THE FIRST SCENE in the history of National Geographic doesn’t have a single
woman in it. It occurred on January 13, 1888, when 33 men of science and letters
gathered in a wood-paneled club in Washington, D.C., and voted the National
Geographic Society into existence. Our archive contains no photographs of the
event, as none were made—which seems ironic, since if National Geographic is
known for anything, it’s for creating an indelible visual record of life on Earth.
Over time, as the National Geographic Image Collection grew—to more than
64 million physical and digital assets today—another record unwittingly was
formed: a global chronicle of the lives of women, up to the present day. These
pictures, taken largely over the past century, are snapshots of their times, show-
ing how women were perceived, how they were treated, how much power they
had—or didn’t have. The images illuminate what used to be called, quaintly, “a
woman’s place”—a concept that’s changing before our eyes.
You’ll see many images from the archive in this special issue on women—
our first in which all the contributing writers, photographers, and artists are
female. With this issue, we kick off a year of coverage across our print, digital,
People at this 1913 Washington,
D.C., parade were demanding
voting rights for U.S. women.The documentary Women of
Impact: Changing the World
includes interviews with more
than 40 boundary-breaking,
history-making women. It pre-
mieres October 26 at 10/9c
on National Geographic.HEARING OUR
VOICESBY SUSAN GOLDBERGFrom the editor NOVEMBER 2019
WOMEN: The National
Geographic Image Collection
reflects women’s lives, with
stunning photographs, inter-
views with luminaries, and tales
from famed female photogra-
phers. It’s available October 22
where books are sold and at
shopng.com/books.PHOTO: CLINEDINST STUDIO