This app buzzes when you’re near where a woman made history

Thanks to a new collaboration between Google and SPARK, a women’s organization by and for women ages 13-22, it’s now a little easier to follow in the footsteps of the world’s greatest women. By adding a new feature to Google’s existing Field Trip app, your phone will now send you notifications any time you’re near a spot where a woman did something of historical significance. And even more exciting — you can contribute your own female heroes!

The group effort comes as part of teamwork between Google and SPARK that began when the women’s equality organization reached out over the pretty severe lack of women honored in Google Doodles (only 17% at the time.) Not only did Google agree to improve this imbalance, they also asked SPARK to help them research for the Field Trip through a project called Women on the Map. The rest, quite literally, was women’s history!

How do you get this nifty feminist perspective? After downloading the Field Trip app, make sure to switch on the option for “history.” It’s so easy! Heck, you could probably do it to all your friends’ phones if they’re in need of some extra enlightenment. They’ll thank you.

The 100 women featured so far cover all points of the globe and a variety of heroic achievements. Current buzzes include Lyme, England, where 12 year old Mary Anning discovered one of the first major dinosaur skeletons and became the mother of paleontology. In Santiago, Chile, you’ll get information on the Arpillaristas, a group of political protesters who described their trials under the brutal Pinochet through woven tapestries.

While a hundred women is great, a thousand would be even better, and here’s where you come in. You can add your own heroes with just a little research; SPARK is looking for new submissions of 150-300 words about famous women of the past (they cannot be currently living) along with specific locations where they did their great deeds. Send these bundles of heroism to sparktea[email protected], and you could be a contributor to improving the state of women’s history.

If you’re wondering whether women need more representation in history, SPARK and the Equal Visibility Everywhere also have some important stats to share:

• No national holidays in the US are named for women.
• Postage stamps honoring famous individuals are less than 25% women.
• In New York City, there are 150 public statues of people; 145 are men.

Among our many resolutions this New Year’s, let’s help Google, SPARK, and other equality organizations smash those statistics by changing our culture, aided by apps like this one! Check out the vid below for more important info on the Women on the Map project!

(Image via iStock.)