History professor Bridget Buxton was nominated and elected a member of the International Society of Women Geographers (SWG). The Society was founded in the 1930s because at the time, the famous New York “Explorer’s Club” would not allow female members. Over the years, SWG members have included Amelia Earhart, Margaret Mead, and Mary Leakey.

The SWG has a society flag that is voted on and sent on an expedition every year. The website issues that “the flag is carried on expeditions of such unusual character that their successful accomplishment adds real distinction to the Society and makes a permanent contribution to the world’s store of geographical knowledge; or the bearer is engaged in work of a professional, geographic, or scientific nature that is new, original, or represents a “first” in at least one sense.”

Buxton’s archeological expedition to the outer Chagos archipelago in the Central Indian Ocean was voted to carry the SWG flag. The expedition will take place in November 2022. Buxton had been previously asked by the “Explorer’s Club” to take their own flag to the Chagos expedition, saying that despite their past, they do give money, “especially to women.” Buxton declined, claiming she was “proud to be an angry feminist explorer.”

For more information of the SWG, find their website here.