Women's Innovations

oday marks 104 years since women secured the right to vote—a monumental victory for equality! But the fight isn’t over. Women are still underpaid and underrecognized for their incredible contributions. Did you know women gave us WiFi, GPS, windshield wipers, cataract surgery, computers, rocket fuel, dishwashers, home security, reclining shampoo chairs, and so much more? At the National Center of Women's Innovations (NCWI), we’re on a mission to change the narrative and inspire the next generation of female innovators. Join us in celebrating Women’s Equality Day by contributing $10.40 or more. Your support will help girls learn about their foremothers and gain hands-on STEM experience. ✨ Donate today to help us continue the legacy of women who’ve changed the world: https://lnkd.in/exk3yaD8 #WomensEqualityDay #NCWI #InnovateHer #STEM #WomensHistory #DonateNow

Aren't women incredible? https://lnkd.in/e99G8ib8

Hats off the City of Fredricksburg, Va. for naming an elementary school for our inaugural woman innovator , Dr. Gladys West. Finally, she is getting the recognition she deserves and the opportunity to inspire young girls to follow in her footsteps. Join our efforts. www.womensinnovations.org. https://lnkd.in/eC7jFeND

It's hard to imagine the time before computers were a household staple, but it wasn't so long ago that they were reserved for the Military and spoke to each other only in code. Thanks to Grace Hopper, they speak to us in English (or any other language) and are ubiquitous in our society. Learn More:  https://lnkd.in/e-9ts-2H  #GraceHopper #presidentialmedaloffreedom #usnavy #cobolprogramming #womeninnovators #womensinnovations #ncwi #womeninstem #gracehoppercelebration

As an assistant to a noted fertility researcher, Miriam Friedman Menkin spent years extracting eggs from a woman’s tissues and uniting them with a swim team of sperm in a petri dish in the hopes that conception might actually occur outside the human body. One day in 1944, it actually did – ushering in a whole new era of reproductive technology known today as IVF.  Circumstances conspired to keep her from a PhD in biology to bolster her status and a consistent laboratory to do her work, but Menkin’s under-recognized achievement was remarkable, one that thousands of families since the days of Baby Louise have to be thankful for. #womeninnovators #womeninnovator #ncwi #womensinnovations #miriamfriedmanmenkin #ivf #womeninscience  

🇺🇸 Happy July 4th! 🇺🇸 You might be familiar with the song “Rocket Man,” but have you ever heard of 🚀 “Rocket Girl?” 🚀 That’s the title of a book written about Mary Sherman Morgan, who grew up in a poor farming household in North Dakota and didn’t attend school until she was nine years old. In an age where girls rarely dreamed of a career in science, she wanted to be a chemist. She eventually attended college, but did not get a degree. But she was a whiz 💡 at what she did, which was making explosives. 💥     In 1957, she invented the liquid fuel Hydyne, which powered the Jupiter-C rocket that boosted America’s first satellite, Explorer I. She is an overlooked heroine of this country’s space program – in part overshadowed by the reputation of Werner von Braun, and in part due to her own reticence to claim the limelight.     Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ebb_SUWR    Get the book: “Rocket Girl: The story of Mary Sherman Morgan, America’s First Female Rocket Scientist.” https://a.co/d/02ulv7OR    #rocketgirl #womeninstem #rocketfuel #chemistry #ncwi #womensinnovations #maryshermanmorgan #womeninscience

** May 15th was an amazing day! **     NCWI and Rosie Riveters delivered the first Dr. Gladys B. West GPS Stem Challenge at the Washington School for Girls     NCWI is on a mission to help contemporary girls be more likely to pursue STEM fields, by experiencing hands-on STEM programs related to women's innovations.    The 3rd-5th graders at the Washington School for Girls say this program made a difference!    - Before: 11% of the girls were interested in STEM studies   - After: 64% stated "They Might Do It"    Learn More: https://lnkd.in/g-Pi8Hu3     #womeninnovators #drgladysbwest #womensinnovations #ncwi #RosieRiveters #washingtonschoolforgirls 

Cardiac surgery is one of the most physically demanding of all medical fields, one not often chosen by women, even today. Imagine, then, what it was like in the middle of the 20th century, when a young doctor named Nina Starr Braunwald became the ** first female cardiothoracic surgeon**. 👩⚕️     She is celebrated for the design of the first prosthetic mitral valve and a cloth-covered mechanical valve which was implanted in thousands of patients.    In 1960, at the age of 32, she led the operative team that implanted the first successful artificial mitral human heart valve replacement, which she had designed and fabricated.    She endured gender discrimination and was never promoted to full professor by the academic institutions that employed her, including Harvard Medical School and The National Institutes of Health. And yet, her innovative work inspired countless women to pursue surgery as a career. Several prestigious awards for women surgeons bear her name. #CTSurgery #WomenInScience #WomenInThoracic #harvardmed  #drninabraunwald #ninastarrbraunwald #nih #ncwi #womensinnovations

Thrilled for Dr. Gladys B. West, the under-recognized mathematician behind GPS, who was our featured women innovator at our October 2023 Inaugural Gala. Dr. West received Virginia Tech.'s Distinguished Achievement Award at the University's recent commencement weekend. Bravo for University President Timothy Sands and his team for personally giving Dr. West the award since she could not make the journey. Sure they found their way using GPS! Learn more about Dr. West on our website www.womensinnovations.org