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

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

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Fingerpainting

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

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Paris Sentinels

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

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

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Look at Me and My Mussels!

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

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

San Francisco Metallic

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Paris Painter

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

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

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Little Girl, Guatemala

Red, Paris

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

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

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

Little Girl, Guatemala

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

Street Photo, Paris

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

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Street Photo, Paris

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

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

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Woman Wearing Hijab

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

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

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

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

Amanda, Marin County, California

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