Last night, the National Women’s History Museum (NWHM) hosted their annual Women Making History Awards Gala at The Anthem in Washington D.C., celebrating a group of extraordinary, trailblazing women who have made profound contributions to society. This year’s event, which was hosted by CBS News award-winning journalist Norah O’Donnell, honored inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Sara Blakely; Dr. Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth;” and advocate for transformative research and education Shirley Ryan. Mattel, Inc.,celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, received the inaugural Evelyn Y. Davis Women Making History Corporate Changemaker Award, which was accepted by Mattel EVP and Chief Brand Officer Lisa McKnight.
The program began with a touching video from Honorary Chair Meryl Streep, who spoke about the importance of the museum and sharing women’s stories, and offered her congratulations to the night’s honorees. Host Norah O’Donnell welcomed everyone to the gala with some personal anecdotes about her grandmother, whose brave journey inspired Norah’s lifelong fascination with the powerful stories of women. She then brought to the stage the chair and vice chair of the National Women’s History Museum’s Board of Directors, Susan Whiting and Singleton McAllister, who also delivered moving tributes to the influential women in their lives and spoke about the museum’s nearly 30-year commitment to sharing the powerful history of women in America.
They turned the stage over for a show-stopping performance of “Keep Marching” from the Tony Award-winning musical Suffs, delivered by original Broadway cast member Hannah Cruz.
After an introduction from National Women’s History Museum Board Member Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall, and remarks by her granddaughter Dione Sims, honoree Dr. Opal Lee was greeted with a thunderous standing ovation. “Just know that it’s not a me thing, it’s a we thing and we can do so much more together because there is so much more to do,” she said. “Getting the holiday was only the first step. Now we have to make freedom a reality for everyone.”
Dr. Richard L. Lieber introduced the evening’s next honoree, Shirley Ryan, praising her for not only making history, but also writing the future. Shirley shared the very personal motivation behind her work, her son, and spoke about the innovative work that she and her team are conducting on a daily basis to help children.
National Women’s History Museum President and CEO Frédérique Campagne Irwin introduced the Museum’s recently-launched campaign, She Is Not a Footnote*, a bold initiative to address the underrepresentation of women in history and inspire the next generation of leaders. She spoke about the lack of women’s history taught in schools, and the impact that it has when young women and girls don’t see and hear about women in positions of power. And she called on everyone in the room, not just the women, to help change the narrative: “Under representation of women is not a women’s issue—it’s everyone’s issue.”
Frédérique was also on hand to introduce honoree Sara Blakely, recounting the time she saw Sara speak at an event and immediately knew she needed to be one of the evening’s celebrated women – someone who has shown the world what’s possible when you put your values first, follow your instincts, throw out the norms, and outwork everyone around you. Blakely, whose mother and daughter were both in the audience, spoke of her desire to ensure that women are no longer considered footnotes in the pages of history and for them to write and own their own stories.
Susan Whiting returned to pay tribute to the evening’s final honoree, Mattel, and present the museum’s first-ever Evelyn Y. Davis Women Making History Corporate Changemaker Award to Lisa McKnight, the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer. Lisa expressed her appreciation on behalf of the brand, and echoed the museum’s commitment to fighting against the underrepresentation of women, saying that “together, we are ensuring that the next generation of women stands on the shoulders of giants, not in their shadows.”
The gala concluded with the powerful premiere of the organization’s inaugural song, “We are Here,” composed by Grammy Award-winning artist Tena Clark and performed by Sara Niemietz and Norelle Simpson.
Additional special guests and participants in attendance included: Bellamy Young (Actor), Laura Coates (CNN Anchor), Sandra Lee (Chef, Author, and previous Women Making History Awards honoree), Edwina Findley (Actor, Netflix’s The Residence), Karen Akunowicz (Chef, Author), Rina Shah (CNN Correspondent), Fiona Sainty (Senior Vice President General Manager Estée Lauder), Rosie Rios (Former Treasurer of the United States and Chair of America250), Marion Phillips III (SVP, Community Development and DEI at U.S. News & World Report), Lydia Fenet (Auctioneer), Nancy Hult Ganis (Writer), and more.
Since its debut in 2012, the Women Making History Awards has honored distinguished figures across various fields, including literary giant Dr. Maya Angelou, acclaimed actresses Viola Davis and Rita Moreno, NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, and civil rights icon Dolores Huerta.
This year’s event is made possible through the generous support of the following sponsors:
History Maker: U.S. News; Anonymous
Visionary: ArentFox Schiff; Estée Lauder; Women Connect4Good
Trailblazer: Kaiser Permanente; Women’s Leadership Center at Williams Bay
Advocate: Sylvia Neil and Dan Fischel; Telemundo; Susan D. Whiting
