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Things I like: suffragettes, war workers, factory girls, socialites who got stuff done, ladies who ruled countries, and women who changed the world, even if it was just a little bit. Click on photos for sources.

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motherjones: Today is the 40th anniversary of Title IX, the law that bans sex discrimination in any educational program receiving federal funding. Here’s the state of women’s athletics since the landmark legislation passed. Title IX is best known for its impact on athletics, but it applies to all educational activities.  The full text reads: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity. Patsy Mink was the principle author of Title IX.

motherjones:

Today is the 40th anniversary of Title IX, the law that bans sex discrimination in any educational program receiving federal funding. Here’s the state of women’s athletics since the landmark legislation passed.

Title IX is best known for its impact on athletics, but it applies to all educational activities.  The full text reads: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity.

Patsy Mink was the principle author of Title IX.

danosediq: The first girl students in Cairo university by Kodak Agfa on Flickr. نعيمة الايوبي. فاطمة سالم. زهيرة عبد العزيز. سهير القلماوي. فاطمة فهمى . سيدات مصر . نفتخر بهم

danosediq:

The first girl students in Cairo university by Kodak Agfa on Flickr.

نعيمة الايوبي. فاطمة سالم. زهيرة عبد العزيز. سهير القلماوي. فاطمة فهمى . سيدات مصر . نفتخر بهم

Vassar graduation daisy chain, 1908. Since 1894, sophomore students have carried a chain of daisies at commencement.   

Vassar graduation daisy chain, 1908.

Since 1894, sophomore students have carried a chain of daisies at commencement.   

Raden Ayu Kartini (1879-1904) Per Javanese noble tradition, Kartini was secluded at home from the age of 12 until her marriage at age 24.  Removed from school, Kartini read widely with a particular focus on the emancipation of women.  She wrote and was published in De Hollandsche Lelie (The Dutch Lily), a Dutch magazine for young women. At age 24, she unwillingly became the third wife of the polygamous Regent Chief of Rembang.  He supported her interest in women’s education and helped her to create a female academy in the district.  Less than a year after her marriage, Kartini died after giving birth to her son Soesalit. After her death, the Minister for Culture, Religion and Industry in the East Indies collected the letters Kartini had written to her Dutch penpals.  In 1911, they were published in a book entitled Door Duisternis tot Licht (Out of Dark Comes Light).  Eventually translated into Malay and Javanese, these letters improved the Dutch understanding of the native Javanese and contributed to social change in Indonesia.  Inspired by these letters, the Van Deventer family created the R.A. Kartini Foundation to established schools for women in Java. Since 1964, April 21 has been Karini Day, a national holiday in Indonesia.

Raden Ayu Kartini (1879-1904)

Per Javanese noble tradition, Kartini was secluded at home from the age of 12 until her marriage at age 24.  Removed from school, Kartini read widely with a particular focus on the emancipation of women.  She wrote and was published in De Hollandsche Lelie (The Dutch Lily), a Dutch magazine for young women.

At age 24, she unwillingly became the third wife of the polygamous Regent Chief of Rembang.  He supported her interest in women’s education and helped her to create a female academy in the district.  Less than a year after her marriage, Kartini died after giving birth to her son Soesalit.

After her death, the Minister for Culture, Religion and Industry in the East Indies collected the letters Kartini had written to her Dutch penpals.  In 1911, they were published in a book entitled Door Duisternis tot Licht (Out of Dark Comes Light).  Eventually translated into Malay and Javanese, these letters improved the Dutch understanding of the native Javanese and contributed to social change in Indonesia.  Inspired by these letters, the Van Deventer family created the R.A. Kartini Foundation to established schools for women in Java.

Since 1964, April 21 has been Karini Day, a national holiday in Indonesia.

Girls at the Kabayan school with their teacher, Mr. Mass, Benguet, Luzon, Philippine Islands.

Girls at the Kabayan school with their teacher, Mr. Mass, Benguet, Luzon, Philippine Islands.

Japanese children at their desks in school they helped rebuild. October 31, 1946

Japanese children at their desks in school they helped rebuild.

October 31, 1946

Mrs. Ryie Yoshizawa, teacher, fashion designing class, Manzanar Relocation Center, California.  Photograph by Ansel Adams, 1943.  Students are: Satoko Oka, Chizuko Karnii, Takako Nakanishi, Kikiyo Yamasuchi, Masako Kimochita, Mitsugo Fugi, Mie Mio, Chiye Kawase, and Miyeko Hoshozike This appears to be an image from an adult education class in dressmaking.  Such classes were common in Japanese internment camps.  In Silver Like Dust, Obaachan takes an embroidery class at the temporary camp at Pomona though she preferred movies and the library at Heart Mountain.  

Mrs. Ryie Yoshizawa, teacher, fashion designing class, Manzanar Relocation Center, California.  Photograph by Ansel Adams, 1943.  Students are: Satoko Oka, Chizuko Karnii, Takako Nakanishi, Kikiyo Yamasuchi, Masako Kimochita, Mitsugo Fugi, Mie Mio, Chiye Kawase, and Miyeko Hoshozike

This appears to be an image from an adult education class in dressmaking.  Such classes were common in Japanese internment camps.  In Silver Like Dust, Obaachan takes an embroidery class at the temporary camp at Pomona though she preferred movies and the library at Heart Mountain.  

wiscohisto: Professional Opportunities in Home EconomicsImages of women in the kitchen are a familiar scene in home economics, but what these images don’t show is the important role that home economics played in getting women into higher education. From its inception, collegiate home economics was multidisciplinary and integrative with an emphasis on science applied to the real world of the home, family, and community. It was an academic science designed by women for women. In the first half of the 20th century, these programs prepared women for teaching but also for careers in extension services, state and federal government, industry, restaurants, hotels, and hospitals. The University of Wisconsin got its own Department of Home Economics in 1903. This image shows students working in one of the department kitchens in the 1910s. via: UW-Madison Archives by way of University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Home economic departments were important in the development of higher level education for women.  Some female scientists such as Mary Engle Pennington found employment as food safety specialists thanks to the development of home economics as a science. College Girls and the History of Home Ec episode from Stuff Mom Never Told You have further details about the history of these programs.

wiscohisto:

Professional Opportunities in Home Economics
Images of women in the kitchen are a familiar scene in home economics, but what these images don’t show is the important role that home economics played in getting women into higher education. From its inception, collegiate home economics was multidisciplinary and integrative with an emphasis on science applied to the real world of the home, family, and community. It was an academic science designed by women for women. In the first half of the 20th century, these programs prepared women for teaching but also for careers in extension services, state and federal government, industry, restaurants, hotels, and hospitals.

The University of Wisconsin got its own Department of Home Economics in 1903. This image shows students working in one of the department kitchens in the 1910s.

via: UW-Madison Archives by way of University of Wisconsin Digital Collections

Home economic departments were important in the development of higher level education for women.  Some female scientists such as Mary Engle Pennington found employment as food safety specialists thanks to the development of home economics as a science. College Girls and the History of Home Ec episode from Stuff Mom Never Told You have further details about the history of these programs.

College Girls is a light cultural history of women’s higher education in the US.  Organized by topic rather than chronologically, the book focuses on how dating, fashion, and wifely expectations impacted the lives of college girls from the 1830s through the 1960s.  A good mix of colleges are represented, from land grant colleges to historically black universities, but particular attention is paid to the seven sisters as both models for later programs and havens of wacky traditions.    Tumblr loves vintage images of women from the 1920s-1960s, but there isn’t a lot of information about what life was like for those women.  I think this weighty tome (over 400 pages) would be particularly enjoyed by those who have daydreamed about being a stylish co-ed back in the day.  Partly for the fashion information and cute traditions, but also to better understand the downsides of life as a Victorian lady, flapper, or bobbysoxer.  College Girls: Bluestockings, Sex Kittens, and Coeds, Then and Now on Amazon

College Girls is a light cultural history of women’s higher education in the US.  Organized by topic rather than chronologically, the book focuses on how dating, fashion, and wifely expectations impacted the lives of college girls from the 1830s through the 1960s.  A good mix of colleges are represented, from land grant colleges to historically black universities, but particular attention is paid to the seven sisters as both models for later programs and havens of wacky traditions.   

Tumblr loves vintage images of women from the 1920s-1960s, but there isn’t a lot of information about what life was like for those women.  I think this weighty tome (over 400 pages) would be particularly enjoyed by those who have daydreamed about being a stylish co-ed back in the day.  Partly for the fashion information and cute traditions, but also to better understand the downsides of life as a Victorian lady, flapper, or bobbysoxer. 

College Girls: Bluestockings, Sex Kittens, and Coeds, Then and Now on Amazon

chicagohistorymuseum: Portrait of superintendent of schools Mrs. Ella Flagg Young standing with students outdoors at the Mary Crane Nursery, an open-air school, located at 782 West Cabrini Street (formerly 782 Ewing), 1910. Want a copy of this photo?> Visit our Rights and Reproductions Department and give them this number: DN-0008011. Ella Flagg Young was the first woman in the US to head a large school system and the first female president of the National Education Association. The Mary Crane Nursery was a school for low income children associated with Hull House.  In 1914, the Mary Crane Nursery was a year round outdoor program.  The average January temperature for Chicago is 30°F/1°C.

chicagohistorymuseum:

Portrait of superintendent of schools Mrs. Ella Flagg Young standing with students outdoors at the Mary Crane Nursery, an open-air school, located at 782 West Cabrini Street (formerly 782 Ewing), 1910.

Want a copy of this photo?
> Visit our Rights and Reproductions Department and give them this number: DN-0008011.

Ella Flagg Young was the first woman in the US to head a large school system and the first female president of the National Education Association.

The Mary Crane Nursery was a school for low income children associated with Hull House.  In 1914, the Mary Crane Nursery was a year round outdoor program.  The average January temperature for Chicago is 30°F/1°C.

Mrs. Lora Wagner In 1914, Lora Wagner was among the small group of New York City teachers who challenged the policy against employing mothers as teachers (“mother-teachers”).  Lora worked right up until her due date, a violation of school rules, and gave birth just 13 hours after leaving school with plans to return to work within days.  She wrote to Mayor John Mitchel, asking him to advise the Board of Education to change the policy that automatically suspended female teachers after they gave birth. From The New York Times: “The opponents of the mother-teacher have failed to prove that maternity makes her less efficient.  There should be one rule for all.  Only a few months ago we granted a year’s leave of absence to a teacher to go West to tend to a sick foster father… Is it a crime to have children?” Dr. Ira S. Wile A mass rally was held at Washington Irving High School featuring Charlotte Perkins Gimore, and Fola La Follete (daughter of Belle Case La Follette).  Although the mayor supported “mother-teachers” he did not overrule the school board.  It was not until 1915 when the courts ruled in favor of Bridget Peixotto that female teachers in New York City were allowed to give birth without being suspended for neglect of duties. New York City then adopted a policy of mandatory two year maternity leave once a teacher realized she was pregnant.  This was a step forward in that it allowed women to return to their jobs unlike the earlier policy, although the leave was unpaid.  In 1937, the required leave was reduced to 18 months with the option to extend leave by choice or return early if economically necessary.  It wasn’t until a 1973 EEOC ruling that the length of maternity leave became a personal choice for teachers in New York City. Curiously, Lora Wagner seems to have managed to not take a two year maternity leave.  According to Kindergarten-Primary Magazine she was back at work in March 1915 after giving birth to her son Hans on October 31, 1914.  She taught at Tottenville High School on Staten Island and lived so close by that she would go home at recess to nurse.  Lora employed a nurse to watch her son, explaining “I love my work and would not give it up unless I had to.  I get along very well and am much better and happier than I would be doing housework, which I hate.”

Mrs. Lora Wagner

In 1914, Lora Wagner was among the small group of New York City teachers who challenged the policy against employing mothers as teachers (“mother-teachers”).  Lora worked right up until her due date, a violation of school rules, and gave birth just 13 hours after leaving school with plans to return to work within days.  She wrote to Mayor John Mitchel, asking him to advise the Board of Education to change the policy that automatically suspended female teachers after they gave birth.

From The New York Times:

“The opponents of the mother-teacher have failed to prove that maternity makes her less efficient.  There should be one rule for all.  Only a few months ago we granted a year’s leave of absence to a teacher to go West to tend to a sick foster father… Is it a crime to have children?”

Dr. Ira S. Wile

A mass rally was held at Washington Irving High School featuring Charlotte Perkins Gimore, and Fola La Follete (daughter of Belle Case La Follette).  Although the mayor supported “mother-teachers” he did not overrule the school board.  It was not until 1915 when the courts ruled in favor of Bridget Peixotto that female teachers in New York City were allowed to give birth without being suspended for neglect of duties.

New York City then adopted a policy of mandatory two year maternity leave once a teacher realized she was pregnant.  This was a step forward in that it allowed women to return to their jobs unlike the earlier policy, although the leave was unpaid.  In 1937, the required leave was reduced to 18 months with the option to extend leave by choice or return early if economically necessary.  It wasn’t until a 1973 EEOC ruling that the length of maternity leave became a personal choice for teachers in New York City.

Curiously, Lora Wagner seems to have managed to not take a two year maternity leave.  According to Kindergarten-Primary Magazine she was back at work in March 1915 after giving birth to her son Hans on October 31, 1914.  She taught at Tottenville High School on Staten Island and lived so close by that she would go home at recess to nurse.  Lora employed a nurse to watch her son, explaining “I love my work and would not give it up unless I had to.  I get along very well and am much better and happier than I would be doing housework, which I hate.”

Embroidered sampler, 1795Mary JonesPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania On view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), Gallery 727 This sampler is one of a small group created in Philadelphia during the second half of the eighteenth century. Known as Dresden-work samplers, they are made of white linen decorated with white drawnwork and needlepoint-lace insertions. Unlike most examples, which are entirely white, Mary Jones ornamented her piece with a colorful floral border. A circle of gold leaf inserted behind the central circle of lace further highlights her intricate work.

Embroidered sampler, 1795
Mary Jones
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

On view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), Gallery 727

This sampler is one of a small group created in Philadelphia during the second half of the eighteenth century. Known as Dresden-work samplers, they are made of white linen decorated with white drawnwork and needlepoint-lace insertions. Unlike most examples, which are entirely white, Mary Jones ornamented her piece with a colorful floral border. A circle of gold leaf inserted behind the central circle of lace further highlights her intricate work.
Sewing class at Agricultural and Mechanical College, Greensboro, NC, today known as North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. This photo was part of the display at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris.

Sewing class at Agricultural and Mechanical College, Greensboro, NC, today known as North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

This photo was part of the display at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris.

Eartha M.M. White and her mother Clara White, Jacksonville, Florida, 1910. A former opera singer, Eartha was instrumental in the construction of the first school for black children in the Bayard neighborhood of Jacksonville.  By living frugally, Eartha was able to contribute to a range of philanthropic causes while working as a schoolteacher.  In 1904, Eartha founded the Clara White Mission in honor of her mother, a former slave who ran a soup kitchen out her home.  Initially founded to serve blacks in segregated Jacksonville, the Clara White Mission today provides social services to people of all races. 

Eartha M.M. White and her mother Clara White, Jacksonville, Florida, 1910.

A former opera singer, Eartha was instrumental in the construction of the first school for black children in the Bayard neighborhood of Jacksonville.  By living frugally, Eartha was able to contribute to a range of philanthropic causes while working as a schoolteacher.  In 1904, Eartha founded the Clara White Mission in honor of her mother, a former slave who ran a soup kitchen out her home.  Initially founded to serve blacks in segregated Jacksonville, the Clara White Mission today provides social services to people of all races.