5 Fun Facts About Women's History

Which country was the first self-governing nation to grant women the right to vote in national elections?

New Zealand enacted the Electoral Act on September 19, 1893, making it the first self-governing country in the world to grant all women the right to vote in parliamentary elections.

Which scientist was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize?

Marie Skłodowska-Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, receiving the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 with her husband Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel. She later won a second Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911.

Who was the first woman to be elected as a head of government in a modern nation?

Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) became the world's first democratically elected female prime minister (head of government) in 1960.

Which author wrote the influential feminist work 'A Room of One's Own'?

'A Room of One's Own' is an extended essay by English writer Virginia Woolf, first published in 1929. The work explores themes of women and fiction, asserting that a woman must have money and a room of her own to write.

In which modern Olympic Games did women first officially compete?

Women first officially competed in the modern Olympic Games at the 1900 Paris Games. Approximately 22 women participated in sports like tennis, golf, croquet, sailing, and equestrianism.