In honor of Women’s History Month, Pillsbury United Communities is excited to celebrate the vital contributions of women from all walks of life.
This week, we highlight the past and present achievements of women across the globe, who have broken barriers and made groundbreaking advancements in diverse fields such as science, aviation, public service and activism.
Their stories of perseverance, innovation, and leadership inspire us all.
Marian Croak, pioneering engineer
1955-present
Did you know that a woman played a key role in the technology behind Zoom and Microsoft Teams? Marian Croak was instrumental in developing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology during her time at AT&T.
VoIP allows voice signals to be converted into digital data, enabling calls directly from computers or other digital devices.
During her career, Croak and her team developed a groundbreaking text-to-donate system for charitable organizations, which gained widespread use after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005. With over 200 patents to her name, Croak is one of the first two Black women inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Currently, she continues to innovate as the vice president of engineering at Google.
Croak offers an inspiring perspective on invention: “Many people think inventors have to be brilliant and off the charts in terms of their IQ, super smart and super academic in school and have gotten all A’s, and that’s not at all true. Inventors are usually people like you. “Sometimes they’re good at certain things, other times they’re not, and that’s ok. Just focus on what you want to change, and you become that change and can make that change happen.”
Patsy Mink trailblazing congresswoman
1927-2002
In 1964, Patsy Mink made history as the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the first Asian American woman to serve in Congress. A native of Hawaii, Mink attended Wilson College in Pennsylvania and the University of Nebraska after high school but transferred due to racial discrimination. She later earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School and became the first Japanese American woman to practice law in Hawaii.
After Hawaii became a state in 1959, Mink set her sights on Congress. In 1962, she secured a seat in the Hawaii State Senate, and in 1964, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Throughout her tenure, Mink championed causes like gender and racial equality, affordable childcare, bilingual education, and environmental protection. She authored key legislation, including the Early Childhood Education Act and the Women’s Educational Equity Act. Mink is most renowned for authoring Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which banned sex discrimination in federally funded schools.
Mink once said, “I can’t change the past. But I can certainly help somebody else in the future, so they don’t have to go through what I did.”
Bessie Coleman, groundbreaking aviator
1892-1926
Bessie Coleman made history as the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license and fly an aircraft in the United States. As a Black woman, she was unable to receive her pilot license in the U.S. at the time. So Coleman turned to Robert S. Abbott, publisher of the Chicago Defender, who advised her to move to France to follow her dream. In 1921, she earned her flying license, two years before Amelia Earhart.
Coleman’s first public flight in the U.S. took place on September 3, 1922, in Long Island, New York, marking her as the first Black woman to perform a public flight in the country. She went on to tour the nation, performing stunts and giving lectures to raise funds for an African American flying school. However, she would only perform for audiences at events where segregation was abolished and all spectators, regardless of race, entered through the same gates.
Tragically, Coleman’s life was cut short in 1926, when she died in a plane crash while rehearsing for an aerial performance. Despite her untimely death, her legacy endured. In 1929, William J. Powell founded the Bessie Coleman Aero Club in Los Angeles, which became an influential force in aviation. Through this club, many aviators—including the Five Blackbirds, the Flying Hobos, and the Tuskegee Airmen—were either directly or indirectly inspired by Coleman’s example, helping to further her dream of increasing African American participation in aviation.
Coleman’s determination and courage are encapsulated in her quote: “I refused to take no for an answer.”
Malala Yousafzai, fierce advocate
1997–present
Malala Yousafzai, now 27, began advocating for girls’ right to education in her native Pakistan at just 11 years old. Despite facing immense opposition and danger, her resolve to fight for the education of young girls only grew stronger. In 2012, Malala was targeted in an assassination attempt by the Taliban but miraculously survived. Rather than deterring her, the attack fueled her determination to continue her advocacy on a global scale.
In 2014, at just 17 years old, Malala became the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, a recognition of her tireless efforts to promote education for girls worldwide. Through the Malala Fund, she works relentlessly to ensure that girls everywhere have access to 12 years of free, quality education. Her unwavering courage has made her a powerful symbol of strength and hope, showing how one individual can spark change and shape a brighter future for millions.
In addition to her activism, Malala has ventured into media with her production company, Extracurricular, which has a deal with Apple TV+. The company produced the critically acclaimed documentary “The Last of the Sea Women.”
Malala is famously quoted as saying, “One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world,” a powerful reminder of the transformative power of education.
Next Up: Next week we’ll honor historical contributions of women in Minnesota.
