Louise Arbour

Louise Arbour (1947 -     )

Canadian lawyer, prosecutor, civil servant and judge.

New Governor-General of Canada (2026 -     ).

Former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Was Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals

dealing with war crimes in Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

Also served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Companion of the Order of Canada (the country's highest honour).

In appointing her, Prime Minister Carney stated that she

"will represent the best of Canada . . . that is . . .

steadfast in the values we uphold."

Iris van Herpen

Iris van Herpen (1984 -     )

Dutch fashion designer known for fusing technology

(such as 3D-printing) with traditional haute couture craftsmanship.

Every year she exhibits her new collections at Paris Fashion Week.

Iris van Herpen's work has been included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,

the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York

and the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

Lady Gaga, always at the forefront of fashion, has worn

Iris van Herpen Designs many times --

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (1930 -     )

Icelandic politician, French teacher and artistic director

of the Reykjavík Theatre Company. In 1980, she ran for

President of Iceland to prove that women were able to lead

political campaigns. She faced a barrage of ignorant and

insulting questions and assumptions due to being female.

She did not expect to win, but she did.

First woman to serve as President of Iceland, she held that

position for 16 years (1980 - 1996). This made her the

first woman in the world to be democratically elected as

president of a country, as well as the longest serving

elected female head of state in history.

Ayo Edebiri

Ayo Edebiri (1995 -     )

American actor, comedian, television writer, and director.

Best known for her role as Chef Sydney Adamu in the

comedy-drama series The Bear, for which she has won

a Golden Globe, 2 Actors awards, and a Primetime Emmy.

She is queer and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Mary Trump

Mary Trump (1965 -     )

American psychologist, author, and political commentator;

niece and outspoken critic of President Donald Trump;

author of the best-selling book Too Much and Never Enough:

How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man (2020),

an unauthorized biography and psychological profile of President Trump;

author of two other books exploring trauma, politics, and Trump family dynamics.

Happy International Women's Day!

Margaret W. Rossiter

Margaret W. Rossiter (1944 - 2025)

American historian of science at Cornell University.

In 1993, she coined the term The Matilda Effect to describe

the systematic erasure of women's achievements in science

over the centuries and the theft and attribution of

their work and discoveries to male colleagues.

She named it in honour of suffragist and abolitionist

Matilda Joslyn Gage who had sounded the alarm 

about this practice more than a century earlier.

Following decades of research, her 3-volume work,

Women Scientists in America, restored women to

their rightful place in the history of science.

Her books inspired programs and policies which ensure 

that today’s women in STEM are properly

credited, published, and remembered.