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.

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Look at Me and My Mussels!

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Woman Wearing Hijab

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Paris Sentinels

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Red, Paris

Jacque and Scottie

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

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

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

San Francisco Metallic

Amanda, Marin County, California

Little Girl, Guatemala

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Street Photo, Paris

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

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

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

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

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

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

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

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

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Street Photo, Paris

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Fingerpainting

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

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

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

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

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

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

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

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

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Paris Painter

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

Little Girl, Guatemala

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

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

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. 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