Women’s History Month is a time to reflect and honor the achievements made by women throughout the years. It’s also a time to inspire and encourage more fierce and trailblazing women to continue owning their impact now and for the future. Our work to get more women elected into public office, more women a seat in the C-suite, more women on boards and commissions, more women-owned business owners, and more women seizing the opportunities and representation they deserve is not done yet. There’s more work to be done; therefore, we will keep promoting, pushing and encouraging all women.
As a woman-owned communications agency, being led by a diverse, all-women leadership team and Latina CEO, celebrating Women’s History Month is an important opportunity for us to spotlight past and current notable figures in our industry, while acknowledging the role we have in paving the way for more women to make their mark in the communications industry. We will continue our work to #breakthebias.
Be sure to check out our social media channels, as we celebrate strong women in the industry—past and present—by highlighting notable women all through March.
Women in Marketing
1880
Mathilde C. Weil became the first woman to open a female-run advertising agency firm, M.C. Weil Agency in New York.
1977
Caroline Robinson Jones became the first black woman VP of a major advertising agency at BBDO, Batten, Barton, Durstine, Osborn.
Women in Publishing
1877
Lydia Starr McPherson became the first woman publisher in Texas with Whitesboro Democrat, now known as Sherman Democrat; a paper still in existence.
1910
Social activist sisters, Andrea and Teresa Villarreal, established feminist newspaper, La Mujer Moderna in San Antonio, TX during the Mexican Revolution. Primary goal: The emancipation of women.
Women in Reporting
1913
Doris Fleischman became the first woman journalist to report on a boxing match. She held the title Assistant Sunday Editor at the New York Tribune.
1967
Kay Bailey Hutchison became the first woman television reporter in Houston, TX to cover the Texas Legislature. Kay was also the first woman in Texas to be a U.S. senator.
Women in PR
1928
Belle Moskowitz became the first woman PR firm owner with her firm Publicity Associates in New York.
1957
Dr. Inez Y. Kaiser became the first African-American woman PR firm owner.
1973
Betsy Plank became the first woman president of the Public Relations Society of America.
1987
Marilyn Laurie became the first woman chief communications officer of a Fortune 10 company.
Women in Digital Marketing
Women continue to create milestones in the MarComm world, especially in Digital Marketing fields. Here are a few women who are paving the way for success in digital marketing.
Purna Vurji: A PPC Media Specialist who recently won 2019-2020 Search Personality of the Year by the US Search Awards.
Krista Seiden: Founder and Principal Consultant at KS Digital, Xoogler in the San Francisco Bay Area. Seiden specializes in digital analytics and currently holds a position as co-chair for the San Francisco chapter of the Digital Analytics Association (DAA)
Maya Pope-Chappell: Head of Audience Engagement & Distribution at LinkedIn News, Host & Producer for the #HowIGotHere series, which covers successful career journeys.
While these are just a few of the women who have paved the way for equality in digital marketing and communications, we celebrate all women who continue to make a difference and continue to fight for gender equality. Send us a DM on social @wetalkstrategy and tell us your favorite Women in MarComm milestones.