Sonceria “Ann” Berry has been sworn in as the 35th Secretary of the Senate. She is the first Black woman to hold this position. Most recently she was Deputy Chief of Staff to Senator Patrick Leahy, who currently serves as President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
During her 40 years in Washington, Berry also worked for Senators Heflin, Carper, Edwards, Moynihan, and Jones.
Rosalind Brewer is the new CEO of Walgreens. She will be the only Black woman leading a Fortune 500 company. She previously served as the COO of Starbucks. [Axios Market Watch 1/27/21]
Suzanne Clark will take over as president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in March. Clark will become the first woman to lead the group in its century long existence. [Politico 2/10/21]
Only 32 out of the 377 venture-backed firms that filed for IPOs between 2016 and 2020 had a female CEO. [WP 2/7/21]
Professor Deborah Archer will be the first black woman to lead the 101- year-old American Civil Liberties Union. [PBS 2/1/21]
Nigerian economist Ngozi-Iweala is the first African and the first woman to head the World Trade Organization. [AXIOS PM 2/15/21]
Chloe Zho is the first Asian women to win the Golden Globe for best director. She is also the first woman to be named best director since Barbara Streisand won for “Yentl” 40 years ago. [The 19th 3/1/21]
On February 7, 2021, Sarah Thomas was the first woman to referee a Super Bowl game. [NYT 2/7/21]
On February 21, the Boy Scouts of America welcomed the first female Eagle Scout. [Scouting.org]
In 1964, Geraldine “Jerrie” Mock became the first woman pilot to fly solo around the world. Jerrie flew from Columbus, Ohio in a single engine Cessna 180 called the “Spirit of Columbus.” She would return to Columbus 29 days later after making 21 stops, including in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Thailand, marking a significant milestone for both aviation and women. [PunchBowl News 3/1/27]
The new Senate Sergeant at Arms team is led by Lt. General (retired) Karen Gibson as Senate Sergeant at Arms and has a new Deputy and new Chief of Staff. They are the first all-female leadership team since the position was created in 1789. [Schumer press release – 3/3/21]
The 10 women who are the members of the Fabulous Ladies book club in Ruidoso, New Mexico were meeting in their usual restaurant until February 20, 2020. After that, their gatherings were moved online.
One of the members learned through her husband, a doctor, that the state’s health department had free vaccine doses but needed help getting them out of vials and into arms.
On January 3, 2021, the group opened a pop-up clinic and by January 23rd had administered 2,417 vaccine doses. The shots are administered by medical personnel but the members of the club handle everything else from managing the stock of vaccines to serving as greeters.
One of the book club members said the following, “After months of hunkering down and feeling helpless, we welcomed a chance to actively help end this nightmare.” [WP 1/27/21]