Peasants in the re-taken Somme District work in the fields, circa 1916- 1917, in this Library of Congress handout photo. For women 100 years ago, opportunities to work beyond the home and take part in political life were very limited. As the 20th century progressed, hard-won progress included gradually improved voting rights, while the upheaval of war pushed doors ajar as women worked as part of the war effort. U.S. Library of Congress archive photos show women's workplaces ranging from a flour mill in England to a coal mine in Belgium or Lincoln Motor Co.'s welding department in Detroit. International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8. (Photo by Reuters/Bain Collection/Library of Congress)
Young Christian Lebanese women, who are members of Kataeb Phalangist party, show their skill in handling arms while they train in a village between Christian-controlled eastern port of Jounieh and the Christian village of Zahle in the west Lebanon on September 9, 1976. The Lebanese civil war erupted in April 1975. (Photo by Erich Stering/AFP Photo)
Planned improvements to Rio’s favelas have meant increases in rent, forcing the poorest families into squatting in unoccupied buildings. Photographer Tariq Zaidi visits the Mangueira community favela, less than 1km from the showpiece Maracanã stadium, to see what life is like for the women living there. Here: Victoria, 12, at her home in Mangueira. (Photo by Tariq Zaidi/The Guardian)
Aleksandra Krunic, of Serbia, drops to the court after defeating Petra Kvitova, of the Czech Republic, during the third round of the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament, Saturday, August 30, 2014, in New York. (Photo by Kathy Willens/AP Photo)
These stunning color portraits, produced by the U.S. Office of War Information during World War II depict the role of women in the US war effort. All of the images were shot on 4x5 color transparency film by Howard R. Hollem and Alfred T. Palmer during 1942 and 1943 and were turned over to the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division in 1944. They are seen here with their original captions.
“On March 8th activists celebrate International Women’s Day, which dates back to the early 20th century and has been observed by the United Nations since 1975. In the run-up to the event, Reuters photographers in countries around the globe took a series of portraits of women and their daughters. They asked each mother what her profession was, at what age she had finished education, and what she wanted her daughter to become when she grew up. They also asked each daughter at what age she would finish education and what she wanted to do in the future. The series of images offers an insight into the lives of women and girls around the world”. – Reuters. (Photo by Feisal Omar/Reuters)
Three Burmese women members of a circus play cards as they wear the brass neck and leg rings traditionally worn by Padaung women since childhood and which cannot be removed, London, January 4, 1935. (Photo by Keystone). P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution.