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This International Women’s Day, we take time to honor the immigrant women who have contributed to our culture.
by Piper Anderson
Today, we celebrate courageous women who have made a difference in their communities– at Symbology, this mission lies close to our hearts. In today’s political climate immigration policy is a hot topic, and we wanted to take a moment to recognize beautiful women who have not only created positive change in America, but are also immigrants or children of immigrants. These women are scientists, advocates, politicians, and authors, and they are all incredibly resilient and fearless.
They make America better by being here.
Isabel Allende // Word Weaver, Change Maker
photo credit: Lori Barra
Isabel Allende is a well-known Chilean writer and activist whose novels address women’s rights, social justice, and her first hand experiences with frightening political realities. Words have the power to start revolutions, and Allende’s words are no exception– even if that revolution is simply how women view themselves and their place in the world. On her website, Allende writes “I look back at my life and feel satisfied because few days went by without me at least trying to make a difference.” Now that’s a life well lived.
Wafaa El-Sadr // Doctor in Charge
El-Sadr is a global health visionary who was born in Cairo, Egypt. Not only is she a successful woman in a STEM field, but she is literally changing America and the world through innovations in public health and medicine. As an infectious-disease specialist, she pioneered a model for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, centered on working with families and their social networks rather than just dispensing medicines.
Samantha Power // Human Rights Advocate
Photo by Van Sarki
Samantha Power uses her power for good. She is an Irish-American diplomat who served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. She has worked on issues such as United Nations reform, women’s rights, religious freedom, refugees, human trafficking, and human rights. As an activist-figure, she is particularly interested in the prevention of genocide. In a world that is cruel to minority groups, Power protects these groups and works to improve their lives. She helps shift the balance of power in the world toward goodness and growth.
Loung Ung // Survivor on a mission
Loung Ung can sympathize with today’s refugee crisis. She was a victim of the 1975 Cambodian Genocide, and today draws on her experiences as a refugee to create a safer world. She is now an American citizen, author and activist for human rights in Cambodia whose work focuses on the elimination of landmines and supporting victims of war and poverty who are often living on the margins of society. Angelina Jolie is releasing a film this year based on her
Angelina Jolie is releasing a film this year based on her best selling book First They Killed My Father, a testimonial on the Cambodian genocide. Ung is a strong woman who has turned personal tragedy into a means through which to improve global welfare.
Dolores Huerta // Farming a better future
Cathy Murphy/Getty Images
By fighting to improve the lives of immigrants, women, and workers, Dolores Huerta has given a voice to people who would not otherwise be heard. Born to a Mexican-American family of farmworkers, she knew from a young age that workers are an integral part of our country that weren’t treated with the respect they deserved. So she did something about it.
Through founding organizations like the United Farm Workers, she has set up voter registration drives, lobbied politicians to allow immigrant workers to receive public assistance, organized strikes of farm workers to negotiate better contracts, and signed an historic agreement to improve working conditions for farm workers. Just to name a few.