Firsts for women: A 2020 roundup
2020 was full of firsts for women
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. VICE-PRESIDENT ELECT, KAMALA HARRIS, SAYING:"But while I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last. Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities."
Location: Wilmington, Delaware
Date: November 7, 2020
Kamala Harris made history as
the first woman,
the first Black American
and the first Asian American
to become vice-president elect
(SOUNDBITE) (English) BIDEN'S RUNNING MATE, U.S. SENATOR, KAMALA HARRIS, SAYING:"We did it. We did it, Joe.’’
Jane Fraser was named as Citigroup’s next CEO
making her the first woman to lead a major Wall Street bank
Date: September 10, 2020
Senegal got its first female professional surfer
(SOUNDBITE) (French) KHADJOU SAMBE, FIRST AND ONLY PROFESSIONAL FEMALE SURFER IN SENEGAL SAYING:"What I say to the young girls who start surfing is that I always advise them not to listen to other people (who try and stop them because they are girls) to block their ears, concentrate, go straight ahead, focus on their training, not listen to others because I went through this myself with people talking and I stopped surfing, which is why I started surfing a bit late.''
Location: Dakar, Senegal
Date: August 27, 2020
Faiza Heidar became the first woman
to coach one of Egypt’s men’s pro-soccer teams
Location: Giza, Egypt
Date: October 26, 2020
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SOCCER COACH, FAIZA HAIDER, SAYING:"At the beginning it was honestly hard, because boys aren't used to having a girl coach them. There is usually some mockery at the beginning, with some not
interested in the idea. They think that because a woman is training them, then they don't have to take it seriously, they make fun of it. But then they realize that they will learn something, that they will develop their skills.''
Katie Sowers became the first female
and first openly gay coach in Super Bowl history
Location: Santa Clara, California
Date: January 24, 2020
Saudi Arabia's male-dominated sport of falconry
saw its first ever female competitor
Location: Riyadh, Saudia Arabia
Date: December 8, 2020
And it was lift off for the world’s first female jet suit pilot
Location: London, England
Date: March 5, 2020
(SOUNDBITE) (English) LEIGH COATES, FEMALE GRAVITY JET SUIT PILOT SAYING:"If you want to become a jetsuit pilot or if you want to do anything that's slightly in the non-female world all you have to do is believe that you can do it. And you have to take the steps to get there.’’
