This presidential election does not break the glass ceiling for women. A new book catalogs more than two dozen of those women who have lived here in San Diego. It is called, remarkable women of San Diego, pioneers, visionaries and innovators. It profiles 20 women who have made significant contributions to the is to -- history of San Diego from 1850 to the present. Joining at the books co-authors, Hannah Cohen and Dr. Gloria Harris. Welcome to the show. Hannah I understand you divided this book between the two of you based on chronology. Tell us about that. We decided to go back to 1850 and cover the areas in 50 year periods. Gloria and I both love history but she has a pension for the earlier part of the state and she likes to right about people who are not here anymore. I personally love and know a lot of the women who are in the book and who are with us today so I took the second part. We have format quarters. Gloria give us an idea of the women in San Diego spaz that you profile in this book work Helen Hunt Jackson was the author. First you wrote a century of honor documenting things suffering of the Native Americans and then she realized that uncle Tom's cabin made a difference for slavery so she wrote, Ramona. As you know there is a CD in San Diego County -- a CD in San Diego County called Ramona. She contributed significantly to our cities heritage and history. Spoke was based on a work that someone had actually done. Any other surprises you find in looking at the history of San Diego's women? One of the amazing women in -- is Charlie Baker. She was our first female physician. She was the only female president of the San Diego medical society until 1887 but the high point of her life was serving as the leader of San Diego suffrage movement and in San Diego she was the one who will lead everyone to win the boat in 1911. In addition she delivered 1000 babies. She was a busy woman. Hannah who are some of the contemporary women featured? We have Joan Kroc, Pendleton, Jean McAllister, Tony Atkinson, Shelley Zimmerman, these are just a few of the women in the later part of the book but I started out with Florence Chadwick. She was a female pioneer in long-distance swimming and she was the first woman to swim back and forth on the English Channel and she did it in record time, faster than any man. She is probably the most internationally known woman in the book. What are the kinds of difficulties that some of these women encountered as they tried to fulfill their destined days as you call them, pioneers, visionaries and innovators. Probably the one that is most well-known who had really boundaries and challenges here was Lynn shank when she started out as a young lawyer. She was not able to get a credit card in her name. She had to take it out in her husband's name so she said, forget this and she started the first women's bank and it was all women investors run by women and she said I'm not going to let anybody injure me in getting a credit card. She went on to a career in politics. Yes she did. She was the first woman Chief of Staff to Governor Jerry Brown. She was secretary of housing and business. She was a congressional representative from San Diego. She was amazing. Gloria, the women of the previous century or the beginning of this century, what kind of obstacles did they have to overcome? The first teacher in San Diego who was, Mary chase Walker, she was born in New Hampshire but then went to San Francisco seeking work and could not get work. She was offered a job in San Diego and took it. During the voyage she had a severe bout of seasickness and was aided by a stewardess who was black. What happened, after Mary arrived here in old town and she was walking down one street she recognized the compassionate stewardess and invited her for lunch. When she walked into the dining room at the Franklin house, the people sitting there were upset that a white woman would openly associate with a black person and the parents complained to the school board. They boycotted the school. The enrollment plunged and she was fired. That was an obstacle in that she was not aware coming from an abolitionist state that there was racial prejudiced in San Diego in 1865. Hannah what do you think the stories of these women teach us? They teach us that there is a culture that women can overcome. We may have barriers but with grit and determination and perseverance, women really can be whatever they want to be. I have been speaking with entertain and Dr. Gloria Harris prepare co-authors of, Remarkable Women of San Diego:, pioneers, visionaries and innovators. Their Oaklawn -- book launch event is this Wednesday, December 14 at 6:30 at the San Diego history Center in Balboa Park.
Bertha Pendleton, the first female and first African American San Diego school superintendent, Belle Benchley, the first female zoo director, and Ellen Browning Scripps, who established Scripps Institution of Oceanography, are among the women whose stories are told in a new book, "Remarkable Women of San Diego: Pioneers, Visionaries and Innovators."
Co-authors Hannah Cohen and Gloria Harris profiled 28 women from 1850 to the present who have made a significant contribution to San Diego County's history and culture.
A book launch event takes place on Saturday Dec. 10 at 1 p.m. at the Women's Museum of California in San Diego's Liberty Station. The authors will also be speaking at an event on Wed. Dec. 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park.
On Wednesday's Midday Edition, the book's authors share some of the stories of the women profiled in "Remarkable Women of San Diego."
