Women have made significant progress in gaining leadership roles over the past centuries. During World War I and II, women took on important jobs in factories and medical fields while the men were away, demonstrating their abilities outside the home. Since then, women like Emmeline Pankhurst, Hillary Clinton, Rosa Parks, Benazir Bhutto, and Margaret Chase Smith have broken barriers as leaders in politics, civil rights, and government. They have expanded opportunities for women and shown that women can excel at the highest levels.

1. Rise of women world leaders Deanna Perkins  Katie Ricker  Kristin Wade  Taylor Smith 

2. In the beginning women were the main point of the family and though most families were patriarchal, they served an important role. As time went on they gained more access to the world outside the home. Now they have the opportunities to excel in all aspects of life.

3. There are definitely two sides to this question. One is woman, and the other man. Both have specific ideas of what women should and shouldn’t be allowed to do. This also varies within different cultures and family traditions. Let’s see how women have made their places in the world, using world wars as leverage.

4. By the 20th century, women began to take their new place in the world. During World War I, they took the places of their husbands in an attempt to fill job posts left, when warring countries called for the soldiers. The demand for weapons and supplies was accompanied by swarms of women looking for jobs in the cities. Many women held these posts even after the war ended, when the war effort was no longer needed. It became commonplace for women to work in sweatshops, and they became available for higher posts. However, this was only the beginning for a call to be equal that could no longer be ignored.

5. These job opportunities became even more available during WWII, or around the late 1940s. Some of which were: building parts for machinery, factory work, nursing, doctors, fighting, entrepreneurship, police, etc. These all made men notice the women back home, who were keeping everything running very smoothly. This forced men to recognize the importance of the women’s role, not only in the home but also the job market.

6. The women had made their place. Therefore, after the war, the women’s places in the world skyrocketed. The following women made their way to the top of several different areas, showing the vast improvement.

7. Emmeline Pankhurst Hillary Clinton Rosa Parks Benazir Bhutto Margaret Chase Smith

8. For the late 19th century in Great Britain, several suffrage groups formed in an attempt to influence members of parliament for reform. This group, called the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), held meetings, wrote letters to politicians, published books, and organized the Mud March, an attempt made by 3,000 women who walked through the muddy streets of London from Hyde Park to Exeter Park in support of women suffrage. Members of NUWSS broke off from the union and formed their own, calling it the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), and dedicated Emmeline Pankhurst as their leader. The two groups tactics became increasingly violent, including the storming of the House of Commons, the practice of force feeding, and an incident where suffragette Emily Davidson was trampled to death, in an struggle to interfere with a horse owned by King George V. After World War I, Parliament established the 1918 Qualification of Women Act, allowing women limited freedom; it was not until the Representation of the People Act 1928 that women were allowed equal voting rights with man. In the end, Emmeline Pankhurst was given a place in a 1999 Time Magazine edition as one of the 100 Most Important People in the 20th Century, giving her the credit of "[shaping] an idea of women for our time; [shaking] society into a new pattern from which there could be no going back"(Wikipedia).

9. This woman started as the first lady of Bill Clinton, the forty-second president of the United States, until 2001, when she became the senator for New York until 2009. Clinton, in 2008, became the first woman to run for president in the United States. She ran as a democratic candidate against Barack Obama. He won the democratic election, and the presidential election, but then named her Secretary of State. During her presidential campaign people were intrigued by the fact that she had the “guts” and willpower as a woman to run for a male dominate position

10. Born on February 4, 1913, Rosa Parks had no idea she would become the icon for resistance to racial segregation. At the age of 42, she refused to give up her seat for a white man on the Montgomery Bus system. But she was not the first. Black women before her, in special cases such as Irene Morgan and Sarah Louise Keys, had fought and won in courts against racial segregation in the U.S. What made Rosa Parks different was that her defiance sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a political and social campaign against the city's racial segregation policy on its bus systems. She also helped organize civil rights groups with Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as other civil rights leaders. Rosa Parks died on October 24, 2005, given an honorable burial in the Capitol Rotunda.

11. Bhutto was an extremely gifted student. After spending two years at the Rawalpindi Presentation Convent, she transferred to the Jesus and Mary Convent at Murree. After passing her examinations at the age of fifteen, she was admitted into Harvard University’s Radcliffe College where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She graduated with a degree in political science in1973. Soon after she attended Oxford University, graduating with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. She ended her schooling becoming President of the Oxford Union. As of 1988, Bhutto was elected the first female prime minister of Pakistan. Sadly, 20 months later she was disposed of. She was reelected three years later but was yet again removed from office in 1996 because of election scandals.

12. Her hopes of ever being in office again were stopped when the president banned reelection of over two terms. Soon after receiving this news she went into self exile in Dubai, where she took care of her three children and Alzheimer inflicted mother. During her time away from Pakistan she kept in touch by doing traveling lectures to motivate Pakistan’s Peoples Party supporters. This, however, stopped when she reunited with her husband five years later. Bhutto returned home in 2007, after coming to an understand with the current president that all her charges were dropped. While leaving a rally, two weeks before the Pakistani general election she was assassinated when she stood up from the hood of the car to address the people. She was the leading opposition candidate. Her death was a too soon closing chapter on a motivated woman, who did not understand no. Her life was a milestone for the rising women leaders of the world.

13. American popular and influential public official who became the first woman to serve in both U.S. houses of Congress. During her eight years, Smith served on the Naval affairs and Armed Services Committees, particularly concerning herself with the status of women in the Armed Forces. “She played a major role in the passage of the Women's Armed Services Integration Act of June 1948, which gave women equal pay, rank, and privileges. In 1948 she ran successfully for a seat in the Senate, winning it by a record plurality in Maine. She quickly established herself as an outspoken legislator of high integrity and considerable influence.” (Encyclopedia Britannica) She was reelected by the larger majority in the years 1954, 1960, and 1966. She has served longer than any other women, and was considered a vice presidential candidate in 1952. She also received several votes for the presidential nomination in the 1964 and received several votes for the presidential nomination at the 1964 Republican National Convention.

14. Is it better for society to have them working or at home? According to the lives of the women we have looked at, women have a very positive effect on society as leaders. They bring new ideas to the table, that men could not bring. (it was not a sandwich) Although, not all women are the type to excel outside the home. Women should have a strong role in society and the home, participating in both during different points in their lives. I mean, look at Mrs. Guyer

15. The four of us believe that Women need to be involved in all places possible. Whether they are digging for oil in the ground, or digging the grease off the stove women serve an important role. As women ourselves, we hold the responsibility of a female role model to those following in our footsteps. Knowing about the women who challenged the thought of the modern mind makes it easier for us to display the statute that women should embrace.

16. Conclusion Since the factory workers during the war, to the women of office today, women have made vast improvement. Women of the world will continue to climb the ladder of success even further until the day when there is at least one leading lady per country.

17. “Historic Figures: Emmeline Pankhurst (1858- 1928).” www.bbc.com. BBC, 12 May 2010. Web. 12 May 2010. “Margaret Chase Smith.” www.school.eb.com. Britanica Digital Learning, 2010. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.school.eb.com//>. “Pakistan Elections 2007- 2008: Benazir Bhutto.” Pak Tribune: n. pag. Print. Senior, Jennifer. “The Once and Future President Clinton.” New York: News & Features 21 May 2005: n. pag. Print. www.dfont.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.dfont.com/‌fontdinerdotcom-sparkly.font?text=Women+of+1800s>.