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Publication prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland presenting stories of 20 Outstanding Polish Women who have made a mark on the world through their work, as well as those who have had the heart and courage to change the world for the better.

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Publikacja przygotowana przez Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych RP zawierająca 20 historii wybitnych Polek, które przyczyniły się do rozwoju cywilizacyjnego świata, a także tych, które swoją dobrocią i odwagą zmieniały świat na lepsze.

Authors / Autorki : Magdalena Majewska, Aleksandra Michalak, Maria Ślebioda

An outstanding prose writer and essayist. Winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature and the 2018 Man Booker International Prize for the novel Flights. A lover of nature, animals, and people.

Physicist and chemist. The world’s first and only woman to win the Nobel Prize twice, as well as the only scientist honored in two different fields of the natural sciences.

A prizewinning artist recognised by Berlin’s Der Bazar magazine as one of Europe’s 12 best women painters.

A distinguished surgical pioneer who performed the first full-face transplant in the United States.

A legendary figure of “Solidarity”—the socio-political movement that initiated the fall of communism in Europe. Time magazine called her one of the 100 women who defined the 20th century.

The first woman to sail around the world solo. Sailor, traveller, and naval architect. Often referred to as “first lady of the oceans”.

A social activist who saved Jewish children during World War II, recognized by Yad Vashem as one of the Righteous Among the Nations.

The ninth woman in the world and the first from Poland to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The inventor of new literary genres based on humour, irony, and the grotesque.

Polish women were among Europe’s first to gain electoral rights. They came from various backgrounds and differed in education, experience, and political views, but shared one goal—to win equal rights for women and end their banishment to the margins of public life.