Happy International Women’s Month
Happy International Women’s Month! In honor of this month, Little Passports wanted to recognize and uplift the societal contributions of these remarkable women. From coding to music, these women wandered the roads not taken, persevered and broke barriers, and inspired us all along the way.
Malala Yousafzai (Pakistan)
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist who, while a teenager, survived an assassination attempt by the Pakistani Taliban while campaigning for women’s rights and children’s rights to get an education. In 2014, Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Currently, she and her family reside in the United Kingdom, where Yousafzai founded the Malala Fund, a nonprofit whose aim is to give girls everywhere a chance at the future they deserve.
Amanda Gorman (USA)
At 22, Amanda Gorman is the youngest poet the United States has ever invited to deliver an inaugural address. The young Black poet electrified the country and the world when she recited her poem “The Hill We Climb” during President Biden’s inauguration. Raised in Los Angeles, she would write in journals at the school playground. She was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles at 16. She studied sociology at Harvard and became the National Youth Poet Laureate, the first person to hold the position.
Greta Thunberg (Sweden)
Greta Thunberg is an 18-year-old Swedish environmental activist whose work lies in climate change issues. In 2018, she founded a movement known as Fridays for Future (also called School Strike for Climate). Even with Asperger’s, a developmental disorder, she has become a leading voice in the fight against climate change.
Leanna Shuttleworth (England)
At 19, Leanna Shuttleworth became the youngest British woman to summit Mount Everest in 2012. She was reported to be the youngest British female to have scaled the highest mountain in each of the seven continents and completed the Seven Summits challenge with her father.
Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin (Nigeria)
Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin is a Nigerian social entrepreneur. She founded an NGO called Pearls Africa. Its main focus is to promote the advancement of vulnerable young girls and women in Africa. Its flagship initiative, GirlsCoding, empowers underserved and underrepresented girls (ages 7 -17) by honing their tech skills in computer programming and coding.
Cristina Martinez (Mexico)
Cristina Martinez is a Mexican chef who owns South Philly Barbacoa, a nationally-acclaimed taco shop in Philadelphia. She is a semifinalist for the James Beard Award and has been featured in Netflix shows like David Chang’s Chef’s Table and Ugly Delicious. Along with her husband Ben, she is an activist for immigrant rights.
Ruby Ibarra (Philippines)
Ruby Ibarra is a Filipina-American singer, rapper, activist, and scientist. She raps in Tagalog, Waray, and English about her cultural heritage and her immigrant experience in the United States. Her unfiltered lyrics call for young women to want to use their voice, and embrace their identity and power. She was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, graduated from UC Davis, and managed to pursue her dream while also saving lives. By day, she works as a scientist in a Bay Area biotech firm, working in the quality-control department on COVID-19 test kits and a vaccine.
Naomi Osaka (Japan)
Naomi Osaka is a Japanese professional tennis player. Osaka has been ranked No. 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association and is a four-time Grand Slam singles champion. She is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles and is the reigning champion at the Australian Open and U.S. Open. She is a leading activist both on and off the tennis court and supports the Black Lives Matter movement.
Helen Zia (USA)
Helen Zia is a Chinese-American author, activist, and former journalist. The daughter of immigrants from China, Helen has been outspoken on issues ranging from women’s rights, peace, to countering hate violence, and homophobia. Helen received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of San Francisco and an honorary Doctor of Laws from the City University of New York Law School for bringing matters of civil rights and law into public view. Moreover, she is a Fulbright Scholar and a graduate of Princeton University’s first coeducational class.
Kim Ng (USA)
Last November, Kim Ng made history by becoming the first female and first Asian American general manager in Major League Baseball history. She is believed to be the first woman hired as a general manager to lead a professional men’s sports team in any North American major league. She is the current GM for the Miami Marlins.
We are inspired by the talented and dedicated women around us and across the world. Our company wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for our passionate and pioneering female co-founders, Amy Norman and Stella Ma! We hope that this list of remarkable women, along with our monthly play-and-learn activities, inspires the special girls in your life to feed their curiosity and go after their dreams.
