Women have made significant improvement toward gender equality throughout the decades. Many technological breakthroughs and improvements have transformed the way women live and work. Women are fantastic, but did you know they developed some of the household machines we use every day? These labour-saving equipments took over arduous jobs, releasing women from housework.

Let's honour female achievements on this International Women's Day by highlighting household appliances you didn't realise were invented by women.

1. The Dishwasher

The days of nonstop washing are long gone. The powerful dishwasher was made possible by Josephine Cochrane, and it has helped many families save time and energy while freeing up space for things that really matter. Cochrane's dishwasher was the first to use water pressure to clean rather than scrubbers to remove dirt, even though numerous other inventors had previously presented prior concepts for dishwashing machines. Modern dishwashers even include built-in sensors that can measure the load weight and temperature for the best dish care.

2. The Refrigerator

Can you imagine having no other means of food cooling but an ice box? That's how things were before to Florence Parpart's invention of the electric refrigerator, thus In 1914, Florence had the brilliant insight of cooling food more effectively using electricity. Her invention of a patented refrigerator attachment increased cooling effectiveness by using an electric water circulation mechanism to keep the refrigerator cold.

3. The Ice-cream Maker

Nancy Johnson invented a double-cylinder hand-crank ice cream maker before refrigerators were ever thought of. The machine could make two different ice cream flavours that could be frozen simultaneously yet independently. It was granted a patent in 1843 and became a standard mechanism for many years.

4. The Iron Board

Sarah Boone worked as a dressmaker in Connecticut. Sarah had to figure up a method to distinguish her outfits from the competitors because of the stiff rivalry she faced in her field. A precisely curved ironing board served as her answer. Dressmakers used to iron clothing on a wooden plank positioned between two seats before this development. This technique worked well for bigger things but failed miserably when trying to iron sleeves, curves, and tailored clothing.

Sarah came up with a thinner, more curved board that could go into sleeves and move clothes without wrinkling them. Also, her design had cushioning to prevent the imprints left by a wooden board and was folding for simple storage.

Can you imagine the life without these household appliances? Don't forget to thank every woman you know on International Women's Day and in the days that follow.