Q: Who was the first woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company?

A: Katherine Graham. In 1972,  she became the CEO of the Washington Post.

Q: Which celebrated singer began performing at such a young age that she was nicknamed “The Baby Contralto?” Hint: one of her most famous performances was on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939.

A: Marian Anderson’s musical career began quite early, at Union Baptist Church in South Philadelphia.  She joined the choir at age six.  Before long, she was nicknamed “The Baby Contralto.”  When she was eight, her father bought a piano from his brother, but they could not afford any lessons so Marian taught herself.  In 1939, Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow Anderson to sing before an integrated audience at Constitution Hall in DC.  President and First Lady Roosevelt and Walter White of the NAACP persuaded the Secretary of the Interior to allow Anderson to sing at the Lincoln Memorial instead.  An integrated audience of 75,000 attended the concert and millions more listened on the radio.

Q: Who was the first woman to earn a bachelor’s degree?

A: Catherine Brewer, who was from Georgia, received a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan College in 1840.

Q: Who was the first woman to become the president of a national bank?

A: Kate Gleason, the first woman to be president of a national bank, as well as the first woman member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Q: Who was the first female member of the U.S. Supreme Court? (Hint: she’s recently been in the news for her new book).

A: Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in on July 7, 1981 as the first female justice on the Supreme Court.

Q: This singer, songwriter and producer has co-written over 110 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Can you guess who this talented woman is?

A: Carole King has written or co-written 118 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

Q: Who is credited with organizing the very first International Women’s Day?

A: Clara Zetkin fought for women’s rights and was active in politics throughout her life. 102 years ago, she organized the first International Women’s Day.

Q: Who was the first Latina in the U.S. Cabinet serving as the Secretary of Labor?

A: Hilda Solis became the first Hispanic woman to serve in the U.S. Cabinet in 2009 under the Obama administration.

Q: What woman said “It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength”?

A: Dr. Maya Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist, novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist.  A young, single mother, Dr. Angelou held a variety of jobs before her passion for the arts led her to dance, record an album and then write her first novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which was published in 1970.

Q: Who is the suffragist who wrote the first equal rights amendment presented to the U.S. Congress in 1923?

A: Alice Paul spent her life advocating for women’s rights.  She faced incarceration, went on hunger strikes and participated in non-violent civil disobedience campaigns.  She was the author of the original Equal Rights Amendment which was finally passed by both houses of Congress in 1972.  However, the ERA expired in 1982 because it failed to meet the required number of state ratifications.  Paul’s legacy is seen in ERAs adopted into many states’ constitutions and the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.