Three Women Who Quietly Transformed Medicine

August 26 is Women’s Equality Day. It marks the anniversary of American women gaining the right to vote in 1920, but I like to think of it as more than a historical checkpoint. It is a reminder to notice the women who continue to change systems from the inside, sometimes loudly, but often in ways so strategic and understated that the world only realizes it once the landscape has already shifted.

Image courtesy of Tulane School of Medicine, via Instagram.

Dr. Patricia Bath
An ophthalmologist, inventor, and the first African-American woman physician to receive a medical patent. She created the Laserphaco Probe for cataract surgery, restoring sight to thousands. She also coined “community ophthalmology,” making eye care accessible to underserved patients long before “health equity” was a conference keyword.

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha
A pediatrician who exposed the Flint water crisis. She went up against political resistance, armed with data, media strategy, and persistence. Her work not only resolved a public health emergency but reframed how physicians can be advocates outside the clinic.

Dr. Fabiola Gianotti
A particle physicist and the first woman to lead CERN, overseeing the discovery of the Higgs boson particle. Not a physician, but her leadership blends intellect with an understated presence that is magnetic in its own way. She is a reminder that the boundaries between science and medicine are more porous than they seem.

These women did not just excel in their fields. They shifted how those fields work, and they did it in ways that will keep influencing others long after their names leave the news cycle. Presence, credibility, and timing can be as powerful as technical skill, and in medicine, that is as true in the hallway as it is in the operating room.