Unsung Care Heroines

Stories of women who paved the way for modern care activists

I couldn’t let women’s history month come to a close without learning about some of the incredible women who have made history for their work to improve some aspect of care. I needed an extra reminder about the good humans out there, past and present, who have worked - and continue to work - for a more caring society. It’s inspiring to trace the connections throughout history, to see how some critical modern care strategies and movements have built upon generations of work by dedicated and talented women that came before. There has been progress, which is important to remember at times where it feels like we’re slipping backward. I thought perhaps you all would appreciate that reminder, too, so here are a few fun stories of carer trailblazers.

Sara Josephine Baker, Pandemic Pioneer

In the early 1900s, Sara Josephine Baker was a physician whose contributions to public health essentially predicted modern pandemic response strategies. Working in New York City's public health system, she noticed that more children were dying in certain neighborhoods than in war zones. Her solution was to create the first systematic public health tracking system, including what we now call contact tracing. She trained women to go door-to-door, teaching hygiene and infant care and introduced groundbreaking infectious disease policies. During the 1918 influenza pandemic, many of her strategies were remarkably similar to COVID-19 responses: masks, social distancing, and community education. Her work is the basis for modern-day pandemic research by epidemiologists like Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo.

Harriet Tubman, the underground… midwife?

Most of us do know Harriet Tubman as a revolutionary who helped enslaved people escape via the Underground Railroad. We hear much less about her incredible medical and caregiving skills. During the Civil War, she worked as a nurse, cook, and spy for the Union Army, but I recently learned that she was also a skilled midwife. She not only helped deliver babies during dangerous escape missions but also provided crucial medical care to both enslaved and free Black communities. She often used herbal remedies and had a reputation for healing techniques that white doctors at the time didn't understand. Susan Burton, carer for formerly incarcerated women and advocate for drug treatment and criminal reform, has often been referred to as a modern day Harriet Tubman.

Rose Schneiderman, “bread and roses” labor organizer and suffragist

Schneiderman was a Polish-born American labor organizer who fought for workers’ rights, particularly for women in the garment industry in NYC. She advocated for increased safety and higher wages for factory workers and was a founding member of the ACLU. Schneiderman was a feminist and suffragist who argued that political enfranchisement of women was necessary to improve their poor working conditions, and she is credited with expanding the movement from purely middle and upper class to include working class women. She is one of many women who set the stage for today’s labor organizers like Ai-Jen Poo.

"What the woman who labors wants is the right to live, not simply exist — the right to life as the rich woman has the right to life, and the sun and music and art. You have nothing that the humblest worker has not a right to have also. The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too. Help, you women of privilege, give her the ballot to fight with."

—Rose Schneiderman

Thinking about my father, who would have turned 83 tomorrow. Miss you every day, dad. I know neither of us have ever been so sure about heaven or the afterlife, but I can’t help but hope some form of you is smiling and dancing on a Mexican beach right now. ❤️

Let me know how you all are doing out there! Reach out in the comments or reply to this email, I will respond! xo Anna