Today marks International Women’s Day! To commemorate, here is a gallery of some of the women I’ve photographed in various parts of the world over the last few years. Most are just going about their days, some are sculptural renditions, and their is one painting of a very special lady, indeed. Whatever they are doing, wherever they are, they sparkle both individually, and as a colorful, beautiful mosaic.

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Beautiful Vietnamese Women (and a Couple of American Ones, Too!) Hanoi, Vietnam

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Red, Paris

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Skeletons and Lace, Cour d’Honneur, Palais Royal, Paris

Fingerpainting

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Woman Wearing Hijab

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Street Photo, Paris

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Paris Sentinels

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Concern on a Second Grade Teacher’s Face. Aquarium of the Pacific Field Trip, Long Beach, California

Shy. On the Bus to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Long Beach, California

An American Woman Reading on Board a Junk in Halong Bay, Vietnam

Praying Madonna, Picture Over my Bed, The Convent of Suore Elisabetta dell’Olmata, Rome, Italy

Skeletons and Lace, Cour d’Honneur, Palais Royal, Paris

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Jacque and Scottie

Amanda, Marin County, California

“That Seal is So Big!” Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Wonder at the Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California

Street Photo, Paris

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Paris Painter

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Little Girl, Guatemala

Golden Curls and a Smile. Matt Davis Trail, Marin County, California

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

Native American Princess, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

“I’m Flying!” Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Lynne and Ashley, Mother and Daughter, Marin County, CA

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

San Francisco Metallic

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Little Girl, Guatemala

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Taken individually, each is cause for celebration in her own right. When considered as symbolic of all of us women, the collage forms a pleasing and consistent whole.

For International Women’s Day 2016, Google travelled around the world and asked women to complete the phrase #OneDayIWill. Here are some great responses from London:

#OneDayIWill visit the North and the South Poles and every country in between!

#OneDayIWill fly!!! This latter dream I posted on Twitter and Google responded! Here’s the Twitter conversation:

@renate_flynn Fly on! #OneDayIWill pic.twitter.com/BOVujuBTdC

— Google (@google) March 9, 2016

“I’m Flying!” Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach, California