Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Quick to read profiles about women who

helped break the glass ceiling.

PURDUE STUDENT GOVERNMENT PRESENTS

MARGARET
THATCHER
Quick Facts
Born on October 13, 1925

From Grantham, Lincolnshire, England

Profession: Politician and activist

Alma mater: Somerville College, Oxford

Dubbed as " The Iron Lady"

Short Bio
Studied chemistry and specialized in crystallography

Campaigned for deregulation and reducing unions

Elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Leader of the Opposition and Conservative Party

Survived terror bombing and came back stronger

Resigned due to backlash from policies

Awarded Most Noble Order of the Garter

Social Impact and Obstacles

Europe's first woman elected as Prime Minister

Paved way for women in high-ranking political positions

Thatcher Foundation empowers newly liberated nations

PURDUE STUDENT GOVERNMENT PRESENTS

SANDRA DAY
O'CONNOR
Quick Facts
Born on March 26, 1930

From El Paso, Texas

Profession: Supreme Court Justice

Alma mater: Stanford University

Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom

Short Bio
Received B.A. in Economics in 1950

Nominated by Ronald Reagan in 1981

She was the first woman to be a presiding senior justice

Generally a swing vote in the court

Unpredictable votes on many Constitutional concerns

Notable cases include Bush v Gore and US v Lopez

After retirement, continued to serve as a judge

Social Impact and Obstacles

First women elected to the Supreme Court

Joined later by Ginsburg and advised Kagan

Founded institute to promote civic education

PURDUE STUDENT GOVERNMENT PRESENTS

NIKKI
HALEY
Quick Facts
Born on January 20, 1972

From Bamberg, South Carolina

Profession: Governor and Ambassador

Alma mater: Clemson University

Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from CU

Short Bio
Studied accounting and worked for FCR Corp.

Rise to power as BoD of Lexington Chamber Commerce

Won 3 terms in South Carolina House of Reps.

Became Governor after defeating opponent 51% to 47%

Confirmed Ambassador to the UN 96-4

Strong foreign relation policies while promoting justice

Raised issues with human rights abuse and education

Social Impact and Obstacles

First Indian-American to hold office in South Carolina

Only freshman senator to be named whip

Nominated to BoD of Boeing

PURDUE STUDENT GOVERNMENT PRESENTS

CONDOLEEZZA
RICE
Quick Facts
Born on November 14, 1954

From Birmingham, Alabama

Profession: Secretary of State

Alma mater: Notre Dame and UDenver

Awarded Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun

Short Bio
Accompanied Yo-Yo Ma at Constitution Hall in 2002

Worked as liaison between Chevron and Kazakhstan

Served as Provost of Stanford University

Worked for Transformational Diplomacy

Logged the most miles as Secretary of State

Appeared 4 times on Time 100

On BoD of Dropbox and Makena Capital Mgmt.

Social Impact and Obstacles

First women serving as National Security Advisor

First female African-American Secretary of State

Segregation taught her determination and resilience

PURDUE STUDENT GOVERNMENT PRESENTS

CARLY
FIORINA
Quick Facts
Born on September 6, 1954

From Austin, Texas

Profession: Business woman and politician

Alma mater: Stanford, UMaryland, and MIT

Aspired at one time to be a classic pianist

Short Bio
Studied philosophy, medieval history, and management

Ran one of the most successful IPs in history at $3 bn

As President of Lucent, revitalized the service company

HP named Fiorina new CEO

Saved by golden parachute by leaving HP

Served as Fund Chair of One Woman Initiative

Fiorina Foundation provides transportation to the sick

Social Impact and Obstacles

AT&T's first female senior vice president

First woman to lead a Fortune 20 company

Fortune called her "Most Powerful Woman in Business"

PURDUE STUDENT GOVERNMENT PRESENTS

ELAINE
CHAO
Quick Facts
Born on March 26, 1953

From Taipei, Taiwan

Profession: Politician

Alma mater: Mount Holyoke College, Harvard Business

37 Honorary Doctorates from around the world

Short Bio
Studied Economics and MBA from HBS

Immigrated to the US at the age of 8

Granted White House Fellowship after entering banking

Established presence in Eastern Europe and Asia (PC)

Married to Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell in 1993

Served as US Secretary of Labor

Currently serving as US Secretary of Transportation

Social Impact and Obstacles

First Asian-American Woman in a President's Cabinet

First Chinese-American to be Director of Peace Corps

"Expansive network and inexhaustible drive" (NYTimes)

PURDUE STUDENT GOVERNMENT PRESENTS

MARIE
CURIE
Quick Facts
Born on November 7, 1867

From Warsaw, Congress Poland, Russian Empire

Profession: Scientist

Alma mater: University of Paris

First woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize

Short Bio
Studied physics, chemistry, and mathematics

Initial research was out of a shed near the school

Announced the existence of Polonium

Developed methods to isolate radium

Element named in honor of the Curies - Curium

First woman to be a professor at University of Paris

One of the most notable names in chemistry/science

Social Impact and Obstacles

Founded the Curie Institutes in Paris for treatment

Visionary/leader in a relatively male dominated field

First women to be entombed in the Pantheon in Paris

PURDUE STUDENT GOVERNMENT PRESENTS

ROSALIND
FRANKLIN
Quick Facts
Born on July 25, 1920

From Notting Hill, London, England, UK

Profession: Scientist, Chemist, and Researcher

Alma mater: Cambridge

Known her work on finding the DNA double helix

Short Bio
Studied chemistry within the Natural Science Tripos

Discovered the pores in coal and its permeability

Published a number of papers about carbon

Worked on X-ray diffraction images of DNA

Began animal virus research in new grants

Explored RNA using X-ray crystallography

She played a crucial part in the discovery of DNA

Social Impact and Obstacles

Much of her recognition came posthumously

Achievements overshadowed by Watson and Crick

Overcame sexism at a research labs across Europe

PURDUE STUDENT GOVERNMENT PRESENTS

GRACE
HOPPER
Quick Facts
Born on December 9, 1906

From New York City, New York

Profession: Computer scientist and Rear Admiral

Alma mater: Vassar College and Yale University

Awarded 40 honorary degrees from around the world

Short Bio
Studied mathematics and physics

Initially, rejected from the Navy, she joined the Reserve

She changed the way computers were used

Besides computing, she wanted to teach young people

Served as director of Navy Programming Languages

Became one of the first few female Navy Admirals

Referred to as "Amazing Grace" with the USS Hopper

Social Impact and Obstacles

Her legacy led to millions of new women in programming

Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing

She was resilient, level-headed, and graceful (no pun)

PURDUE STUDENT GOVERNMENT PRESENTS

COCO
CHANEL
Quick Facts
Born on August 19, 1883

From Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France

Profession: Fashion icon and business woman

Founder of Chanel brand

Only fashion designer to be on Time's 100

Short Bio
Learned to sew at an orphanage at Aubazine

Became a seamstress and sang for cavalry officers

Started by selling hats but soon began dressing men

Designed costumes for Ballets and international artists

Lived a fast-paced and action filled personal life

Overcame public scrutiny after WW II and bounced back

Chanel No. 5 continues to dominate perfurms

Social Impact and Obstacles

Legendary Chanel suit were revolutionary

Overcame critics to create a high-end luxury brand

Challenged clothing norms for women