WOMEN WHISTLEBLOWERS - A forum for women who stand against inequality and fraud.

TOP 10 WOMEN WHISTLEBLOWERS

These courageous women whistleblowers went up against powerful people and institutions to expose corruption and the abuse of power. We selected them because of the far-reaching and positive impact they had on changing corporate behavior and public policy. They’re the brave ones who tell the truth in the face of adversity and, for that reason, … Read More

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Whistleblower Heidi Weber Fights for Education and Advocacy

By Lisa A. Goldstein

Heidi Weber challenged a for-profit school in a groundbreaking case that’s been described as David vs Goliath. The former dean turned whistleblower has been through a nightmarish experience, but has come out on the other side with no regrets and a fervent desire to educate and help others. After 15 years as a medical assistant, … Read More

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Fighting to fight: the women of the U.S. Forest Service continue a decades old battle against toxic masculinity

By Jill Laybourn

On the heels of the deadliest wildfire in California history and a #MeToo movement that continues to blaze through California and the nation, there is another battle that has been waged for decades, a battle that continues for the brave female United States Forestry Department firefighters and industry workers. These women are put in harm’s … Read More

Karen Silkwood, Nuclear Power Activist

By Lisa A. Goldstein

Karen Silkwood significantly changed the lives of workers in the nuclear power industry, but lost her life in the process. As one of the first women whistleblowers, she’s legendary. Born in Texas, Silkwood was the oldest of three daughters. In high school, she became interested in chemistry. She received a full college scholarship to study … Read More

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Body Cameras Don’t Lie: The Prosecutor Who Caught the Crooked Cop

By Lisa A. Goldstein

Christina Pumphrey was just doing her job when others weren’t doing theirs. Because of her, a corrupt cop in Jackson County, Florida, is no longer arresting innocent people and is off the streets. Now Pumphrey doesn’t have a job either and has filed a lawsuit against the state attorney’s office, but her moral compass has … Read More

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Marsha Coleman-Adebayo: Persistent Resistance in the 21st Century

By Lisa A. Goldstein

Green tongues, bleeding from every orifice, impotence, even deaths: These were some of the complaints South African miners working for an American company made in the mid-90s. When Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo visited as a representative of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and heard about these health issues, she naturally reported them to the agency and … Read More

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Retired Colonel Cynthia Chavez, American Whistleblower

By Jill Laybourn

Forced to retire or be fired were the choices given Colonel Cynthia Chavez. What did she do wrong? In the summer of June 2014, she did her due diligence and tried to do what she was hired to do—clean up the Veteran Administration Central Alabama Veterans Health Care system’s food and nutrition services; instead of … Read More

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Navajo Look for Solution to Their Tale of Two Cities

By Jill Laybourn

Horseherder, second from left, with grandmother and daughters. Credit: Sonia Narang/PRI. Dickens said, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” There are few truer or more timeless words written. While the economy is in recovery and unemployment numbers are at a record low, there are many people and places that … Read More

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Fired CIA contractor’s road to reinvention

By Jessica Copen

It’s been 12 years since Christine Axsmith was fired from her job as a BAE software contractor for the CIA, but she remembers every detail of that day as if it were yesterday. She can still feel the cold, frigid conference room and how scared she was during questioning by three security officers. Axsmith was … Read More

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Reality Winner: Why Her Arrest Is No Joke

By Lisa A. Goldstein

Her name is sadly ironic. Reality Winner, a 26-year-old former Air Force linguist, made the news when she leaked a report on Russian election hacking. Her prize? A sentence of 63 months in prison plus three years of supervised release. Who is Winner, other than being called the first victim of the Trump Administration’s “war … Read More

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