The Society of Woman Geographers was established in 1925 at a time when women were excluded from membership in most professional organizations, such as the
Explorers Club, who would not admit women until 1981.[1][2]
It is based in Washington, D.C., and has 500 members.[3] Groups are located in
Chicago,
Florida,
Los Angeles,
New York, and
San Francisco.[4]
The society was organized by four friends,
Gertrude Emerson Sen,
Marguerite Harrison,
Blair Niles and
Gertrude Mathews Shelby, to bring together women interested in geography, world exploration, anthropology and related fields.[5][6] Membership was restricted to women who had "done distinctive work whereby they have added to the world's store of knowledge concerning the countries on which they have specialized, and have published in magazines or in book form a record of their work."[1]
The Society's Gold Medal is its highest honor. It is awarded to a member whose "original, innovative, or pioneering contributions are of major significance in understanding the world's cultures and environment."
The first gold medal was presented to
Amelia Earhart in 1933. The medal was designed by sculptor
Lucille Sinclair Douglass, and shows
Winged Victory on the arc of the world.[9]
2011,
Susan Shaw, American marine toxicologist, who documents harmful impacts of chemicals on the marine environment.[9][13][14]
2008,
Laurie Marker, American conservation biologist, whose non-profit
Cheetah Conservation Fund and its International Research and Education Centre in
Namibia address threats to the
cheetah species, including lack of genetic variation and habitat loss.[9][15]
1999,
Anna Curtenius Roosevelt, American archaeologist, who discovered an unknown prehistoric culture at Painted Rock Cave (
Caverna da Pedra Pintada) in the Amazon Basin, challenging theories of human settlement.[9][17]
1996,
Pam Flowers, the first person to trek 2,500 miles across the North American Arctic, the longest solo dog sled trek by a woman.[9][18]
1984,
Arlene Blum, American biophysical chemist and mountaineer who led the first woman's climbs of
Denali (1970),
Annapurna (1978), and Bhrigupanth in the Indian Himalayas (1980).[9][24][25]
^
abcWare, Susan (1988). Letter to the World: Seven Women who Shaped the American Century. New York: W.W. Norton.
ISBN0-393-04652-4.
^Eppinga, J. (2009). They Made Their Mark: An Illustrated History of the Society of Woman Geographers. Globe Pequot. pp. 218–220.
ISBN978-0-7627-4597-5.