As Marie suggested, the reason for radium's glow is due to the fact that, in it's pure form, it is over 2,000,000x more radioactive than natural uranium.
Because of the commercialization of radium after its discovery, the radium industry grew to unexpected proportions. As no one knew the true danger of radium, many died of radiation poisoning and other various radiation-caused afflictions. After the destructive tendencies of radium were discovered, its commercialization became a political issue. In courts, “radium girls,” who worked for the U.S. Radium Corporation to produce glowing paint, sued their company, beginning stricter labor reforms in the 1920s. After discovering and refining the extraction process of radium, Marie and Pierre Curie had to decide whether to patent it or not. Seen as a matter of morality, they decided to leave it unpatented in order to ease the advancement of scientific discovery. In doing so, the extraction and commercialization of radium for various purposes became widespread. Radium was sold in water, chocolate, and toothpaste to supposedly combat maladies ranging from arthritis to impotence. It was also sold in toys and cosmetics due to its alluring glow. The Later in life, the Curies may have regretted not patenting the extraction process as they fell into deeper economic troubles. At the time, they did not expect that the radium industry would grow so large.
A significant social issue of Marie Curie’s lifetime was women’s roles in the world. Even up until the 20th century, women had been traditionally viewed as inferior to men. Living in Imperialist Russia controlled Poland in her childhood, she faced even more sexism because of the way Russia was always behind when it came to modern ideas. Women were not encouraged to stand up for themselves, get educated, or have independent thought. During the span of Curie’s life, this traditional view was under continuous fire from feminist groups in the “First-wave” feminism period from 1809 to 1928. Being a woman, Curie’s achievements, such as being the first woman to win a Nobel Prize (and the first person to win two), had a notable influence on the acknowledgement of women’s importance in the scientific community. She laid the foundation for many women in future generations to become successful in their fields.