collins
> Category: Science

Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a NASA space shuttle, and four years later became the first woman to command a space shuttle.

Source: commonwealthclub / Flickr

1996: Madeleine Albright
> Category: Politics

Madeleine Albright, who was born in Czechoslovakia, became the first woman secretary of state, serving President Bill Clinton

Source: Getty Images

1997: Ellen DeGeneres
> Category: Literature

Talk show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres came out in Time magazine with a cover saying, “Yep, I’m Gay.”

Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

1998: J.K. Rowling
> Category: Entertainment

J.K. Rowling published her first novel, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” in the United States in 1998. The Harry Potter book franchise became one of the most popular book and movie franchises ever, making Rowling one of the richest women in the U.K.

Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

1999: Carly Fiorina
> Category: Business

Carly Fiorina became the first woman to helm a company listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average when she was named chief executive officer of technology company Hewlett-Packard Company.

Source: STG3 Brandon Dempster SW / Wikimedia Commons

2000: Kathleen McGrath
> Category: Military

Kathleen McGrath became the first woman to command a Navy warship at sea. She commanded the Jarrett, with a crew of 262. The ship went on a mission in the Persian Gulf to interdict oil being smuggled out of Iraq.

Source: thegessummit / Flickr

2001: Elaine Chao
> Category: Politics

Elaine Chao in 2001 became the first Asian-American woman appointed to a presidential cabinet when she was named by President George W. Bush to serve as secretary of labor.

Source: Earl Gibson III / Getty Images

2002: Halle Berry
> Category: Entertainment

Halle Berry became the first African-American woman to win a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the movie “Monster’s Ball.”

Source: The Peep Holes / Wikimedia Commons

2003: Teresa Phillips
> Category: Sports

Teresa Phillips made history when she became the first woman to coach a Division I men’s basketball game as coach at Tennessee State University.

Source: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images

2004: Phylicia Rashad
> Category: Entertainment

Phylicia Rashad, who gained fame as the TV wife of Bill Cosby on “The Cosby Show,” became the first black woman to win Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for her performance in “A Raisin in the Sun.”

Source: Rob Kim / Getty Images

2005: Condoleezza Rice
> Category: Politics

Condoleezza Rice became first African-American woman secretary of state, serving President George W. Bush. Before that she was national security adviser, the first woman to hold the post.

Source: Paul Morigi / Getty Images

2006: Indra Nooyi
> Category: Business

Indra Nooyi became CEO of PepsiCo, the first woman to lead the soft-drink and snack-food colossus, and shifted the company into more healthful products.

Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images

2007: Nancy Pelosi
> Category: Politics

Nancy Pelosi became the first woman elected as speaker of the House of Representatives, the highest political position ever attained by a woman in the United States.

Source: Kris Connor / Getty Images

2008: Ann E. Dunwoody
> Category: Military

Ann E. Dunwoody became the first female four-star general in the U.S. Army.

Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

2009: Sonia Sotomayor
> Category: Law

Bronx-born Sonia Sotomayor became the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice in American history, replacing Justice David Souter.

Source: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images

2010: Kathryn Bigelow
> Category: Entertainment

Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Director, winning for the film “The Hurt Locker.”

Source: Nigel Waldron / Getty Images

2011: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, Tawakkul Karman
> Category: Activism

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakkul Karman shared the Nobel Peace Prize for furthering women’s rights in Liberia. Sirleaf was the first woman elected to lead an African nation.

Source: Andy Lyons / Getty Images

2012: Shannon Eastin
> Category: Sports

Shannon Eastin made sports history by becoming the fIrst female NFL referee when she worked as a line judge for the game between the Green Bay Packers and the San Diego Chargers.

Source: Paul Morigi / Getty Images

2013: Mary Barra
> Category: Business

Mary Barra broke up the boys club in the automotive industry when she was named CEO of General Motors, the first woman to lead a major American automobile company.

Source: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

2014: Mo’ne Davis
> Category: Sports

Mo’ne Davis from Philadelphia became the first girl to pitch her team to a victory in the Little League World Series at Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Today, she plays basketball.

Source: Christian Petersen / Getty Images

2015: Jennifer Welter
> Category: Sports

Jennifer Welter became the first woman coach in the NFL, when the Arizona Cardinals chose her to work with the team’s linebackers.

Source: Drew Angerer / Getty Images

2016: Hillary Clinton
> Category: Politics

Hillary Clinton became the first woman to gain the presidential nomination of a major political party in the United States.

Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

2017: Patty Jenkins
> Category: Entertainment

Patty Jenkins became the first female director to helm a full-length super hero action film when she directed the movie “Wonder Woman.”

Source: Alex Wroblewski / Getty Images

2018: Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib
> Category: Politics

Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were the first Muslim women elected to Congress. They were elected to represent congressional districts in Minnesota and Michigan, respectively.

Source: Theo Wargo / Getty Images

2019: Ali Stroker
> Category: Entertainment

Actress Ali Stroker became the first wheelchair user, man or woman, to win a Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Musical. She won for her performance in “Oklahoma.”

Methodology

To create a list of women who broke barriers over the last seven decades, 24/7 Tempo reviewed dozens of websites focusing on history, women’s rights, sports, and economics such as britannica.com, womenshistory.org, biography.com, nationalgeographic.com, and espn.com. We reviewed historical articles and biographies of women in various fields, including science, law, sports, the military, business, entertainment, education, activism, and politics. Our list focused on the year a woman accomplished a great feat. Many years have more than one trailblazing woman. We applied editorial discretion in selecting one for every year, giving priority to women who have achieved something for the first time, had an impact in the fight for civil rights, or started a trend that has continued for years.

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