A Tour of Her Own: The Business of Women’s History

Angela Rakis
Mar 10
4 min read

The future of women’s history is collaboration.

A Tour of Her Own: The Business of Women’s History. Guest blog written by Kaitlin Calogera, founder of A Tour of Her Own.

Through entrepreneurship, I learned that women’s history is valuable and those who share it are invaluable. It’s why I founded my business A Tour Of Her Own in 2018 as the first tourism company in Washington, D.C. dedicated to sharing women's history. Through this venture, I’ve been able to innovate career growth for myself and other tour guides while also supporting the work of partner organizations in the education and travel industries. I am an advocate for bridging small businesses with historical organizations. Here is my journey on how I got here, why women’s history tours matter, and how we can move forward together during a time when this work is very fragile.

Three years prior to launching A Tour Of Her Own, I was leading standard tours to the iconic DC sites like the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, and Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. My job was to execute the itineraries given to me by other companies I worked for, but everywhere I looked, women’s history was nowhere to be found. So I set out to not only find it, but center it during tourism experiences. So I built a team, developed tours, and ran some major events. I accidentally started a business, so I went ahead and made it a formal LLC! You see, tour guides are primarily independent contractors and freelancers, so professionalizing and protecting the work is essential. I’d encourage others in the gig economy to do the same.

Over the last eight years, my team has both uncovered women’s history on walking, driving, and virtual tours as well as in our book, 111 Places in Women’s History That You Must Not Miss, which is launching it’s third edition this summer.

Why is this work needed? Let’s take a look at these statistics:

In Washington, DC, there are only 3 statues of American women on outdoor public land.
In the Capitol Building, there are only 15 women represented out of 100 statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection.
In the Capitol Building, only 4 of 30 rooms are named for women.
At Arlington National Cemetery, there is only 1 woman recognized among 34 “notable graves” in the official brochure.
At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, there have only been 7 female Sentinels out of nearly 600 to serve in the role.
Out of 40 monuments on the National Mall, there is only Eleanor Roosevelt and the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, both which exist within the context of another person or event.

Progress is imminent as we now have Congressional approval for the additions of two major sites: the Women’s Suffrage National Monument and a Smithsonian Women’s History Museum. These are extraordinary accomplishments but now we wait for their completion which hopefully isn’t as long as we waited 72 years for the right to vote. In the meantime, A Tour Of Her Own is here to share women’s history across the city by foot, bus, and through virtual tours.

The future of women’s history is collaboration. Some of our most promising partnerships have come in the form of co-hosting virtual tours with libraries, advocacy groups, or corporate leaders. It’s why I love guest blogging like this for partners like Favorite Daughter! It’s given us opportunities to be accessible to folks with different expertise from business to hospitality and beyond. In DC, we’ve gone beyond “history” to make sure we craft experiences that highlight feminist culture across the city from theater performances to sports games. It’s my belief that women’s history is everywhere, and as the public education landscape begins to shift, I welcome and encourage us to look toward small businesses outside the classroom to help explore women’s history, culture, and civics in the nation’s capital and in our local neighborhoods.

Kaitlin Calogera is a professional tour guide, published author, and small tour operator based in Washington, DC. She is the founder of A Tour Of Her Own, launched in 2018 as the first tourism company in the nation’s capital to focus exclusively on women’s history. After recognizing a lack of women’s representation on tour itineraries and at historic sites, Kaitlin shifted her career to serve as a bridge between women's history and the tourism industry. Her book, 111 Places in Women's History That You Must Not Miss, is a city guidebook that encourages readers to explore sites and stories about women. Kaitlin is a champion for the city of Washington, DC, and its culture, working tirelessly to use tours, history, and places as a way to help interpret current events to both local and global audiences. Building on her background in coaching female student-athletes, Kaitlin now mentors and trains tour guides as they grow their careers. Her leadership emphasizes individual growth, community building, and work-life balance. Kaitlin's framework for a social justice approach to tourism centers both mindfulness and intention, which welcomes everyone to participate.

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