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.

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Fingerpainting

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

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

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

Look at Me and My Mussels!

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

Little Girl, Guatemala

Paris Painter

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Street Photo, Paris

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

Woman Wearing Hijab

San Francisco Metallic

Paris Sentinels

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

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

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

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

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

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

A Kiss for Baby Brother, Marin County, California

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

Red, Paris

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

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

Little Girl, Guatemala

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, Vietnam

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

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Amanda, Marin County, California

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

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

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

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

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

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

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

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

Jacque and Scottie

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

Street Photo, Paris

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