Greta Thunberg 

For being the 16-year-old who began the school strike for the climate and became a global environmental activist. 

Alyssa Milano

This Charmed actress brought with her the wave of #MeToo by asking people to just use the phrase if they have been sexually harassed. This was the movement that lead to the firing of Harvey Weinstein, one of the world’s biggest media moguels. 

Rose McGowan 

For revealing what a predator Harvey Weinstein was and revealing that he had given her a settlement in 1997. 

Michelle Obama

For simply being the best first lady America has had and for her extensive activism towards promoting healthy eating in the country. 

Malala Yousafzai

For surviving an assassination by the Taliban at the age of 15 to becoming a symbol for global education with her slogan “I am Malala.”

Emma Watson

This real-life Hermoine Granger became the UN Women Goodwill ambassador in 2014 and began the iconic feminist movement, HeForShe. 

Julia Gillard

She was the 27th Prime Minister of Australia and the first and only woman to hold that position till date. 

Phoebe Waller-Bridge 

For creating shows like Fleabag and Killing Eve and being the first female writer to work on a Bond movie. She redefined female leads and won the British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance, as well as 3 Emmy Awards for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, and Outstanding Comedy Series.

Megan Rapinoe 

She is the captain of the United States women’s national soccer team and was named the 2019 Best FIFA Women’s Player. 

Laverne Cox 

With Orange Is the New Black she became the first openly transgender woman to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. 

Christina Koch and Jessica Meir

In 2019, these two became the first women to participate in an all-female spacewalk.

Seema Rao 

Also known as India’s Wonder Woman, she is India’s first woman commando trainer who has trained the Special Forces of India for 18 years. 

Katie Bouman 

This 29-year-old computer scientist led the development of an algorithm for imaging black holes which lead to the world witnessing the first direct image of a black hole.  

Rocket Women Of India 

Ritu Karidhal and M. Vanitha will hold the positions of Project Director and Mission Director respectively in the Chandrayaan-2 mission making it the first inter-planetary mission headed by two women. 

Nadia Murad

She was taken prisoner by Islamic State in Iraq in 2014. After being beaten, burned with cigarettes, and raped, she escaped her captor towards the end of 2014 and became the voice of those who went through the same. In 2018, she was given the Nobel Peace Prize for her “efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict,” specially in Iraq. 

Gurmehar Kaur

She began the ‘Save DU campaign’ after the February 2017 clashes at Ramjas College in Delhi between members of the All India Students Federation (AISF) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. She was also a part of Time Magazine’s list of “10 Next Generation Leaders.”

Arunima Sinha 

After she was pushed from a running train by some robbers in 2011, she went on to become the first female amputee to climb Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro (South Africa), Mount Elbrus (Russia), Mount Kosciusko (Australia), Mount Aconcagua (South America), Carstensz Pyramid (Indonesia) and Mount Vinson.

Aruna Reddy 

This 24-year-old made history by becoming the first Indian gymnast to win a medal at the Gymnastics World Cup 

Mary Kom 

This six-time world champion is the first Indian woman boxer to win a gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She has also been named the best woman athlete in Asia by the Asian Sportswriters Union (AIPS Asia).

Hima Das 

She was nicknamed the Dhing Express, when she became the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in a track event at the IAAF World U20 Championships. 

Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju 

This legendary couple fought to decriminalise Section 377 and make gay sex legal. They fought the case in the Supreme Court and won, proving that #LoveIsLove.

Anjali Lama  

She became the first Nepali transgender model to walk down the ramp at the Lakme Fashion Week in February 2017.

Bhawana Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh

These three became the first female fighter pilots of India and were inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron in June 2016.

Navika Sagar Parikrama 

These six members formed the first all-women team to circumnavigate the globe on INSV Tarini by Indian Navy’s Women Naval Officers. It included Lt Cdr Vartika Joshi, also the skipper, Lt Cdr Pratibha Jamwal, Lt Cdr Aishwarya Boddapati, Lt Cdr P Swathi, Lt Shourgrakpam Vijaya Devi and Lt Payal Gupta. 

Jacinda Ardern

This Prime Minister of New Zeland became the world’s youngest female head of government, after taking office at the age of 37. Later, she became the world’s second elected head of government to give birth while in office when her daughter was born on 21 June, 2018. 

Angela Merkel 

This Time Magazine Person of the Year 2015 and chancellor of Germany is known for her leadership when faced with the refugee crisis and turmoil in the European Union over its currency. 

Serena Williams

She wore a catsuit and a tutu on the court and won the Australian Open final while eight weeks pregnant. 

Gita Gopinath 

This first woman Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman  the highest honor for a person of Indian origin by the President of India

Indu Malhotra  

In the last 70 years, Indu Malhotra is the seventh female judge of India’s Supreme Court.

Shelly-Ann Broke 

At the speed of lightning, she is the only woman to win a World Championships title after becoming a mother. Shelly broke Usain Bolt’s record for the number of gold medals in the world championships. 

Taylor Swift 

She donated $100,000 to its legal defense fund for the Time’s Up movement in 2018 and was named Billboard’s Woman of the Decade. 

More power to you!