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.

Female Horse Rider, Hyde Park, London

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

Guatemalan Women, Kateri Tekakwitha Scholarship Recipients (except Jacque)

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

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

Lori Nelson, An American in Paris

Woman with Flat Basket and Conical Hat. Hanoi, Vietnam

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

Umbrellas at the Eiffel Tower

Guatemalan Woman, Chimaltenango

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Fingerpainting

Red, Paris

Female Sculpture, Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy

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

Jacque – Ready to Explore Antigua, Guatmala

Along the Via Sacra, Rome

Young Ladies, Chimaltenango, Guatemala

Paris Painter

Vietnamese Nursing Instructors Learning Teaching Methods. Hanoi, Vietnam

Jacque and Scottie

Sunrise, Tikal National Park, Guatemala

Profile View of the Offering Bearer

San Francisco Metallic

Vietnamese Musician. Hanoi, Vietnam

Little Girl, Guatemala

Little Girl, Guatemala

Colorful Textile Seller, Panajachel, Guatemala

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

Kristine and Sadie Enjoying the Beach, Stinson Beach, California

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

Laughing Friends. Vietnamese Coffee, Hanoi, 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

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

Sunset Walk Along the Seine, Paris

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

Look at Me and My Mussels!

A Walk Near Muir Woods National Park, California

In the home of a Guatemalan woman

Guatemalan Women (Except for Jacque)

Aphrodite, Known as Venus de Milo, Louvre

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

Amanda, Marin County, California

Paris Sentinels

Classy Ladies in the Rain, Paris

A Little Salsa In the Streets of Antigua

Barrel Racer, Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, Oregon

Modern Monochrome Stained Glass Madonna. Vatican City

Jacque – Shuttle to Antigua, Guatemala

Woman Wearing Hijab

Penguin interactions at the California Academy of Sciences

Ishtar: Goddess of Love, War, Fertility, Sex

Reading On the Metro, Paris

Toddler Twins, San Francisco Bay Area

Tree Hug Near Muir Woods National Park, California

Street Photo, Paris

Street Photo, Paris

Female Statue, Jardin des Tuileries, Paris

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

The Offering Bearer, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Young Female Loom Artist, Antigua, Guatemala

Grandmother’s Pearls, Marin County, California

A Kiss for Baby Brother, 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