International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on 8 March and the theme this year is #GiveToGain. In this blog post, we share inspirational stories of women from our academic subject areas who’ve championed gender equality.
Keep reading to find out more!
Education: Dr Maria Montessori (1870–1952)
Italian physician and educator, Maria, transformed early childhood education with her unique theories and the introduction of the Montessori Method in the early 20th century. She believed children have an innate curiosity to explore their surroundings and developed a learning framework that focuses on hands-on experiences rather than academic output. Today, the Montessori approach lives on in over 150 countries worldwide.
Psychology: Anna Freud (1895-1982)
Born in Vienna, Anna was the daughter of Sigmund Freud and an educational trailblazer in her own right. Unlike her father, she focused on working with children and their individual needs. During this time, children’s emotional challenges weren’t understood from a psychological perspective. One of her progressive ideas was to develop a therapeutic alliance to gain children’s attention and trust. Following World War II, Anna opened the Hampstead Child Therapy Course and Clinic to help children.
Criminology: Alice Stebbins Wells (1873-1957)
In 1920, Alice, an American Minister, became the first woman appointed to a position in the Los Angeles Police Department who held powers of arrest. She fought to obtain a petition demanding that the mayor, police commissioner and city council appoint her as a police officer. During her inspirational career, she continued her quest for the wider inclusion of women in police departments and organised the International Association of Policewomen. After retiring in 1940, she carried on campaigning for more women in law enforcement.
Law: Eliza Orme (1848–1937)
British-born Eliza enrolled as a student at University College London (UCL) in 1871, when the university allowed women to attend lectures. She‘d been a key advocate for women’s suffrage in the years prior and in 1888 became the first woman to successfully earn a university law degree in England. However, it took 30 years for the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act of 1919 to come into play, which allowed the first female law graduates to qualify as barristers and solicitors. Eliza eventually opened her own office to work in legal practice.
Business: Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919)
Walker was born on a plantation and rose to become one of the wealthiest African American women of her time. After a turbulent marriage, she set up a business in 1906 under the name Madam C. J. Walker, selling her own Wonderful Hair Grower to help cure baldness. She was sales-minded and ahead of her time and realised she could reach a huge market by networking through the Black community. Walker introduced herself to community leaders everywhere she visited and demonstrated her products. After her death, she left assets worth over one million dollars!
Health: Betsi Cadwaladr (1789–1860)
Betsi was born in North Wales and was one of 16 children. After running away to Liverpool to escape her difficult family situation, she worked as a maid and travelled around the world with various employers. In 1854, aged 65, Betsi volunteered her time to nurse soldiers fighting in the Crimean war. Following this, she moved to London after contracting diseases in hospitals, before passing away sometime later. In 2012, a fundraising campaign by nurses belonging to the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in North Wales installed an official headstone at her grave to mark her dedication to service during the war.
Computing: Alice Recoque (1929-2021)
Born in Algeria, Alice was an innovative French computer scientist, engineer and computer architecture specialist. Her work was crucial in the early development of computing and she went on to be involved in the French Data Protection Authority, as well as working on the foundations of artificial intelligence in the 1980s. Fast-forward to 2024, and her name’s still being honoured in the form of Europe’s powerful exascale supercomputer. She also leaves a legacy as an influential woman in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
Discover more about International Women’s Day 2026 on the official website.
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