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.

Jacque and Scottie

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

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

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

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Paris Sentinels

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Fingerpainting

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Paris Painter

Street Photo, Paris

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

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

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Look at Me and My Mussels!

San Francisco Metallic

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

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

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Street Photo, Paris

Amanda, Marin County, California

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

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Little Girl, Guatemala

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

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

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

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Red, Paris

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

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Woman Wearing Hijab

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Little Girl, Guatemala

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

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

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

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

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

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

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

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