The Federal Woman's Award, also known as the Federal Women's Award, was given by the

United States Civil Service Commission The United States Civil Service Commission was a government agency of the federal government of the United States and was created to select employees of federal government on merit rather than relationships. In 1979, it was dissolved as part of t ...

from 1961 until 1976. The Federal Woman's Award was established by Barbara Bates Gunderson in 1960, while she was serving on the Civil Service Commission. Her goal was to publicize the ways women were excelling in federal employment, and to encourage young women to consider careers with federal laboratories and agencies. Gunderson was also the first chair of the award's board. Katie Louchheim, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, and later

Patricia Hitt Patricia Reilly Hitt (January 24, 1918 – January 9, 2006) was the Assistant Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973. Hitt was born in Taft, California but grew up in Whittier, California, atten ...

, Assistant Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, issued press releases about the awards and appeared at the presentation events. Nominations were submitted annually by federal departments and agencies to the board of trustees for the Federal Woman's Award. The nominations were judged by a panel of "persons prominent in public life", including magazine editors, broadcasters, journalists, business executives, and college presidents. Among the judges were

Milton S. Eisenhower Milton Stover Eisenhower (September 15, 1899 – May 2, 1985) was an American academic administrator. He served as president of three major American universities: Kansas State University, Pennsylvania State University, and Johns Hopkins Universit ...

Carl Rowan Carl Thomas Rowan (August 11, 1925 – September 23, 2000) was a prominent American journalist, author and government official who published columns syndicated across the U.S. and was at one point the highest ranking African American in the United ...

, Doris Fleeson,

Arthur Sherwood Flemming Arthur Sherwood Flemming (June 12, 1905September 7, 1996) was an American government official. He served as the United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1958 until 1961 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration ...

Sol Linowitz Sol Myron Linowitz (December 7, 1913 – March 18, 2005) was an American diplomat, lawyer, and businessman. Early life Linowitz was born to a Jewish family in Trenton, New Jersey. He was a graduate of Trenton Central High School, Hamilton Colleg ...

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Betty Furness Elizabeth Mary Furness (January 3, 1916 – April 2, 1994) was an American actress, consumer advocate, and current affairs commentator. Early years Furness was born in Manhattan, the daughter of wealthy business executive George Choate Furness ...

, and Katharine E. McBride. About six recipients were selected each year, for their "outstanding achievement and ability in an executive, professional, scientific, or technical position in the federal service." Award winners were invited to a ceremony in the

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. The president posed for official photographs with the group, and made remarks for the occasion. The awards were discontinued after the 1976 presentations, though there were nominations for 1977. "Although the prize had served its purpose at no cost to the government, its continuation in the era of equal opportunity as a separate compensatory award for women only, which had seemed so harmless and even chivalric before, began to raise concerns and embarrassment," noted historian of science

Margaret Rossiter Margaret W. Rossiter (born July 1944) is an American historian of science, and Marie Underhill Noll Professor of the History of Science, at Cornell University. Rossiter coined the term Matilda effect for the systematic suppression of information ...

. In 1978,

Rosalyn Yalow Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (July 19, 1921 – May 30, 2011) was an American medical physicist, and a co-winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (together with Roger Guillemin and Andrew Schally) for development of the radioimmunoassay ...

, one of the award's first recipients, recalled that "I viewed this award as second-class", adding "I was therefore delighted to learn last year that the Federal Woman's Award was to be discontinued — I hope permanently." FederalWomansAward1964

Awardees by year

1961

* Beatrice Aitchison *

Ruth E. Bacon Ruth Elizabeth Bacon (1908 – 1985) was an American foreign service officer, a Far East specialist. She was one of the first six annual recipients of the Federal Woman's Award, in 1961. In 1968, she retired as director of the Office of Regional ...

* Nina Kinsella (Warden of the Federal Reformatory for Women, Alderson, WV) *

Charlotte Moore Sitterly Charlotte Emma Moore Sitterly (September 24, 1898 – March 3, 1990) was an American astronomer. She is known for her extensive spectroscopic studies of the Sun and chemical elements. Her tables of data are known for their reliability and are st ...

Aryness Joy Wickens Aryness Joy Wickens (January 5, 1901 – February 2, 1991) was an American economist and statistician who served as acting commissioner of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and as president of the American Statistical Association, and who helped ...

Rosalyn Sussman Yalow Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (July 19, 1921 – May 30, 2011) was an American medical physicist, and a co-winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (together with Roger Guillemin and Andrew Schally) for development of the radioimmunoassay ...

1962

* Katherine W. Bracken (Director of the Office of Central American and Panamanian Affairs, Department of State) * Margaret H. Brass (attorney, Department of Justice) * Thelma Brumfield Dunn * Evelyn Harrison (Civil Service Commission) *

Allene Jeanes Allene Rosalind Jeanes (July 19, 1906 – December 11, 1995) was an American chemical researcher, whose studies focused mainly on carbohydrates and the development of Dextran, a substance that replaced blood plasma in the Korean War. A member of ...

Nancy Roman Nancy Grace Roman (May 16, 1925 – December 25, 2018) was an American astronomer who made important contributions to stellar classification and motions. The first female executive at NASA, Roman served as NASA's first Chief of Astronomy through ...

1963

* Eleanor L. Makel *

Bessie Margolin Bessie Margolin (1909 – June 19, 1996) was an American lawyer and activist. She was a U.S. Department of Labor attorney from 1939 until 1972, arguing numerous cases before the Supreme Court. Margolin undertook a large amount of litigation rel ...

* Katharine Kniskern Mather * Verna C. Mohagen (1908-1980; Personnel Management Division, Department of Agriculture) * Blanche W. Noyes * Eleanor C. Pressly

1964

Evelyn Anderson Evelyn N. Anderson (1909–1977), was a journalist in the UK. Born Lore Seligmann on 13 May 1909 to a German Jewish family, she joined the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) while a student in Frankfurt in 1927. She abandoned the KPD two years la ...

Gertrude Blanch Gertrude Blanch (2 February 1897, in Kolno, Russian Empire (now Poland) – 1 January 1996) was an American mathematician who did pioneering work in numerical analysis and computation. She was a leader of the Mathematical Tables Project in New Yo ...

Selene Gifford Selene Gifford (May 30, 1901 – July 21, 1979) was an American social worker, and an international and federal government official. She won the Federal Woman's Award in 1964, for her work and leadership at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Early ...

* Elizabeth F. Messer (Civil Service Commission) *Margaret Wolman Schwartz (specialist in economic warfare, Treasury Department) * Patricia G. van Delden

1965

* Ann Z. Caracristi * Elizabeth B. Drewry * Dorothy M. Gilford *

Carol Laise Caroline Clendening Laise (November 14, 1917 – July 25, 1991) was an American civil servant, ambassador to Nepal and the first female Assistant Secretary of State. Early life and education Born in Winchester, Virginia, to Elizabeth Frances ( ...

* Sarah Elizabeth Stewart *

Penelope Hartland-Thunberg Penelope Hartland-Thunberg (June 17, 1918 – October 16, 2004) was an American economist and government official. She was a United States Tariff Commission member from 1965 to 1969. She received the Federal Woman's Award in 1965. Early life ...

1966

* Fannie N. Boyls (1906-2002; National Labor Relations Board) * Stella E. Davis (Desk officer, East and South Africa, USIA) * Jocelyn Gill * Ida Craven Merriam * Irene Parsons (Personnel, Veterans Administration) * Ruth G. Van Cleve (director, Office of the Territories, Department of Interior) Also nominated: Julia Brown Wright (US Naval Propellant Plant)

1967

Elizabeth Ann Brown Elizabeth Ann Brown (August 15, 1918 – March 7, 2017) was an American foreign service officer. She was appointed Director of the Office of United Nations Political Affairs in 1965, and won the Federal Woman's Award in 1967. Early life and e ...

* Barbara Moulton *

Anne Mason Roberts Anne Mason Roberts (1910 – October 17, 1971) was an American government official. She was the highest-ranking woman at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), when she served as deputy regional administrator from 19 ...

Kathryn Grove Shipp Kathryn Grove Shipp (1904 – October 14, 1977) was an American organic chemist, a specialist in explosives, affiliated with the Naval Ordnance Laboratory from 1957 to 1970. In 1967, she was one of the six recipients of the Federal Woman's Award. ...

Wilma Victor Wilma Louise Victor (November 5, 1919 – November 15, 1987) was a Choctaw educator. She was born in Idabel, Oklahoma on November 5, 1919. A friend of hers was employed at the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and arranged for her to recei ...

* Marjorie J. Williams

1968

Ruth R. Benerito Ruth Mary Rogan Benerito (January 12, 1916 – October 5, 2013) was an American chemist and inventor known for her work related to the textile industry, notably including the development of wash-and-wear cotton fabrics. She held 55 patents. Pe ...

*Mabel Kunce Gibby (1926-2015; vocational rehab, psychologist) *Frances M. James (Council of Economic Advisors) * Ruby Grant Martin * Lucille Farrier Stickel *Rogene L. Thompson (Federal Aviation Administration) * Nina Bencich Woodside

1969

* Mary Hughes Budenbach * Edith N. Cook (Associate Solicitor, Division of Legislation, Department of Labor) *

Eileen R. Donovan Eileen Roberta Donovan (April 13, 1915 – December 19, 1996) was an American educator who served as the American Ambassador to Barbados from 1969 to 1974, after being a consul in Barbados in 1960, and consul general in 1962. Early life and ed ...

* Jo Ann Smith Kinney (Navy, Submarine Medical Research Lab) *

Esther Christian Lawton Esther Christian Lawton (born 1910, died 1998) was an American personnel manager and administrator. Lawton occupied a number of public and private sector positions during her lifetime, most notably becoming the Deputy Director of Personnel for the ...

* Dorothy L. Starbuck

1970

* Jean Apgar * Margaret Pittman * Naomi Rosen Sweeney (Office of Management and Budget) * Sarah B. Glindmeyer (chief of the Bureau of Nursing, D. C. Dept. of Public Health) * Valerija B. Raulinaitis * Margaret Joy Tibbetts Also nominated: Marilyn Levy

1971

* Jeanne Wilson Davis (National Security Council) * Florence Johnson Hicks (Public Health, Washington DC; 1st black woman graduate of the University of Maryland's statistics & research doctoral program) * Juanita Morris Moody *

Essie Davis Morgan Essie Davis Morgan (December 31, 1919 – February 27, 1990) was an American social worker. She received the Federal Woman's Award in 1971, for her work on community services for disabled veterans. Early life Essie Mae Davis was born in Geo ...

Rita Rapp Rita Rapp (June 25, 1928 - July 12, 1989) was an American physiologist who led the Apollo Food System team. She won a NASA Exceptional Service Medal, the United States Civil Service Commission Federal Woman's Award and University of Dayton Disti ...

Joan R. Rosenblatt Joan Raup Rosenblatt (April 15, 1926 – December 5, 2018) was an American statistician who became Director of the Computing and Applied Mathematics Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. She was president of the Caucus ...

Also nominated: Frances L. Whedon, Miriam H. Thomas, Joyce L. House, Joyce I. Allen, Vilma B. Harper, Cleo S. Cason

1972

* Lois Albro Chatham * Phyllis Dixon Clemmons (d. 2013; Government of the District of Columbia) * Ruth M. Davis * Mary Harrover Ferguson (d. 1999; Office of Naval Research) * Ruth M. Leverton * Patricia Ann McCreedy

1973

* Bernice L. Bernstein (HEW) *

Marguerite S. Chang Marguerite Shue-wen Chang (張葉學文; June 21, 1923 – May 5, 2012) was a Chinese-born American research chemist and inventor, awarded the Federal Woman's Award in 1973 for her work in the Naval Ordnance Laboratory, United States Naval Ordnan ...

* Janet Hart (Federal Reserve) * Marilyn E. Jacox * Isabel L. Karle * Marjorie R. Townsend

1974

* Henriette D. Avram * Edna A. Boorady (AID, Southeast Asia) * Roselyn Payne Epps * Brigid Gray Leventhal * Gladys P. Rogers (Department of State) * Madge Skelly (VA, audiology)

1975

* Beatrice Dvorak (Department of Labor) * Evans Hayward * Wilda Martinez (Department of Agriculture) * Marie U. Nylen
Also nominated: Theresa V. Brassard

1976

* I. Blanche Bourne (Public Health, Government of the District of Columbia) * Carin Ann Clauss * Dorothy I. Fennell (Department of Agriculture) *Marion J. Finkel (FDA) *Mary Patricia Murray (VA, kinesiologist) *Joyce J. Walker (OMB){{Cite news, date=1977-10-13, title=Joyce Walker Honored for WHS Homecoming, pages=2, work=Windsor Beacon, url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94040012/joyce-walker-honored-for-whs-homecoming/, access-date=2022-02-02, via=Newspapers.com

1977

Nominated: Lola McFerson

References

Civil awards and decorations of the United States