Firsts for Women: June 2022

Zonta International celebrates "firsts for women" in all different sectors in countries and communities around the world.

Looking back on last month, we acknowledge the following women:

  • Anne Aly – first Muslim woman to serve as an Australian minister (early childhood education and youth).
  • Nayla Al Baloushi – first Emirati woman to scale Mount Everest.
  • Sheila Al-Rowaily – first woman to join the board of directors of Saudi Central Bank.
  • Malika Andrews – first woman to host the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft.
  • Linda Burney – first Aboriginal woman to serve as Indigenous affairs minister in Australia.
  • Jessica Campbell – first woman named a full-time assistant coach in the American Hockey League (AHL).
  • Col. Catherine Cherry – first woman to head the U.S. National Guard Professional Education Center.
  • Emily Engel-Natzke – first woman to hold a full-time position on a National Hockey League (NHL) coaching staff.
  • Linn Grant – first woman to win the DP World Tour, a tournament on the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) European Tour—which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe.
  • Lena Horne – first Black woman to have a Broadway theater named in her honor.
  • Helen Lofthouse – first woman CEO of Australian bourse operator Australian Securities Exchange Ltd (ASX).
  • Lt. Col. Katherine Castillo Mormontoy – first woman to be part of the Peruvian Army's General Command Secretariat Advisory Committee.
  • Jayathi Murthy – first woman of color named as president of Oregon State University.
  • Col. Ruth Rettig-Weiss – first woman to command the Israeli Defense Force brigade.
  • Jennifer Puhl – first woman U.S. attorney for North Dakota.
  • Sally Ride – first woman astronaut to be honored with a national public monument. Ride, the first U.S. woman in space, was a Zonta International honorary member.
  • Liz Shuler – first woman president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), a federation of 57 labor unions that represent 12.5 million working men and women.
  • Choe Son-hui – first woman appointed as North Korea's foreign minister.
  • Pat Summitt – first woman to be inducted into the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame's coaching category.

As an organization that has fought for gender equality for more than 100 years, Zonta International believes it is important to celebrate and honor women who are making history. Each month, we will recognize women who have broken the glass ceiling and set an example for future generations to come.

Do you know of a first for women moment that should be recognized? Share with us at [email protected]. 

7 JULY 2022