Rosalind Franklin's X-Ray Work Was Critical to Discovering the DNA Double Helix

Wu Zetian (624–705 AD) is the only woman in Chinese history to assume the title of Empress Regnant, ruling China in her own name from 690 to 705. She rose from court concubine to empress consort under Emperor Taizong, then effectively ruled through her husband Emperor Gaozong, and finally seized power outright. Under her reign, Tang China expanded its territory, and she reformed the civil service examination to favor talent over aristocratic birth, recruiting brilliant officials regardless of background.

In 1949, French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir published 'The Second Sex' (Le Deuxième Sexe), a landmark work of feminist philosophy that argued women are not born inferior but are made so by society. Her famous opening phrase — 'One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman' — challenged the idea that femininity is natural or inevitable. The book sold 22,000 copies in its first week, was banned by the Vatican, and became a foundational text of second-wave feminism worldwide.

Katherine Johnson, an African American mathematician at NASA, computed the orbital mechanics for multiple critical missions including the first American crewed spaceflight (Alan Shepard, 1961), John Glenn's orbital mission (1962), and the Apollo 11 Moon landing (1969). Glenn famously refused to fly unless Johnson personally verified the computer's trajectory calculations. She worked at NASA for 33 years and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. Her story was told in the film Hidden Figures (2016).

Despite comprising roughly half the world's population, women account for approximately 70% of those living in extreme poverty (under $2.15/day). This disparity stems from multiple interconnected causes: unequal access to education and land ownership, discriminatory inheritance laws, higher rates of unpaid care work, and exclusion from financial services. The COVID-19 pandemic set back women's economic progress by years, pushing millions back into poverty.