Gallery of Pioneer Women
Female Pioneers in the Graz City Hall!

Women have long had to fight for access and visibility in the workplace, academia, culture, politics, sports and many other areas of social life. In Graz, too, there have been and still are women who have courageously paved the way and thus opened up new perspectives.

Against the backdrop of women’s history in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Graz Pioneer Women Gallery focuses on inspiring personalities – women who changed traditional role models and had a lasting impact on fields previously dominated by men.
It makes visible how much has already been achieved – and encourages us to help shape the future as the pioneers of tomorrow.

The Pioneer Women Gallery is framed by an introductory text and a timeline that highlights key milestones in the history of women in Austria. It marks the steps that have contributed significantly to the emancipation of women – such as the founding of the General Austrian Women’s Association in 1893, the opening of Austrian universities to women (1897), the introduction of women’s suffrage (1918) and the decriminalisation of abortion (1975). The timeline extends to the present day and provides space to address current developments and supplement them with new data.

Instead of focusing solely on women who are already considered successful, influential or publicly visible, the Pioneer Women Gallery deliberately opens up space for a broader spectrum of women’s journeys through life. In addition to the well-known role models, it also pays tribute to those female pioneers who worked behind the scenes. The Pioneer Women Gallery thus tells not only the story of celebrated winners, but also of the resistant, quiet and often overlooked figures who have had a lasting impact on our society.

A young audience has also been considered: There are short texts about the pioneer women, written in a child-friendly way that relates to the children’s everyday lives and sparks their curiosity.