Jeopardy: Women's Trivia!

Women in pop-culture

100

Who is the most streamed female artist on Spotify?

Billie Eilish

200

Which female singer currently holds the record for the most number-one songs in the 43-year history of the Billboard chart?

Madonna

300

In the 92 years that the Academy Awards have been running, how many women have won the Oscar for best director? 

One. In the Academy Awards' 92-year history, only five women have ever been nominated for Best Director, and only one — Kathryn Bigelow — has ever won. 

400

Who made history in 2017 by becoming the first black actor to win an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony?

Viola Davis

500

According to Forbes, the top 10 highest-paid actresses earn approximately how many cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts?

Less than 30 cents for every dollar. 

In 2018, the top ten highest-earning actresses earned a combined $186 million last year.  The top ten men earned $748.5 million.  That means the women earned about 24.8 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts.

Women in sports

100

Who was the first woman to score a goal in a men's professional hockey league?

Hayley Wickenheiser. In 2002–03, Wickenheiser played in a Finnish men's professional hockey league, scoring two goals and nine assists for HC Salamat

200

Who is the female leading goal scorer in international football (soccer) history?

Christine Sinclair. Sinclair of Canada is currently the active player (among both women and men) with the most goals in international football with 186 goals. She also holds the highest record of all time.

300

Simone Biles is the gymnast with the most World medals and most World gold medals. How many of each does she have?

25 World medals and 19 World gold medals. This makes Biles the World Championships' most decorated Gymnast with her 25 career world championship medals being the most among men and women.

400

Who was the first Canadian athlete to win four Olympic medals at a single summer Games?

Penny Oleksiak. The 16-year-old had a record-setting Olympic debut at Rio 2016 by becoming the first Canadian athlete to win four medals at a single summer Games. Those four medals also tied her with Victor Davis as Canada's most decorated Olympic swimmer of all-time.

500

What female tennis player was a serious advocate for equal pay at Wimbledon, and successfully went on to become the first women’s champion to get equal prize money?

Venus Williams. It was not until 2007 that the women’s champion at Wimbledon received the same amount of payment as the men’s champion. Williams herself became the first woman to benefit from this, as she won the 2007 tournament and was awarded the same amount as the men's champion, Roger Federer.

Women trailblazers

100

In 2019, who became the youngest TIME Person of the Year, at the age of 16, for her environmental activism?

Greta Thunberg. The 16-year-old Swedish schoolgirl who inspired a global movement to fight climate change, was named Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2019, making her the youngest TIME Person of the Year.

200

Who is the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize?

Malala Yousafzai. In October 2014, Malala was named a Nobel Peace Prize winner. At age 17, she became the youngest person to receive this prize, for her struggle against the suppression of children and young people and her fight for girls' right to education.

300

9 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, this woman refused to give up her seat in a Canadian movie theater. Who is she? (hint: she is featured on the Canadian $10.00 bill)

Viola Desmond. She was a Canadian civil rights activist and businesswoman of Black Nova Scotian descent. In 1946 she challenged racial segregation at a cinema in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia by refusing to leave a whites-only area of the Roseland Theatre.

400

What female scientist made a key contribution to the discovery of the structure of DNA (which won the 1962 Nobel prize) but received no credit at the time?

Rosalind Franklin. Her image of DNA was shown to Watson and Crick without her permission, allowing them to solve the structure of DNA for which they won the 1962 Nobel prize for. Franklin received no credit until well after her death, which is thought to be due to the sexism in science at the time.

500

In 2020, what scientific discovery made history by receiving the first science Nobel prize ever won by two women?

CRISPR genome editing. Two scientists have been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the tools to edit DNA. Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna are the first two women to share the prize, which honours their work on the technology of genome editing.

Women in history

100

In what year was the first woman elected to the Canadian House of Commons?

1921. Despite resistance to the nomination of a female candidate, Macphail triumphed in the 1921 federal general election to become the first woman ever elected to the House of Commons.

200

What country has been named the most feminist country in the world, and has been listed number one on the World Economic Forum gender pay gap index since 2009?

Iceland. For 11 consecutive years the Nordic nation has been the frontrunner in the index, which benchmarks countries according to how close they are to reaching gender equality.

300

Of the 565 people who have travelled to space, how many have been women?

65. There have been one each from France, Italy, South Korea, and the United Kingdom; two each from Canada (Julie Payette & Roberta Bondar), China, and Japan; four from the Soviet Union/Russia; 50 from the United States.

400

When was the first International Women’s Day observed?

1911. Following the second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, Denmark, International Women’s Day was proposed as a celebration and an opportunity to press for demands. Since 1914, it has regularly been observed annually on March 8th.

500

What was the first Canadian university to accept female students?

Mount Allison University. Located in Sackville, New Brunswick, Mount Allison began accepting female students in 1872. It awarded the first Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees to Canadian women in 1875 and 1882, respectively. 

Facts about gender inequality

100

According to the WHO, 1 in how many women have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lifetime?

1 in 3. Global estimates published by WHO indicate that about 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. Most of this violence is intimate partner violence. 

200

Approximately every ___ seconds a girl under 18 married.

2 seconds. Nearly every 2 seconds a girl under 18 is married. That is approximately 1 in 5 girls globally. Child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) is a human rights violation and a harmful practice that disproportionately affects women and girls globally, preventing them from living their lives free from all forms of violence. 

300

According to Plan Canada, an estimated how many million girls around the world are not in school?

130 million. Every child has the right to an education, yet an estimated 130 million girls around the world are not in school, and those who are, struggle to remain in the classroom – where they belong. Schooling is a process of empowerment, and it can provide the route out of poverty, inequality, and violence when delivered properly.

400

What is the leading cause of death for 15-19 year old girls globally?

Complications during pregnancy and childbirth (maternal conditions). Complications during pregnancy and childbirth put the lives of adolescent girls at risk, as well as their babies. Getting pregnant while still very young, which is encouraged by child marriage, increases the risk of premature labour, complications during childbirth, and death of newborns.

500

According to Plan Canada, for every extra year a girl stays in school, her income can increase by what percentage?

11%. When girls are educated, they have the knowledge, skills and opportunities to create a better, brighter future for themselves and everyone around them.