Women’s History Month

March is Women's History Month, a time to highlight and celebrate the many contributions women have made throughout history and present day. Women's History Month has been recognized in the United States since 1987. In this article, we want to honor trailblazers in healthcare. But first, a brief history of how this month came to be:

Origins of Women’s History Month

In the U.S., the origins of Women’s History Month date back to the 1840s, when human rights activists including Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton—leaders of Women’s Suffrage—began working to secure equality and voting rights for women. The first National Women's Day was observed in New York City in 1908, and the first International Women’s Day followed in 1911. In March 1972, Title IX, which protects people from sex discrimination in federal education programs, was passed by Congress. But it wasn’t until 1978 that the National Women’s History Alliance spearheaded the movement for a National Women’s History Week to take place the week of March 8 (when International Women’s Day is observed). 

In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation for National Women's History Week, calling on Americans to observe the week with ceremonies, activities and programs that recognized the achievements of women and their contributions to history.

In 1987, Congress passed a resolution designating March as Women's History Month, and it has been honored and observed every year since. 

Honoring Women in Healthcare

While the theme for this year is Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories, we would like to take a moment to celebrate women who have made significant contributions in healthcare. Understanding we certainly cannot list them all, we hope these few we do mention will showcase how women have and continue to make lasting strides in the field of medicine.

Elizabeth Blackwell, MD, was the first woman to receive a medical degree. Born in 1821 near Bristol, England, Blackwell moved with her family to America in 1832, settling in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her inspiration to study medicine came from a dying friend, who told her that a female physician would have made her situation easier. At the time, there were only a few medical colleges—and none that allowed women to enroll. But Blackwell persevered and was eventually accepted at Geneva College in New York. (Although, it’s said that her acceptance letter was meant as a joke by the all-male student body.) Even while facing discrimination and subsequent obstacles, Blackwell graduated first in her class in 1849. She opened a clinic to treat poor women, and later two more: the New York Infirmary for Women and Children and a medical college in New York City, both focused on supporting women pursuing careers in medicine.

Alice Ball created the first effective treatment for leprosy. Born in Seattle, Washington, in 1892, she studied chemistry at the University of Washington and accepted a scholarship from the University of Hawaii, where she became the first woman and African American to receive a master’s degree. Her thesis caught the attention of Dr. Harry T. Hollmann, MD, who needed an assistant in his research for a treatment of leprosy. Ball developed a water-soluble, injectable form of chaulmoogra tree oil, which became known as the Ball Method—the most effective treatment for leprosy until the 1940s. Sadly, Ball died in 1924, and her vast contributions were not recognized until many years after her death.

Virginia Apgar, MD, developed the gold standard for determining the health of newborns. Born in Westfield, New Jersey, in 1909, Apgar attended Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S), where was one of only nine women in a class of 90 students. She received her medical degree in 1933. Apgar became the first woman to head a division at Presbyterian Hospital (now New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center), where she served as director of the new Division of Anesthesia within the Department of Surgery. Previously, she’d applied for the position of Chair for the Division of Anesthesiology but lost to a male colleague, so she turned her attention to research in obstetrical anesthesia (particularly, the effects of maternal anesthesia on the newborn).  With the goal of reducing neonatal mortality rates, Apgar in 1952 developed a scoring system to evaluate the health status of newborns that was based on their heart rate, respiration, movement, irritability and color one minute after birth. “Apgar scores” became standard practice and are now performed on all children born in hospitals worldwide. 

Audrey Evans, MD, is creator of Ronald McDonald Houses. Born in York, England, in 1925, and trained at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, Scotland, Evans came to the United States in 1953 as a Fulbright Fellow at Boston Children's Hospital. She was appointed head of the hematology-oncology unit at University of Chicago Clinics in 1964. Four years later, she began managing the children’s cancer center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). During her time there, Evans focused on research and treatments of childhood cancers, particularly neuroblastoma. In 1971, she developed the Evans staging system. But Evans may be best known for her role in creating the first Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia in 1974, a facility that allowed families to stay close to the hospital where their children were being treated. Today, there are more than 360 Ronald McDonald Houses worldwide.

Patricia Goldman-Rakic, PhD, developed insight into the brain and memory. Born in 1937 in Salem, Massachusetts, Goldman-Rakic grew up in Peabody, where she attended Peabody High School before moving to Poughkeepsie, New York, to study experimental psychology at Vassar College. She earned a bachelor’s in neurobiology in 1950 and a PhD from University of California, Los Angeles, in 1963. Goldman-Rakic began her career in research at the National Institute of Mental Health, where she developed a biological map of the frontal lobe. Her detailed findings in the structure of the prefrontal cortex were pivotal to a greater understanding of the brain’s operations and shed light on working memory. It was this knowledge that led to insight into diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s and schizophrenia. Her research revealed that cells within the prefrontal cortex are dedicated to specific memory and furthered the study of memory loss and how we think about the brain’s development. Goldman-Rakic went on to become one of the first female tenured professors of neuroscience, both at Yale and at the National Institute of Mental Health, before her untimely death in 2003.
 
As we celebrate Women's History Month, we honor the many women who have helped shape our world and who continue to make a difference today. And to all women devoting their lives to helping others by choosing a career in healthcare, we thank you.