According to a September 2026 Gallup poll, 49% of American women now have a favorable view of socialism. As a daughter of socialism escapees, I’m troubled by this growing trend. It must be reversed—and fast.
To swing American women away from socialism, including so-called Democratic Socialism, Independent Women’s Rosie 250 campaign is the perfect antidote. Rosie the Riveter isn’t merely a World War II wartime figure; Rosies are women who’ve strengthened America and made her freer. The Rosie 250 campaign has four pillars:
- Love of country
- A willingness to sacrifice.
- Freedom to choose her own path.
- Women and men stand together.
Women shouldn’t default to DSA members like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who advocate for socialist Green New Deal policies that raise energy costs and lower our standard of living. Instead, there are Rosies in energy and conservation who can inspire women to reconsider support for radical climate and environmental policies, and, by extension, democratic socialism, that encroach on our freedoms.
Trailblazing Conservation Rosies, Past and Present
Women have played an integral role in American conservation efforts, despite it being a male-dominated space. Here are some positive role models to emulate.
Paulina Brandreth
Paulina Brandreth (1885-1946) was a trailblazing outdoor writer, deer hunter, photographer, and naturalist. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) said of Paulina: “Before outdoor adventure was considered ‘proper’ for women, Paulina Brandreth was out there proving the skeptics wrong.” She was one of the first women printed in Forest and Stream (now Field & Stream Magazine) in 1894 at age nine. She used the male pseudonym “Paul Brandreth” for her book “Trails of Enchantment” and her Forest and Stream articles.
Frances Hamerstrom
Frances Hamerstrom (1907–1998) was a wildlife conservationist and the first woman to get a master’s degree in wildlife management. During her graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, she worked under famed conservationist Aldo Leopold. Along with her husband, Frederick, Fran is credited with helping to save the prairie chicken in the Badger State. She was also an accomplished falconer and prolific writer—publishing 100 works and wild-game recipes. She famously recommended using lard from bear fat to make pie crust.
Gale Norton
Gale Norton (1954-) is the first woman to lead the Department of the Interior (DOI). She served in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2006. She practiced cooperative conservation—a belief that business interests aren’t diametrically opposed to wildlife interests. Her environmental philosophy was guided by the four C’s: Consultation, Communication, and Cooperation—“all in the service of Conservation.”
Special Mention: Linda Leary
Earlier this year, IW Features profiled another conservation-minded Rosie: Linda Leary. Linda is a former transportation executive-turned-founder of Fishewear, a popular fly-fishing apparel and gear company catering to women. Fishewear’s eye-catching patterns have taken the fishing world by storm, with newer products receiving industry recognition at famed shows like ICAST.
“I want women to get outside,” Leary told IWFeatures. Like the aforementioned women, Linda believes energy production isn’t at odds with conservation. She is equally focused on conservation through involvement with the Alaska-based Kenai River Sportfishing Association.
Trailblazing Energy Rosies, Past and Present
Energy has, historically, been a male-dominated field. In the last century, however, women have greatly contributed to the field in science and the private sector.
Vicki Hollub
Vicki Hollub (1959-) is the first American woman to lead a major oil and gas company in the United States. She served as president and CEO of Occidental Petroleum Corporation until her retirement in June 2026. She spent over 40 years working in various roles at the company. Hollub famously said this in her 2019 Davos Summit speech: “Many people would like to see the end of fossil fuels. I’m not in that camp…”
Emma Summers
Emma Summers (1858-1941) is regarded as the first American woman to operate an oil and gas well. Originally a piano teacher, Summers moved to Los Angeles in 1893 to strike gold in the Southern California oil boom. Her first producing oil well was located near modern-day Dodger Stadium. Despite accruing a substantial debt, persistence eventually paid off for Summers by 1901. At the peak of her business, Summers had 14 operating wells that produced 50,000 barrels of oil each month. The San Francisco Call newspaper said of her achievements on July 21, 1901: “A woman with a genius for affairs – it may sound paradoxical, but the fact exists. If Mrs. Emma A. Summers were less than a genius she could not, as she does today, control the Los Angeles oil markets.” Due to this achievement, she was famously dubbed the Oil Queen of California.
Leona Woods
Leona Woods (1919–1986) was a trailblazer in the American nuclear energy industry. She was involved in Chicago Pile-1, the world’s first nuclear reactor, as the youngest and only woman involved in the project led by Enrico Fermi. The reactor came online on December 2, 1942. She was also heavily involved in the Manhattan Project, specifically in the development of plutonium reactors that later fueled the atomic bomb. Before her death in 1986, she authored over 200 scientific papers and several books.
Special Mention: Sarah Phillips
Petroleum engineer Sarah Phillips is a modern-day Rosie who can serve as a role model to young women. Sarah grew up in a college town and was initially skeptical about hydrocarbons (oil and gas). She credits interactions with oil and gas workers, who became her favorite patrons while bartending in college, for her change of heart. She credits oil and gas for saving her life when she gave birth to her daughter, Sunny, last year. Sarah travels around the country sharing her story, appearing on national TV, podcasts, and conferences. She’s releasing her first memoir, “Dirty Girl, Pretty Woman,” later this year.
Socialist Green New Deal Policies Don’t Empower Women
Socialism isn’t an empowering political system; it’s one that results in miserable outcomes, especially for women. Women aren’t able to start businesses, own property, or think freely under socialist regimes. They were even held responsible for the perceived crimes of their husbands or male family members. Like men, they were deported to faraway frozen tundras to serve harsh labor sentences for crimes they didn’t commit. Sadly, many never returned home and perished in gulags. Those who survived were equally scarred for life.
As for socialism’s environmental footprint, it’s equally destructive to clean air, water, and land conditions. If women care about the environment, they can’t support socialism.
Today, more than ever, America needs energy and conservation Rosies to help steer women away from socialist Green New Deal policies.