Known as the “Rosa Parks of architecture,” Norma Merrick Sklarek became one of the first female architects in the U.S. After graduating from Columbia’s architecture school in 1950, Sklarek landed a job designing bathroom layouts for the NYC Department of Public Works.

Georgia Louise Harris Brown was the first African American woman to earn a degree in architecture in 1944. In 1949, she became the second professionally licensed black female architect in the nation! During her college career, Harris Brown studied under the famous Ludwig Mies van der Rohe during his prime.

Aprille Ericsson-Jackson may be one of the most recognized women in NASA. Starting as an aerospace engineer, Ericsson-Jackson progressed on, and spent a majority of her career helping the world get a better understanding of the Earth and sun connection, as well as earth, and space science.

Raised in a low-income housing project on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Ursula Burns excelled in math, and ultimately received her master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University.

Known as the “First Lady of Engineering,” Lillian Gilbreth was massively successful with her education, career, and as a loving mother of 12! Applying a scientific method to her work that is still used today for workplace efficiency and management, Gilbreth also took part in consulting for the government during the Great Depression and WWII.

Dorothy Vaughan was a math teacher in Farmville, Virginia and joined the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory part-time in 1943. An abundance of data led to Vaughan obtaining a full-time job at the laboratory.

Mary Jackson graduated from her high school with top marks and continued on to get her bachelor’s degree in Science from the Hampton Institute. She started off teaching, before taking a job at NASA.