Community leader Helen Connor Laird was the inspiration for the Laird Endowment Fund for the Arts in central Wisconsin.

Elected by the La Crosse Area Synod in 1992, Rev. April Ulring Larson became the first female Lutheran bishop in North America and the second in the world.

Belle Case La Follette was the first woman to graduate from law school in Wisconsin and an outspoken advocate for women's right to vote.

Lavinia Goodell was the first female lawyer admitted to the bar of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

In 1921, American author and playwright Zona Gale became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, for the play MISS LULU BETT.

Vernice Gallimore became Milwaukee's first African American policewoman in 1946.

Margaret Farrow was the first woman to serve as lieutenant governor in Wisconsin.

Dorothy "Aunt Dot" Davids was a respected Native American educator in Wisconsin and an author, speaker, community organizer, and activist for peace and justice.

Ada Deer was the first woman to head the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and the first Native American woman from Wisconsin to run for U.S. Congress.

Carin Clauss was the first woman Solicitor in the U.S. Department of Labor.