A look at some of the most influential women in America today
March is Women's History Month. But let's not just celebrate the past. Here are some women making history around the world today.
Freshmen women in Congress
The current Congress has made history, with a record 127 female members, or almost 25 percent of all seats. The numbers have been bolstered by high-profile freshmen in the House, such as 29-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (right), a Democrat from New York who has drawn wide attention for her liberal positions and outspoken presence online.
Danica Roem
Transgender politician Danica Roem was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2017. Roem became the first openly transgender person elected to office in her state.
Nancy Pelosi
Many were saying Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was too old and out of touch to lead the House, but they underestimated the seasoned Democrat. She's served in Congress since 1987 and is the only woman to ever be elected speaker of the House.
Stacey Abrams
Democratic Stacey Abrams lost the election for governor of Georgia in 2018. But she continues to be an advocate for voting rights. She delivered the rebuttal to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in February, where she said: “Let’s be clear: voter suppression is real. From making it harder to register and stay on the rolls to moving and closing polling places to rejecting lawful ballots, we can no longer ignore these threats to democracy.”
Women state attorneys general
Female attorneys general in several states are on the front lines enforcing state and federal laws. The following are current AGs:
Ellen Rosenblum, Oregon, Democrat
Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas, Republican
Maura Healey, Massachusetts, Democrat
Dana Nessel, Michigan, Democrat
Kathy Jennings, Delaware, Democrat
Ashley Moody, Florida, Republican
Joni Ernst
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst is the first female combat veteran to be elected to the U.S. Senate. She has been a reliable conservative vote in Congress and was a contender to be Donald Trump's running mate in 2016. She has also put a spotlight on sexual assault by recounting her own rape while she was in college.
Emma Gonzalez
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Emma Gonzalez has been a vocal advocate for gun control nationwide since surviving the massacre at her school in 2018.
Michelle Obama
Former first lady Michelle Obama may be out of the White House, but she continues to be a role model for women and girls around the world. Her recently published memoir, "Becoming," is a smashing success.
Shannon Watts
Shannon Watts is the founder of Moms Demand Action, a group that advocates for gun control. The mom of five children was inspired to get active after the Sandy Hook school massacre.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah is an institution. Her daily talk show has been off the air since 2011, but she continues to help guide the conversation in the United States. She recently led a painful, personal discussion of sex abuse. “Oprah Winfrey Presents: After Neverland” aired following the documentary "Leaving Neverland," which chronicled the charges against pop star Michael Jackson.
Aly Raisman and U.S. gymnasts
Aly Raisman, a two-time Olympian, is also a victim of sexual abuse from former team doctor Larry Nassar. She came forward and testified about the abuse she suffered. Her dramatic testimony helped send Nassar to prison.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been fighting for women's rights for decades. At age 85 Ginsburg stayed current with her Supreme Court duties from her hospital bed as she was fighting lung cancer. She has become an unlikely pop-culture hero with a documentary about her life and countless internet memes and T-shirts celebrating "the Notorious RBG."
Women running for president
U.S. Sens. Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Kirsten Gillibrand, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard are all running for president in 2020. This is the most female candidates for the highest office in the United States to date.
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton lost the election in 2016 but won the popular vote. She remains one of the most popular women ever to have been in our government and continues to battle on the forefront for women in her private life.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been a public face of the Trump White House for almost two years. She is just the third woman to ever be press secretary. Sanders has drawn a lot of criticism during her tenure, but she has also held her own in Trump's tumultuous administration.
Jennifer Doudna
Jennifer Doudna is an American biochemist at the University of California, Berkeley. She is known in the science world for her work on the "CRISPR revolution," which is considered one of the most significant discoveries in the history of biology.
Professor Maryam Mirzakhani
Professor Maryam Mirzakhani was a recipient in 2014 of the Fields Medal, a top honor in mathematics. She was the first woman in the prize’s 80-year history to earn the distinction and the first Iranian. The Fields Medal is awarded every four years to recognize outstanding mathematical achievement for existing work and for the promise of future achievement. In July 2017, Mirzakhani died of breast cancer at the age of 40.
'Period End of Sentence'
This documentary, which won an Oscar in 2019, chronicled the stigma surrounding menstruation in India. It started a long-overdue discussion for women around the world.
Marie Kondo
Organizing guru Marie Kondo either frustrates or frees her audiences. Thanks to her best-selling book and Netflix series, her KonMarie method of simplifying and organizing has become a sensation.
Sara Seager
Sara Seager is professor of planetary science and physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has been called an "astronomical Indiana Jones" for her research into planets beyond our own solar system.
Cecile Richards
Cecile Richards served as the president to Planned Parenthood from 2006-2018 and has been a constant voice for women's reproductive health.
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem speaks onstage during the 2018 Women's Media Awards at Capitale on November 1, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by
Dr. Jane Goodall
Gloria Steinem is best known as the spokesperson and public face of the 1960's feminist movement, and she was also a prominent journalist and political activist. Over the years Steinem has lent her voice to discussions surrounding elections and political commentary, genital mutilation, same-sex marriage and transgender rights.
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian singer, songwriter, actress and entrepreneur with her makeup and lingerie line, Fenty. She rose to popularity in early 2006. Rihanna also created the Believe Foundation to help terminally ill children and has been vocal about the awareness of AIDS and HIV.
Taylor Swift
Singer Taylor Swift broke onto the stage as a pop-country star at age 14. Her loyal fans have been able to grow with her as she transitioned from country to the pop phenomena she is today. Her brand of celebrity is personal: A large portion of her songs detail personal stories about her life and relationships.
Beyonce Knowles
Beyonce Knowles, Queen B, rose to fame in the 1990s with her super-group Destiny's Child. In 2006 after the breakup of the group, Beyonce went out on her own, with a solo career that has sold over 1 million records. She's a musician, a mother, actress and role-model.
Serena Williams
Serena Williams has been in the spotlight since the age of 14. She has won a record 23 Grand Slam titles and is one of the most dominant athletes of all time. And she's a mom: In April 2017, Williams announced that she was pregnant, which means she would have been roughly eight to nine weeks pregnant when she won the Australian Open that year.