My Top Ten

I went to a medical conference recently, and one of the speakers asked the audience to share leaders that they admired. From an audience of both men and women doctors, only male leaders were called out, and I found myself annoyed for not being able to bring to mind all my lady heroines.

So to a broader audience, I would like to share the women, of past and present, who inspire me.

1. Anne Frank 1929-1945
“Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart,” from our diary about the Holocaust, a book that challenged us to challenge assumptions about people and power.

2. Florence Nightingale 1820-1910
Known as the “lady with lamp,” Florence Nightingale was instrumental in changing the role and perception of the nursing profession. She has also been attributed as one of the first to practice evidence-based medicine.

3. Helen Keller 1880-1968
Helen became deaf and blind as an infant. Overcoming the frustration of losing both sight and hearing, she campaigned tirelessly on behalf of deaf and blind people.

4. Dorothea Dix 1882-1887
This was my first heroine in childhood, and I remember how I inspired I was, as a ten year old writing a book report on this woman. Dorothea Lynde Dix was a social reformer for the treatment of the mentally ill, completely changing the way mentally patients were treated through out Europe and the US.

5. Audrey Hepburn 1929-1993
Leading female actor of the 1950s and 60s, Audrey Hepburn defined feminine glamour and dignity, and was later voted as most beautiful women of the twentieth century. She committed her life post acting to humanitarian works.

6. Benazir Bhutto 1953-2007
Benazir Bhutto was the first female prime minister of a Muslim country. She helped to move Pakistan from a dictatorship to democracy in 1977. She focused on social reforms, in particular helping women and the poor. She was forced out of office on corruption charges; and assassinated two weeks before a general election in which she was a leading opposition candidate.

7. Susan B. Anthony 1820-1906
Susan Anthony campaigned against slavery and for the promotion of women’s and workers rights. She began campaigning within the temperance movement and played a pivotal role to introduce women’s suffrage in the Y.S..

8. Katharine Hepburn 1907-2003
I was named after Katharine Hepburn. An iconic actress of twentieth Century film, Katharine Hepburn helped redefine traditional views of women’s role in society through her acting and her lifestyle.

9. Amelia Earhart 1897-1937
Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic in 1928, just one year after the first ever crossing made by Charles Lindeburg.

10. Sheryl Sandberg
Known informally as one of three most influential people in Silicon Valley, Sheryl is the COO of facebook and one of my modern day heroines.