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American Women's History Initiative

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Exploring Women Innovators with USA Today

Learn stories of pioneering innovators and their life-changing innovations through puzzles and activities for all ages.

Black and white photo of Margaret W. Moodey sitting at a desk with a microscope and gemstones

Using Data Science to Uncover the Work of Women in Science

Scientists' personal papers often offer key insights into a scientist's goals and character. Without them, digital curator Dr. Elizabeth Harmon must act as a detective.

Sixteen college students and one Smithsonian staff member meet on Zoom

Because of Her Story Interns Become Changemakers

Last summer 16 students joined the Smithsonian from home to amplify women's voices and tell a more complete American story.

Patsy T. Mink wears a lei and smiles

Hearing the Voices of Women Leaders on Money, Power, and Policy

Patsy Mink, the first woman of color elected to Congress, she wrote the early draft of Title IX and worked to ensure the law's passage.

Dr. Tey Marianna Nunn (Addison Doty.)

Director Dr. Tey Marianna Nunn Leads the American Women’s History Initiative

Dr. Nunn shares what inspires her about leading work focused on women's history at the Smithsonian.

Ophthalmologist Dr. Patricia Bath poses with students at the National Museum of American History in 2000. (National Museum of American History, Archives Center.)

Hear Voices of Women Leaders in Science, Technology, and Innovation

Ophthalmologist Dr. Patricia Bath worked to bring healthcare to underserved communities and teach girls about STEM.

Thirteen “Because of Her Story” interns spent the summer uncovering stories of remarkable American women and learning museum practice. Pictured: Stella Hendricks, intern, National Portrait Gallery. (Michael Barnes)

“Because of Her Story” Interns Look to Historical Role Models

As they wrapped up their Smithsonian assignments this month, interns reflected on their summer experience and individual research projects, which included studying the skeletal remains of 19th century African American women; planning a major traveling exhibition on the history of American girlhood; and writing about the women who worked on the Apollo space program.

PhotoQuest/Getty Images

Women of Apollo

Though the "public face" of the U.S. space program in the 1960s was male, many women played essential roles in building the Apollo program and making the Moon landing a success. As we mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, here are a few women whose stories deserve to be celebrated.

Firooz Zahedi, Ellen DeGeneres, 1997. Gift of Time magazine, National Portrait Gallery (NPG.99.TC23.1) ©Firooz Zahedi

LGBTQ Women Who Made History

In celebration of Pride Month, we honor LGBTQ women who have made remarkable contributions to the nation and helped advance equality in fields as diverse as medicine and the dramatic arts. Here are a few of their stories, represented by objects in the Smithsonian collections.

(Dino Morrow Photography)

Hawai'i’s Women Canoe Carvers

In Hawai'i, the art of carving outrigger canoes has traditionally been a male pursuit. Many women have captained and paddled the canoes, but few have learned to build them—an undertaking that requires carving a vessel of 25 feet or more out of a massive tree trunk. In an effort to bring a new wave of women into the trade, the Smithsonian recently organized a canoe carving workshop in Hilo, Hawai'i, as part of the annual Merrie Monarch Festival celebrating Hawaiian culture.

Effie Kapsalis is the Senior Digital Program Officer for the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.

A Conversation with Effie Kapsalis

Effie Kapsalis has a cool job. As the Senior Digital Program Officer for the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, she works with curators and researchers to uncover girls' and women's stories embedded deep within the Smithsonian and give them a new life—and long-deserved recognition—online. Recently, we talked with her about the Smithsonian's "digital-first" approach to women's history, correcting the Wikipedia gender imbalance and finding inspiration from an early 20th century museum elevator operator who became an expert on insects.

Participants at a 1971 whale biology conference. Sheila Minor is pictured in the second row, center left. Photo via @mycandacejean

Uncovering Hidden Stories

When an illustrator recently posted a blurry, black and white photo (below) of a group of scientists attending a 1971 whale biology conference, the question reverberated across Twitter. Who was the sole unidentified figure and only woman in the picture, partially hidden behind a male colleague?

Ariana Curtis

Ariana Curtis: Museums and the Everyday Woman

When Débora Nazareno, an Afro-Indian woman who lived in remote Ecuador in the early 20th century, sat in her hand-carved boat seat to tell stories to her grandson, little did she know the seat would be the first object donated to a new Smithsonian museum nearly a century later.

Gail Anderson

Gail Anderson: A Lifetime in Design

In October 2018, New York-based designer, writer and educator Gail Anderson received the Lifetime Achievement National Design Award, bestowed by the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. The award recognizes Anderson’s innovative body of work and longtime leadership in the design field; her 30-plus-year career has spanned magazine covers to theatre posters and postage stamps.

Constance Stuart Larrabee (left) and friend photographing among Ndebele women, near Pretoria, South Africa, 1936. All photos used in this story are courtesy Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Photographing Africa: A Woman’s View

From the time she received a Kodak Brownie at age 10, South Africa-raised Constance Stuart Larrabee captured the world around her with an unsparing eye, ensuring her place as one of the 20th century’s foremost photojournalists

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