Empowered Women Change The World
Empowered Women Change the World. This message is more than our March theme: it is the mantra of our collective YWCA movement. Since 1858, we have dedicated our mission to empowering women. From offering childcare centers to emergency shelters to job training programs, we have been – and continue to be – a community of support, empowering millions of women as they, in turn, empower their families, communities, and the world.
This Women’s History Month, we are celebrating and uplifting international women, everyday “sheroes”, and the women wearing invisible capes who are making contributions to history, culture, and society as well as holding our families and communities together during Covid-19, from taking on virtual schooling to working on the front lines of the pandemic response
Follow along on social media and engage with us as we celebrate the achievements of empowered women changing the world.
#WomensHistoryMonth #WomensHerstoryMonth #EmpoweredWomenEmpowerWomen #IWD2021
International Women
-
Loujain al-Hathloul (Saudi Arabia), Women’s rights activist who fought for women’s right to drive
Chantawipa Apisuk (Thailand), Sex work activist and Founder of EMPOWER
Isatou Ceesay (Gambia), Activist, social entrepreneur, “Queen of Recycling” and initiator of the One Plastic Bag movement.
Olivia Cotes-James (Hong Kong), Women’s advocate, Founder and CEO of LUÜNA Naturals
Josefa Llanes Escoda (Philippines), Civic leader, social worker, Filipino advocate of women’s suffrage, and Founder of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines.
Marielle Franco (Brazil), Politician, feminist, human rights advocate, and environmental activist
Leymah Gbowee (Liberia), Peace activist, social worker, women’s rights advocate, and Nobel Peace laureate
Sophia Huang Xueqin (China), Women’s rights activist and champion of the #MeToo movement in China
Frida Kahlo (Mexico), Artist, activist, women’s and LGBTQA+ rights advocate
Naomi Klein (Canada), Journalist, author, and activist
Saara Kuugongelwa (Namibia), Prime Minister of Namibia
Christine Lagarde (France), President of the European Central Bank
Cho Nam Joo (South Korea), Gender equity activist, TV script writer, and author
Wangari Maathai (Kenya), Scholar, professor, environmental activist, and first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Meghan Markle (England), Actress and Duchess of Sussex
Momoko Nojo (Japan), Student activist, women’s rights advocate, and Founder of NO YOUTH NO JAPAN
Wai Nu (Myanmar), Activist, human rights advocate, founder and executive director of the Women’s Peace Network in Burma
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Nigerian), Economist, international development expert, and first African and first woman to serve as Director General of the World Trade Organization.
Caster Semenya (South Africa), Athlete, middle-distance runner, and Olympic hold medalist
Greta Thunberg (Swedan), Environmental activist and organizer of the Fridays for Future: School Climate Strike Movement.
Malala Yousafzi (Pakistan), Activist, female education advocate, and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate.
Chloé Zhao (China), Film director, screenwriter, and producer
Everyday Sheroes
-
Gaye Adams-Massey, CEO of YWCA St. Paul
Laurel Berryman, Racial & Gender Equity Program Coordinator at YWCA Southeastern Massachusetts
Stacie Blake, CEO of YWCA Lancaster
Barbara Brothers, Board Member of YWCA Mahoning Valley
Linda Cavaioli, Executive Director of YWCA Central Massachusetts
Maria Elena Chavez, Staff Member of YWCA Greater Los Angeles
Adrienne Cochrane, CEO of YWCA Hartford
Liz Dineen, Executive Director of YWCA Western Massachusetts
Sharmen Gowens, CEO of YWCA Atlanta
Sandra Gonzalez, Child Care Provider at YWCA Metropolitan Chicago
Maria Imperial, CEO of YWCA White Plains & Central Westchester
Velva Jenkins, CEO of YWCA Lower Cape Fear
Suzy Johnson, CFO of YWCA of Asheville
Charisse Mitchell, CEO of YWCA West Central Michigan
Margaret Mitchell, CEO of YWCA Greater Cleveland
Dianna Payton, CEO of YWCA Greater Baton Rouge
Kristen Pine, Executive Director of YWCA South Hampton Roads
Erin Prochnow, CEO of YWCA Cass Clay
Francesca Rattray, CEO of YWCA San Antonio
Sharon Roberson, CEO of YWCA Nashville & Middle TN
Kim Siciliano, Executive Director of YWCA North Eastern New York
Kirsten Sikkelee, CEO of YWCA Central Carolinas
Stacie Torrez, Director for Youth Services at YWCA Northeast Kansas
Wendy Waters-Connell, CEO of YWCA Hamilton
Stacey Woodland, CEO of YWCA Tri-County Area
-
Simone Biles, American Gymnast
Misty Copeland, American Dancer
Billie Jean King, Tennis Player
Michelle Kwan, American Figure Skater
Nancy Lopez, American Golfer
Shirley Muldowney, American Auto Racer
Megan Rapinoe, American Soccer Player
Wilma Rudloph, American Track and Field Sprinter
Patt Summitt, Women’s Basketball Coach
Serena Williams, Tennis Player
-
Susan B. Anthony, Women’s rights activist, suffragette, and abolitionist
Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator, stateswoman, philanthropist, womanist, and civil rights activist
Tarana Burke, Women’s rights activist and founder of the #MeToo movement
Patrisse Cullors, Artist, activist, and co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement
Shariana Ferrer, LGBTQA+ and feminist activist, scholar, organizer, and co-founder of La Colectiva Feminista en Construcción
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Transgender rights activist, community leader, and Stonewall Rebellion veteran.
Bell Hooks, Author, professor, feminist, and social activist.
Dorothy Height, Civil rights and women’s rights activist.
Yuri Kochiyama, Civil rights activist and internment camp survivor.
Coretta Scott King, Author, civil rights leader, and activist.
Winona LaDuke, Environmentalist, economist, writer, and activist.
Grace Lee Boggs, American author, social activist, philosopher, and feminist
Karen Nussbaum, Labor leader and founding Director of Working America
Gloria Steinem, Feminist journalist, activist, and spokeswoman for the American feminist movement
Sylvia Rivera, Latinx Stonewall activist and Founder of the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR)
Eleanor Roosevelt, Diplomat, activist, and the longest serving First Lady of the United States
Sojourner Truth, Abolitionist, and women’s rights activist
Raquel Willis, Award-winning writer, activist, and director of communications for Ms. Foundation
-
Margaret Cho
Priyanka Chopra
Laverne Cox
Viola Davis
Ava DuVernay
Tracee Ellis Ross
America Ferrera
Jane Fonda
Angelina Jolie
Mindy Kaling
Alicia Keys
Beyonce Knowles Carter
Eva Longoria
Janet Mock
Angelica Ross
Yara Shahidi
Megan Thee Stallion
Meryl Streep
Cicely Tyson
Gabrielle Union
Kerry Washington
-
Dorothea Lange, Documentary photographer and photojournalist
Zarina Hashmi, Artist, printmaker, and sculptor
Julie Mehretu, Contemporary visual artist, painter, and printer
Georgia O’Keeffe, Artist, painter, and Mother of American modernism
Faith Ringgold, Painter, writer, mixed media sculptor, performance artist, and quilter
Amy Sherald, Painter and portraitist
Kara Walker, Contemporary painter, silhouettist, print-maker, installation artist, filmmaker, and professor.
-
Ana Corrales, COO for Google’s Consumer Hardwar Business
Abigail Johnson, President and CEO of Fidelity
Ana Corrales, COO for Google’s Consumer Hardwar Business
Barbara Corcoran, Real Estate Mogul
Bea Dixon, CEO and Founder of The Honey Pot Company
Bessie Coleman, First African American and Native American woman to hold a pilot license
Mary Kay Ash, Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics
Janice Bryant Howroyd, CEO of Act One
Tory Burch, Founder of Tory Burch and Tory Burch Foundation
Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle
Ester Choo, Founder of Time’s Up Healthcare
Melinda Gates, Co-Founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and former GM at Microsoft
Ariana Huffington, Founder of the Huffington Post and CEO of Thrive Global
Sheila Johnson, Co-Founder of BET and CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts
Lesa Kennedy, Chairperson of Board of Directors of NASCAR
Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and Co-founder of Ellevest
Marianne Markowitz, CEO of First Women’s Bank
Marjorie Merriweather Post, Philanthropist and former Owner of General Foods, Inc
Kim Ng, MLB Executive, Senior VP of Operations
Indra Nooyi, Former CEO of PepsiCo
Maria Rios, CEO of Nation Waste, Inc.
Michele Roberts, Executive Director, NBA Players Association
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and Author of Leanin.org
Mackenzie Scott, Novelist and philanthropist
Madam C.J. Walker, First African America woman to become a self-made millionaire
Lettie Pate Whitehead, First woman to serve on board of directors of a major corporation (Coca-Cola)
Oprah Winfrey, Chairwoman and CEO of Harpo Production and Chairwoman, CEO, and CCO of Oprah Winfrey Network
-
Aisha Bowe, Aerospace engineer, founder, and CEO of STEMBoard
Kimberly Bryant, Founder of Black Girls Code and former engineer
Kalpana Chawla, First Indian-bord woman in space
Ruby Hirose, Biochemisty and Bacteriologist, researched blood clotting and Thrombin, allergies, and researched cancer using anitimetabolites
Ayanna Howard, Roboticist, entrepreneur, educator, and the Chair of the School of Interactive Computing in the Georgia Tech College of Computing
Katherine Johnson, completed the NASA calculations necessary for several space missions including the 1969 moon landing and served as a human computer for Langley Research Center
Henrietta Leavitt, American astronomer, measured and cataloged the brightness of stars
Swati Mohan, NASA aerospace engineer
Deena Pierott, Diversity & equity strategist, Founder and Executive Director of iUrban Teen Program, and a founding member of Black Women in STEM 2.0
Mayly Sanchez, Particle Physicist
-
Madeleine Albright, Politician, diplomat, first female US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, Politician, diplomat, lawyer, writer, and public speaker
Shirley Chisholm, Politician, educator, author, and first black women elected to US Congress.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
Kamala Harris, Politician, attorney, and first female, African American, and Asian American Vice President
Amy Klobuchar, Lawyer and politician
Mia Love, Political commentator, politician, and former U.S. Representative
Loretta Lynch, Lawyer and former U.S. Attorney General
Patsy Matsu Takemoto Mink, Attorney and politician from Hawaii. first Japanese American and woman of color to serve in the House of Representatives.
Susana Martinez, Politician, attorney, first female Governor of New Mexico, and first Latina female governor.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Politician and US Representative
Ayana Pressley, Politician, and US Representative
Condoleezza Rice, Diplomat, political scientist, civil servant, professor, and former US Secretary of State
Sonia Sotomayor, First Latina Supreme Court Justice
Janet Yellen, Economist and first woman U.S. Treasury Secretary
Women who wear invisible capes
-
Malika Andrews, Women’s and civil rights advocate, ESPN’s only Black woman NBA reporter
Amiya Alexander, Dancer, entrepreneur, and Founder of Mobile Dance Academy
Soona Amhaz, Investor and Founder of Volt Capital
Talia Bender, Woman’s advocate and President of The Female Quotient
Ruby Chitsey, Founded Three Wishes for Ruby’s Residents
Mari Copeny “Little Miss Flint”, Clean water activists and the youngest Youth Ambassador at the Women’s March on Washington.
Kayla and Keonna Davis, Entrepreneurs, and youngest Black women in the U.S. to own a beauty supply store
Mo’ne Davis, Athlete, baseball hall of famer, ESPY’s Best Breakthrough Athlete recipient, and the first girl to pitch a shutout in Little League Baseball World Series.
Marley Dias, Activist, literary advocate, writer, and Founder of the #1000BlackGirlBooks Campaign.
Journe Jamison, Lead instructor and creator of Health Justice Heroes.
Jazz Jennings, Youtuber, spokesmodel, television personality, LGBT rights activist.
Melissa Khasbagan, Global literacy advocate and Founder of 1000 Books Campaign.
Bella Lack, Environmental and endangered species activist, climate strike organizer
Asia Newson, Entrepreneur and CEO of Super Business Girl
Maya Penn, Eco-designer, entrepreneur, activist, Ted Talk speaker, and founder of Maya’s Ideas 4 the Planet.
Kheris Rogers, Anti-Bullying advocate and Founder of Flexin’ My Complexion
Madison Star and Mallory Iyana, Entrepreneurs and Founders of Angels & Tomboys.
Daisia Taylor, Scientist and researcher creating surgical sutures that change color to let patients know if a wound is infected.
Zoe Terry, Anti-Bullying advocate, Founder and CEO of Zoe’s Dolls non-profit.
Hannah Testa, Anti-pollution and corporate sustainability activist, Founder of Hannah4Change
Mikaila Ulmer, Chief Executive of Me & The Bees Lemonade
Kahlila Williams, Civic engagement activist
Irene Yoo, Founder of the Las Vegas Arts, Music, & Education Orchestra
Women’s History Month Playlist
Tune in as we set the vibe and celebrate Empowered Women Changing the World! Don’t forget to share on your social media #YWCAPlaylist