Simone de Beauvoir's 'The Second Sex' Launched Modern Feminism in 1949

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.

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.

Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace. She founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977, which mobilized poor rural women to plant trees, restore degraded land, and improve local livelihoods. Under her leadership, the movement planted over 51 million trees across Kenya. She was also the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctoral degree.