Ten Women Who Are Changing the World Today

At one not-so-long-ago time in our history, the women who made a difference in our world would rarely be acknowledged. Those who attained cultural-touchstone status were rare compared to men, even though there was parity in numbers and influence. Marie Curie, Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Thatcher, Amelia Earhart, and Rosa Parks come to mind, but it has always been the men who’ve hogged the histories of nations and the world.

Today we’re much more conscious of the accomplishments of women, contemporary and historical, many of whom are definitely world-changers. They come from all walks of life and are involved in varied careers. I thought it would be good to highlight ten of today’s women who are changing the world. You probably haven’t heard of most of them, but that’s the point of this blog. These are the women you should know about.

This list isn’t in any order of importance, as their accomplishments are in different fields, so I’ve put them in alphabetical order by last name. Also, this list could have been the 100 Women Who Are Changing the World Today, but for the sake of time I’ve only included ten, so please don’t read anything into my choices or omissions.

Mary T. Barra

Breaking barriers is nothing new to Mary Barra. Born the day before Christmas in 1961, she began working at General Motors in 1980 as an 18-year-old co-op student. In 2014, she became the first woman to lead a major auto maker after being named CEO and chair of General Motors, and last year, she made history again as the first-ever female chair of the Business Roundtable, a nonprofit association comprised of the country’s top CEOs.

Her impact has been far reaching. The Business Roundtable redefined the purpose of a corporation in 2019, with 181 CEOs signing a commitment to lead their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders and not just shareholders. And while Barra has taken the helm of one of the nation’s most powerful trade groups, she hasn’t stopped driving progress at GM. Already one of the top three companies in the world for gender equality, Barra is steering GM toward tackling another global problem: climate change. GM recently announced that it is committing approximately $7 billion to electric car and battery production, with plans to deliver around 400,000 electric vehicles in the U.S. between now and 2023. This could be a game-changer for the entire world, helping to slow and eventually stop the malignant effects of climate change.

Kathryn Bigelow

Hollywood power has almost always been wielded by men. While some women have achieved some level of leadership and independence, it is still a rare occurrence. Then came Kathryn Bigelow.

The first and only female Academy Award-Winning Director in Hollywood to date, Kathryn Bigelow has made history. Her Academy Award-winning film, The Hurtlocker, is one of many of her successes, which include Zero Dark Thirty, Point Break, and Blue Steel, plus cult classics such as Near Dark.

She is a leading luminary in showbiz and one of the most influential women in the entertainment industry today. Her early successes in film writing and direction have paved the way for a new generation of women film auteurs.

Elizabeth Helen Blackburn

Blackburn was born on November 26, 1948. She’s an Australian-American biological researcher who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009, the first Australian women Nobel Laureate. This was for her co-discovery, with Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak, of telomerase, an enzyme able to repair and protect the telomeres of a chromosome. She is also the former president of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

Today Blackburn works from the University of California San Francisco researching telomeres and telomerase in organisms from yeast to human cells. Her lab focuses on telomere maintenance, and how this has an impact on cellular aging. Many chronic diseases have been associated with the improper maintenance of these telomeres, thereby effecting cellular division, cycling, and impaired growth.

Karren Brady

If you’re a fan of the streaming series, “Ted Lasso,” you’ll be familiar with the character who owns the English Premier League soccer team, AFC Richmond, Rebecca Welton. Though not the owner, Karren Brady has been the Managing Director of the Birmingham City team since 1993. Known as the First Lady of Football, she achieved this singular honor at the age of 23, the first woman to hold a post such as this in the world of English soccer.

Brady encountered a massive amount of sexism during her time in the role, something she often discusses at her speaking events. Although she left the team in 2009, the next year she was appointed vice-chair of West Ham United.

A strong campaigner for women in business, Brady encourages women to pursue a business career. She’s a regular writer for Women & Home magazine and The Sun. She’s also published four books. She has certainly changed sports and women’s place in them, especially in men’s English soccer.

Linda Cruse

Leadership expert, international frontline humanitarian, speaker and author, Linda Cruse has spent the last two decades living among people in the most distressed places on earth, from the snowy Himalayas to the deserts of the Sahara and in the aftermath of tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and typhoons. She’s worked with survivors in refugee camps and war zones, has escaped from a rebel army, been held at gunpoint, caught in a landslide, survived severe hypothermia, and even sutured her own face. How’s that for a resume?

Sir Richard Branson once said of her, “Linda Cruse makes the impossible, possible”. More than 20 years ago, a traumatic experience dramatically changed her direction, led her to reassess her life, and sell everything she owns. To this day she has few material possessions, only the contents of a single suitcase.

Linda has dedicated her life to facilitate business leaders and students worldwide to find creative and sustainable economic solutions that have the power to lift communities from the grip of poverty and from the depths of disaster. She’s a humanitarian of the first order. Linda’s work has inspired people from presidents and ambassadors to students, politicians, admirals, and CEOs worldwide to become a force for good.

Jane Goodall

Well, now DAME Jane Morris Goodall. She was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in an Investiture held at Buckingham Palace in 2004. She is the world’s first chimpanzee expert and is a leading primatologist, with awards that include a United Nations Messenger in Peace award and a Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science.

The founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, she is revered for her study of wild chimpanzees at the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. Goodall has worked tirelessly to create awareness of various environmental and animal welfare issues, with the future of the environment and the world’s animal species at the top of her agenda. Jane also founded the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Centre and the Lake Tanganyika Catchment Reforestation and Education project.

Her research has continually made its mark in a number of fields, challenging beliefs such as only humans can construct tools and that chimpanzees were vegetarian. She is also widely known for observing the animals use of aggression and violence.

Michelle Obama

An American lawyer and writer, Michelle Obam became a source of inspiration to millions in the U.S. when she became the first African American First Lady of the United States during Barack Obama’s eight-year presidential reign beginning in 2009. Her impact was felt so strongly that she has become a role model for women across the globe, and a leading advocate for health, wellbeing, and education.

Born in 1964, she was one of the youngest First Ladies. But since her husband, Barack, left the White House, she has inspired women across the glove. Obama's memoir, Becoming, was released in November 2018. By November 2019, it had sold 11.5 million copies. A documentary titled Becoming, which chronicles Obama's book tour promoting the memoir, was released on Netflix on May 6, 2020. In July 2020, she premiered a podcast titled The Michelle Obama Podcast. In February 2021, Obama was announced as an executive producer and presenter on a children's cooking show, Waffles + Mochi. It was released by Netflix on March 16, 2021.

Michelle Obama will likely be an influential figure for many years to come.

Emily Penn

Emily Penn, the founder of her marine science company eXXpedition, uses an all-female crew of scientists, journalists, and activists to research the causes and solutions to ocean pollution. This allows women pursuing STEM a chance in the professional scientific fields, as it is a challenging occupation of interest to be noticed as a woman.

During the 2020 pandemic year, Penn launched SHiFT, an online platform to help people find ways to reduce plastic dependence and combat pollution in their own homes. She is the creator of the SHiFT Method, which is designed to help people find their role in solving the world’s most pressing issues.

Penn also founded eXXpedition in 2014, its mission to help people understand the true ocean plastic and toxic pollution problem, so they can use their skills to solve it from sea to source.

She has many ongoing projects, including a Discovery Channel film about pregnancy and pollutants.

Lexis Serot

Lexis Serot is creating meaningful change for people with disabilities. Celebrated as a 2021 Fast Company World Changing Ideas honoree, she is connecting families, individuals with disabilities, and support organization through her company, LittleWins.com. It helps support organizations across the country donate, buy, or sell used durable medical equipment and supplies. LittleWins is a first-of-its-kind and desperately needed platform where members can share advice, tips, and support.

Serot has also been named a 2021 Healthcare Visionary by the International Forum on Advancements in Healthcare (IFAH). As a single mother of four, including a daughter who has cerebral palsy, Serot understands the struggles so many people with disabilities have got the equipment and support they deserve. She created LittleWins to make their lives better.

Through LittleWins’ Facebook and Instagram pages, blog posts, podcasts, and email updates, Serot tirelessly advocates for the community of individuals with disabilities and fights for their seat at the table in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.

Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate the world has ever seen. Born in July 1997, this courageous young woman overcame an assassination attempt by the Taliban in occupied Pakistan at the age of fifteen. She then went on to campaign for women’s rights and children’s rights to an education.

Passionately advocating for human rights, Malala’s mission has accelerated into a global movement. She has become of the most prominent citizens in Pakistan, becoming the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

After the horrific attack on her on the 9th of October 2012, Malala recovered at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and has since been able to complete higher education at the University of Oxford, graduating in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. Recognized as one of the 150 Most Influential Female Leaders in the UK, Malala once again made headlines in 2014 when she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for Struggles Against Suppression and Rights for Children’s Education.

She is also the co-founder of the Malala Fund, as well as the co-author of “I Am Malala”, a book that documents her story and makes her case for the importance of advocacy for education.

Inspired?

I am. And who knows, any of you reading this may also find inspiration to make a difference and be a world-changing human. Find your passion and follow it, as have the above ten women.

Paul GravetteAugust 14, 2022