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Rosa Cummingham
"Rosa
Cunningham made a difference in all of our lives. She was a woman of
courage
with strongly-held convictions and a highly principled commitment
to equality.”
—Dr. Sue Follon,
1994
Rosa
Cunningham, an outstanding achiever in the military and a leader
in the Women's movement, served almost nine years as an enlisted
woman and officer in the Women's Army Corps during World War
II and remains active in several veterans’ organizations.
Cunningham has been a leading spokeswoman for women since her
involvement during the 1930s in the fight against so-called protective
labor legislation for female workers that outlawed night work
and placed “Mother” restrictions on Women's employment.
Also in the 1930s, she swayed the National Federation of Business
and Professional Women to endorse the Equal Rights Amendment,
making it the first large, national group to do so. Cunningham
was appointed to the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women in
1978. She lives in Des Moines. Cunningham was inducted into
the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1980.
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