People

This year, 10 more women were selected by an impressive array of female committee members (see sidebar) who scrutinized Marylanders past and present and then came together to whittle the list down to the final number.

Although not every woman chosen was born in the Free State, each honoree embodies a strong element of “Maryland.” And while their accomplishments are individual and unique, these legendary ladies all share dedication and drive, boundless energy, persistence, and sheer will.

Here are their stories.

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Margaret Brent (1601-1671)

In 1648—a full 200 years before the Seneca Falls Convention, an influential women's rights convention considered one of the most important precursors of the suffrage movement—Margaret Brent went before the legislature and requested the right to vote for herself as a landowner and as Lord Baltimore's attorney.

As the nation’s first suffragette, this early immigrant to Maryland should be celebrated, especially in our state, says Frances Hughes Glendening, former first lady of Maryland and current MWHC president.

Although a Baltimore school retains her name, few people may know of Brent, a courageous woman whom Glendening considers “a great source of pride.”

Despite the hardships of colonial life, particularly for an unmarried woman, Brent became a prominent businesswoman and land owner. From his deathbed in 1647, Governor Leonard Calvert selected her as executor of his estate.

Unfortunately, little is known of this extraordinary woman, whose actions were all the more remarkable given that they occurred in the 17th century.

“She was not always successful, but that didn’t dissuade her from continuing to try to overcome great obstacles,” says Glendening.

“Like a few other great women, even though she didn’t get to open the door all the way, she opened it a crack, enough for someone else to come along. We should all find strength in her determination and courage to move forward and help ensure that she is as well known as possible.”

Shoshana Shoubin Cardin (1926- )

If you are a woman and have rented an apartment, obtained a credit card, or purchased a car—and not in your husband’s, brother’s, or son’s name—thank Shoshana Shoubin Cardin.

As chairwoman of the Maryland Commission for Women, Cardin helped ensure equal credit rights, first for the women of Maryland and then for women across the country.   

“We were the first state to have a hotline for women who sought and were denied credit and the first state, through the commission, to have publication advertising informing women of their rights,” explains Cardin.

That publication, Where Credit is Due, and a hotline, coupled with Cardin’s appearance on The Today Show during the mid 1970s, helped countless women understand and exercise their credit rights, says Jill Moss Greenberg, executive director of the MWHC, who worked with Cardin for several years.

“While many people may take getting credit for granted, prior to this time, women’s economic rights were far more limited,” says Cardin, who helped women achieve financial equality as she educated them, even though it created flack in her own marriage.

“We created videotapes and held classes to enable women to feel independent as an individual, as well as a wife and a mother: ‘Shoshana Cardin,’ not ‘Mrs. Jerome Cardin,’” she explains.

A civil rights activist and tireless volunteer for over 40 years, Cardin always believed “women could achieve the same heights as men, given opportunity.”

In addition to ensuring equal economic rights for women, she lobbied on other key issues for women that resulted in firsts for our state, including the opening of Baltimore’s House of Ruth for victims of domestic violence and the governor’s first statewide conference on volunteerism. Later, she became the first chair of the Maryland Volunteer Network.