Helene Lange

[1] Through her determination, she rose above the trials of her early life, including the loss of her parents, to become a leading voice for women's access to higher education and professional careers, particularly in teaching.

In 1890, she founded the Allgemeiner Deutscher Lehrerinnenverein a general association of German female teachers, which was a network that fought for women educators to improve their working conditions and have more access to leading positions in the field.

[5] When she was young, Helene Lange and her pursuits for gaining a higher education experienced challenges: German universities were practically closed to women.

[9] This became a powerful document that stated that reform within girls' education needed more intensive academic curricula and female teachers who were professionally trained.

[14] Her work helped to professionalize women in education through slow and sure steps, gave them new career opportunities, and supported a model of academic excellence for girls' schools.

[15] Lange's concern for political change also led her to join as one of the founding members the Bund Deutscher Frauenvereine, or Federation of German Women's Associations.

While she was more moderate compared to some of her contemporaries, Lange approached things in such a strategic way that she chose gradual change to get broader acceptance of her ideas within German society.