The Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility is located in the West Virginia native's home state.

"Hidden Figures" mathematician Katherine Johnson played a critical role in NASA's early space program — now, the space agency is honoring her contributions by renaming a NASA software facility after her! The Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility , located in Johnson's home state of West Virginia, is the home of NASA's IV&V Program, which is dedicated to "contributing to the safety and success of NASA’s highest-profile missions" by improving the software used for a variety of space launches and flights. "I am thrilled we are honoring Katherine Johnson in this way as she is a true American icon who overcame incredible obstacles and inspired so many," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in an announcement. "It’s a fitting tribute to name the facility that carries on her legacy of mission-critical computations in her honor." Continue reading → Continue reading

Women are vastly underrepresented in Congress but research has found they are superior at governing.

The average American likely knows that there are more men than women in the U.S. Congress, but few realize how vastly underrepresented women truly are, how progress has been stalled for an entire generation, and how poorly the U.S. fares in terms of women's representation compared to the rest of the world. As of 2018, women hold only 20% of the seats in the U.S. Congress. Not only has this percentage barely budged for years, it's essentially akin to the representation of women in Saudi Arabia, a country famous for its poor record on women's rights. On a global scale, women's representation in the US lags far behind many other countries, ranking 104 out of 193 in the world. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of the best new biographies for children and teens about incredible women from around the world.

Some of the greatest minds in the history of the world have been dismissed because they were covered with curls and bows. — Historian Gerda Lerner, founder of the field of women's history

When you think back to your history classes in school, you may realize, as Gerda Lerner did, that "ostensibly one-half the human race is doing everything significant and the other half doesn’t exist." But increasingly, we are reclaiming history, telling the stories of the girls and women whose contributions to our shared story deserve to be celebrated! As parents and educators, it's also important that we tell these stories to all of our children, boys and girls alike, so that they live in a world where history has always been about the contributions of all of humanity.

In honor of Women's History Month, we've collected the best biographies that have been published in the past 12 months about remarkable, determined, trailblazing women! These books for children and teens feature a broad range of women in many different fields, from science to the arts to politics and activism, making them excellent additions to any bookshelf or school curriculum. Whether you're sharing a picture book biography at bedtime or introducing your teen to an inspiring new hero, these books will remind them to tell women's stories all year long! Continue reading → Continue reading

"These aren't just the stories of famous people. This is what we're all capable of on our very best days."

For the past four years, Brad Meltzer's best-selling series Ordinary People Change the World has been teaching kids that 'everyone can be a hero' while introducing them to a variety of amazing people throughout history. This week, A Mighty Girl spoke with Brad about the release of his 15th book in the series, I Am Harriet Tubman, what he hopes kids take away from his books, and his plans for the future of the popular series.

To celebrate the new book's release, A Mighty Girl supporters can sign up to win an autographed set of all seven books from the series focused on the stories of Mighty Women. To enter, visit our I Am Harriet Tubman & Ordinary People Change the World Giveaway page. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of new biographies about Mighty Women for adult readers.

Our community loves the children's and young adult books we share — but they also love when we share titles that are suitable for adult readers! In this new post, you can discover our favorite new releases for adults from fall 2017. From scientists to political leaders, athletes to activists, these mighty women lived fascinating lives and their stories deserve to be told. We hope that you'll enjoy these recommendations as much as the Mighty Girls in your lives enjoy our recommendations of biographies for them!

For more biographies and memoirs for adult readers, check out our blog post from earlier this year, Stories of Mighty Women: 55 New Biographies for Adult Readers. Continue reading → Continue reading

New biographies about Mighty Women for inspiration during Women's History Month and throughout the year!

On A Mighty Girl, we feature thousands of books for children and teens about smart, confident, and courageous girls and women, but we are also often asked for reading recommendations for adults about inspiring women of the past and present. To that end, in this blog post, we're sharing 55 of our favorite biographies for older teen and adult readers about Mighty Women that were published in 2016 and 2017.

Among these titles are insightful introductions to oft-neglected female scientists, gripping tales about heroism during wartime, and thoughtful reflections on the quest for women's rights. Since A Mighty Girl's website does not have a book section for adult readers, you won't find these recommendations on our site; however, we've included links below to Amazon so you can learn more or order individual titles.

So whether you're looking for a good book to delve into during Women's History Month or any time of year, these women's stories are sure to inspire!
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A Mighty Girl's top picks of the best new biographies for children and teens about incredible women from around the world.

If you flip through a typical history book, you might think, as historian Gerda Lerner once wrote, that "ostensibly one-half the human race is doing everything significant and the other half doesn’t exist." Far too often, women's contributions have been neglected in history books and school curriculums — fortunately, there are growing numbers of wonderful books being published for young readers about girls and women who made their mark on history. And, there's no better time to share these stories and make sure that the next generation — girls and boys alike — appreciates the important and diverse roles that women have played in history than during Women's History Month!

With that in mind, in this blog post, we've collected the best biographies on remarkable women that have been published in the past 12 months, since the last Women's History Month. These books for children and teens feature girls and women who excelled in science, politics, the arts, athletics, and other fields. And, they serve as an excellent reminder that women's stories deserve to be told, not just during Women's History Month, but all year long.

For more books of inspiring girls and women from around the world, check out the hundreds of biographies and works of historical fiction in A Mighty Girl's History & Biography Collection. Continue reading → Continue reading

Over 150 photos of Mighty Girls standing up for girls and women's rights at the historic Women's Marches held worldwide on January 21.

Millions of people took to the streets at Women's Marches around the world on January 21, 2017 in an unprecedented show of solidarity and support for the belief that women's rights are human rights. At the 914 Women's Marches that were held in all 50 states and over 60 countries, girls and young women participated in vast numbers. This day gave these girls an unforgettable life lesson about the power of their own voice in creating change – and the responsibility of every citizen to use that voice to stand up for their rights and the rights of others.

In this blog post, we're showcasing just a small fraction of the incredible photos of Mighty Girls at Women’s Marches worldwide that have been shared with us. Thank you to the many people who have shared their march stories and photos on A Mighty Girl's Facebook page. And, most importantly, thank you to everyone who participated in a Women's March – while the fight for girls and women's rights will continue, our voices on this inspiring day of action were powerful and sent the clear and unmistakable message: "We're not going away."
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50 Biographies about Inspiring Women for Older Teen & Adult Readers

When we share stories about famous women from history, adults in our community often comment that they’re amazed that they’ve never learned about these world-changing women. And, while people love the biographies we post for children and teens, many adults would also like to learn more about these inspiring women. To that end — just in time for the peak of summer vacation season — we've showcased 50 books for adult and older teen readers about incredible women of the past and present.

The stories of women from all walks of life — scientists and entertainers, writers and rebels, athletes and adventurers — show the remarkable and often unrecognized contributions that women have made to our world. Equally importantly, their determination to pursue their dreams is profoundly inspiring, a reminder that each of us can make our own contributions. Since A Mighty Girl's website does not have a book section for adult readers, you won't find these recommendations on our site; however, we've included links below to Amazon so you can order individual titles or learn more about each book.

And, if you're looking for reading recommendations for the children and teens in your life, we shared many of our favorite new and recent releases as part of our Summer Reading Series -- to learn more, visit our blog posts on picture books, early chapter books, books for tweens, and books for teens or browse our entire collection of over 2,500 girl-empowering titles. Continue reading → Continue reading

British suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst being arrested by police outside Buckingham Palace in 1914

By Jennifer de Beer, A Mighty Girl Senior Research Intern

Do you know the name of the Polish social worker who rescued 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII? How about the name of America’s first female self-made millionaire? Can you name a British suffrage movement leader who Time Magazine declared to be one of the most important people of the 20th century? Or the name of a real-life woman pirate?

While we always delight in hearing about the achievements of women in history, there are some names that get much more attention than others. Children and adults of today are likely to be very familiar with the experiences of Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, and Helen Keller -- and rightly so. However, there are many other talented, courageous, and remarkable women who also deserve to have their stories told, but whose names are far less familiar.

We have gathered together a list of ten of these women, whom you may not recognize, but whose journeys are more than worthy of your attention. Sometimes these women have been relegated to the footnotes of history books, their experiences almost entirely glossed over. Yet, each woman made significant contributions or noteworthy strides in her lifetime.

In addition to the descriptions listed below, you will find their stories within our collection of over 400 biographies of remarkable girls and women. We also share many stories of Mighty Girl heroes of yesteryear and today on our Facebook page.

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