Valentina Tereshkova: Conquering Space

On June 13, 1963, Valentina Tereshkova of the USSR became the first woman to fly in space on Vostok 6. Soviet leaders publicly espoused gender equity, but also sent Tereshkova on her mission in order to be the first country to send a woman to space, a milestone they reached before the U.S. did. Five Soviet women were in the initial group chosen to train as cosmonauts, but of the five, only Tereshkova would make it to space. The case explores why Tereshkova was selected from the group and her mission and subsequent career. It also discusses the successes of the women cosmonauts and astronauts in the Soviet and U.S. space programs decades later. By 2020, women remained a minority of space travelers, but the inclusion of both genders had become commonplace. Had women reached gender equity in space faster than on Earth?