Mary Anderson

"As the world evolves, so too does the growing role of women who are proving their infinite capabilities in today's complex workplace, and exhibiting a new usefulness now and for the future."

From domestic worker to factory employee to trade union leader, Swedish-born Mary Anderson was a tireless champion of women in the workplace. Director of the U.S. Department of Labor's Women's Bureau for a quarter century, she was the most influential of all women in federal service. Her leadership in fact-finding and standards-setting established her as the nation's foremost authority in the struggle for women's rights and the improvement of their lives and working conditions.