The history of communication has been marked mostly by male figures and leadership. On the other hand, there are female voices that dared the system to open paths and transform the way the world connects. Many women stood out with groundbreaking work that broke barriers and inspired generations.
In this article, we revisit the stories of remarkable figures who made a difference in journalism, advertising, and radio. All of them showed, in their own ways, how women can do outstanding and amazing works in the communication field. Each one of them left a legacy that remains alive to this day. I hope you feel inspired by these incredible women.
Patrícia Galvão (Pagu)
Born in 1910, Pagu made history in Brazilian journalism and literature. She was a writer in the second phase of Brazilian Modernism, and worked with many famous figures, like Tarsila do Amaral and Oswald de Andrade. Pagu had her first contact with communism in 1930, during Getúlio Vargas´s government. She joined the Brazilian Communist Party, became involved in political manifestations, and used her literary talent to promote her communist ideology.
Patrícia Galvão dedicated 20 years of her life to political activism. During this period, she supported unions, proletarian movements and advocated for worker´s rights. In 1931, she became the first female political prisoner in Brazil. Yet, she continued to fight against fascism, the capitalist regime and gender equality.
These are some of her works that’s worth of your attention:
Parque Industrial (1933)
It is the first novelwritten by Pagu. The work is considered a milestone in Brazilian proletarian literature. The book tells the story of female workers in a textile factory in the city of São Paulo, showing the working and living conditions of these women in the 1930s.
Verdade e Liberdade (1950)
A pamphlet of political propaganda that shows Pagu’s political activist side. It is a passionate text, denouncing communist and fascist totalitarianism, pointing to democratic socialism as the possible path to the pursuit of social justice. In this intense text, Pagu exposes moments from her life as a testament to what led her to socialism.
Safra Macabra (1998)
A collection of detective stories that Patrícia Galvão wrote under the pseudonym King Shelter. The volume includes nine mystery stories, published from June to December 1944, in the magazine “Detective,” then edited by Nelson Rodrigues. The star of the narratives is Detective Cassira A. Ducrot, a police officer from the French Sûreté, but the stories are narrated in the first person by Shelter. One of the points that makes this work so interesting is that at the beginning, at the end, and in the middle of this collection, where the self intertwines, we do not know if we are readers or narrators.
Paixão Pagu (2005)
Originally a letter written by Pagu to her husband Geraldo Ferraz in late 1940, but now seen as an autobiographical text. These are confessional pages, with high emotional impact, in which she describes and reveals herself without disguises. She talked about her political activism and disappointment with Soviet communism, her love life, her marriage to Oswald de Andrade, her relationships with her parents and siblings, and her role as a mother.
Check out this short video about Pagu’s life:
Mary Wells Lawrence
Mary Georgene Berg, also known as Mary Wells Lawrence, was born in 1928 in Youngstown, Ohio, where she begane her career in advertising as a copywriter at a department store, McKelvey’s.
But, only in 1966, did Mary make history by becoming the first woman to open her own advertising agency, the Wells Rich Greene. In its first year, the agency had already earned $39 million. As the founder, CEO and the president of the agency, Mary earned $300,000 per year in the 1970´s. Besides that, her company became one of the 15 largest advertising agencies in the United States of America.
Mary and her team created the extremely famous “I Love New York” campaign to revamp the Big Apple’s image, encourage tourism, and help save the city from further decline. By bringing in talents like Frank Sinatra and Beverly Sills, they created memorable commercials showcasing all the reasons to love New York, such as Broadway. Her strategy was to make people feel emotionally connected – through feelings like love – as she demonstrated by using the heart symbol in the campaign.
Mary left the advertising world very different from how she found it. She revolutionized drug, automobile, airline and television advertising in general. She built a business from the ground up and turned it into a massive success. She shattered glass ceiling after glass ceiling and paved the way for women to succeed in a male-dominated industry.
The recognition of her work didn’t stop there. In 2020, she was honored at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. During her life, Mary published the book A Big Life of Advertising, in 2002, in which she criticized the sexist culture of the industry.
Chiquinha Gonzaga
Francisca Edwiges Neves Gonzaga was born in 1847 in Rio de Janeiro during the Second Reign. Raised as a young lady and prepared to become a court dame, she became known instead as Chiquinha Gonzaga, a talented musician who contributed not only to the genesis of Brazilian music but also for movement of women using music as their main communication channel, and laying the foundation for what would become a new language in Brazilian music.
As a woman of mixed race, she faced all the prejudices of the patriarchal and slave-holding society to establish herself as a pianist, composer, conductor, communicator and ultimately, a leader advocating for copyright rights. Her work is estimated to include over three hundred compositions, including scores for dozens of theatrical plays which allowed her to reach large audiences and amplify her message.
Chiquinha was the first woman to compose for the national theater. In 1889, she conducted a guitar concert, promoting musical instruments that were still stigmatized at the time.
It was this same audacity that contributed to her political activism side, participating in all the major social causes of her era, denouncing prejudice and social backwardness. As a fervent abolitionist, she began selling sheet music in the streets to raise funds for the Confederation of Liberation and to buy the liberty of José Flauta, an enslaved musician.
Her communication was not limited to melodies, it was also action and mobilization in the fight for human rights.
Chiquinha Gonzaga contributed to the nationalization of music in Brazil at a time when society mostly appreciated European music. She incorporated African rhythms and developed a uniquely Brazilian style of composition. Her music spoke to the people, and for that reason, her work was extremely important to lay the foundation for the first steps towards a new, distinctly Brazilian musical language.
The musicist was the first woman to succeed as a pianist and composer in Brazil, the first woman to conduct an orchestra in the country, the first female pianist of the Brazilian choro genre, and the composer of the first Carnival march, “ó Abre Alas”.
Beyond her musical achievements, Chiquinha Gonzaga must also be seen as a communicator. Through her compositions, performances, and activism, she used music as a powerful language to transmit messages of resistance, freedom, and cultural identity. In an era when women’s voices were silenced in public life, Chiquinha transformed melodies into speeches, rhythms into manifestos, and concerts into spaces of social dialogue. Her work proves that communication goes beyond words, it lives in art too.
Unfortunately, she suffered an abusive exploration of her work. In response to that, she funded, in 1917, the first copyright protection and collection society in the country: the Brazilian Society of Theatrical Authors (SBAT).
An unwavering defender of human rights, Chiquinha fought for her own freedom and helped to modernize the cultural landscape of Brazil at the time. As a communicator, she left behind not only music but also a legacy of resistance, and expression, that continues to echo through generations.
Ida B. Wells-barnett
Ida B. Wells-Barnett was born on July 16, 1862, in Holly Springs, Mississippi. She was born into slavery during the Civil War, a period defined by the fight to abolish slavery and debates over the citizenship rights of African Americans. In 1865, Wells-Barnett and her parents, Elizabeth Warrenton Wells and James Wells, were emancipated from slavery through the Emancipation Proclamation.
Ida’s journalism career began in Memphis. She became the editor of a local newspaper, The Evening Star, and a writer for The Living Way under the pen name “Lola.” Her editorials addressed the racial issues African Americans faced daily. Wells-Barnett’s writing earned her national recognition and the nicknames “Princess of the Press” and “The Brilliant Lola.”
Her writing took a pivotal turn in 1892, when her close friend Thomas Moss, and the owners of the Peoples´s Grocery Store in Memphis, were lynched. They all threatened the economic dominance of a local white grocer. Wells-Barnett investigated the incident and reported her findings in Free Speech, exposing inconsistencies in the official narrative and highlighting people´s racial prejudice. In response, a white mob set fire to the Free Speech office. Ida, who was visiting Oklahoma at the time, was forced to leave Memphis but remained firmly committed to anti-lynching activism.
Lynching became the focus of her research. She continued investigating cases across the eastern seaboard, traveling and writing about injustices along the way. In 1892, she published the pamphlet Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases, which described how lynch mobs formed and the common excuses white officials used to justify these acts. The following year, she was hired by The Chicago Inter-Ocean to investigate lynching in the American South. She went undercover and published her findings in the newspaper.
The journalist also proposed publishing a record that documented African American life after emancipation. She invited contributions from other interested individuals and raised the necessary funds to bring the project to life. The result was the pamphlet The Reason Why the Colored American Is Not in the World’s Columbian Exposition, that detailed the daily oppression African Americans faced and that was published in three languages. Wells-Barnett distributed the pamphlet at the Haitian government booth, where Frederick Douglass had been invited as a representative.
Wells-Barnett helped found several suffrage organizations for Black women, including the League of Colored Women, the National Association of Colored Women, and the Alpha Suffrage Club. All of them amplified the concerns of working-class women regarding race, gender, and class.
Wells-Barnett’s anti-lynching efforts culminated in 1895 with the publication of A Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynchings in the United States. In 100 pages, she provided a history and statistical record of lynchings in the United States. She urged readers to consider how they could contribute to the anti-lynching cause and pursue justice .The book brought years of research and journalism to the public, promoting awareness and the fight for racial equality.
By revisiting the journeys of these women, it becomes clear that communication would not be the same without the boldness and vision they brought to their fields. From journalism to advertising, and even through the arts, each one carved out space for new forms of expression, inspiring other women to step into the spotlight. More than historical figures, they are living examples that the female voice has the power to transform narratives and continue to shape the future of communication. I hope you feel inspired by these incredible women to do the same!
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The article above was edited by Maryanna Arison.
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