A
Special Project
WOMEN WHO ARE CHANGING THE WORLD

Videos by Spencer Bakalar and Diane Tsai

Photographs by Luisa Dörr

‘She broke the glass ceiling.’

What a jagged image we use for women who achieve greatly, defining accomplishment in terms of the barrier rather than the triumph. There she is up where the air is thin, where men still outnumber women, but where the altitude is awesome. Our goal with Firsts, which we will continue to update as new barriers are broken, is for every woman and girl to find someone whose presence in the highest reaches of success says to her that it is safe to climb, come on up, the view is spectacular.View Full List

The Satirist

Samantha Bee

First woman to host a late-night satire show

The Satirist

Parker Day for TIME

The Portraitist

Amy Sherald

First black woman to paint an official First Lady portrait

The Portraitist

Jody Rogac for TIME

The CEO

Beth Ford

First openly gay woman to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company

The CEO

Simone Lueck for TIME

The Playwright

Young Jean Lee

First Asian-American woman to write a play produced on Broadway

The Playwright

June Canedo for TIME

The Skier

Lindsey Vonn

First American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in downhill skiing

The Skier

Kendrick Brinson for TIME

The Trader

Stacey Cunningham

First woman to become president of the New York Stock Exchange

The Trader

Adrienne Grunwald for TIME

The Writer

Lena Waithe

First black woman to win an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

The Writer

Heather Sten for TIME

The Model

Halima Aden

First hijab-wearing fashion model to walk international runway shows

The Model

Dafy Hagai for TIME

The Lawmaker

Danica Roem

First openly transgender woman to be elected to and seated in a U.S. state legislature

The Lawmaker

Susan Worsham for TIME

The Restaurateur

Dominique Crenn

First woman to receive two Michelin stars in the U.S. and, as of November 2018, the first woman to receive three Michelin stars in the U.S.

The Restaurateur

Molly Matalon for TIME

The Cadet

Simone Askew

First black woman to lead the Corps of Cadets at West Point

The Cadet

Molly Matalon for TIME

The Cinematographer

Rachel Morrison

First woman to be nominated for an Oscar in Cinematography

The Cinematographer

Joyce Kim for TIME

The Nominee

Hillary Rodham Clinton

First woman to win a major party’s nomination for President

The Nominee

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Titan

Oprah Winfrey

First woman to own and produce her own talk show

The Titan

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Tastemaker

Selena Gomez

First person to reach 100 million followers on Instagram

The Tastemaker

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Pro

Serena Williams

First tennis player to win 23 Grand Slam singles titles in the open era

The Pro

Luisa Dörr for TIME

‘There is plenty of room in the world for mediocre men, but there is no room for mediocre women.’

Madeleine Albright

The Diplomat

Madeleine Albright

First woman to become U.S. Secretary of State

The Diplomat

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Setbacks

15 women on sexism and double standards

The Auteur

Issa Rae

First black woman to create and star in a premium cable series

The Auteur

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Leader

Nikki Haley

First Indian-American woman to be elected governor

The Leader

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Actor

Rita Moreno

First Latina to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony

The Actor

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Singer

Aretha Franklin

First woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Singer

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Mogul

Sheryl Sandberg

First woman to become a social-media billionaire

The Mogul

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Commander

Lori Robinson

First woman to lead a top-tier U.S. Combat Command

The Commander

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Showrunner

Shonda Rhimes

First woman to create three hit shows with more than 100 episodes each

The Showrunner

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Chef

Alice Waters

First woman to win the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef

The Chef

The Driver

Danica Patrick

First woman to lead in the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500

The Driver

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Animator

Jennifer Yuh Nelson

First woman to solo-direct a major Hollywood animated feature

The Animator

Luisa Dörr for TIME

‘I said to my dad, “This doesn’t look like the America you promised.”’

Ilhan Omar

The Legislator

Ilhan Omar

First Somali-American Muslim person to become a legislator and, as of November 2018, the first Somali American elected to the U.S. Congress

The Legislator

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Motivations

14 women on how they stay inspired

The Senator

Mazie Hirono

First Asian-American woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate

The Senator

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Artist

Cindy Sherman

First woman to break $1 million in a photography sale

The Artist

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Pitcher

Mo'ne Davis

First girl to pitch a shutout and win a game in a Little League World Series

The Pitcher

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Boss

Mary Barra

First woman to become CEO of a major car company

The Boss

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Journalist

Barbara Walters

First woman to co-anchor a network evening news program

The Journalist

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Speaker

Nancy Pelosi

First woman to become Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

The Speaker

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Astronaut

Mae Jemison

First woman of color in space

The Astronaut

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Lawyer

Loretta Lynch

First black woman to become U.S. Attorney General

The Lawyer

Luisa Dörr for TIME

‘I’m bolstered by folks who create their own ceilings.’

Ava DuVernay

The Director

Ava DuVernay

First black woman to direct a film nominated for a Best Picture Oscar

The Director

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Families

8 women on the balancing act

‘The women, we were aqua-babes, aqua-chicks, aqua-naughties. But we didn’t care what they called us, as long as we had a chance to go.’

Sylvia Earle

The Oceanographer

Sylvia Earle

First woman to become chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Oceanographer

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Executive

Ursula Burns

First black woman to run a Fortune 500 company

The Executive

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Comedian

Ellen DeGeneres

First person to star as an openly gay character on prime-time TV

The Comedian

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Bishop

Katharine Jefferts Schori

First woman to be elected presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church

The Bishop

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The General

Ann Dunwoody

First woman to rise to four-star general in the U.S. military

The General

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Scientist

Elizabeth Blackburn

First woman to become president of the Salk Institute

The Scientist

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Philanthropist

Melinda Gates

First woman to give away more than $40 billion

The Philanthropist

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Inventor

Patricia Bath

First person to invent and demonstrate laserphaco cataract surgery

The Inventor

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Pilot

Eileen Collins

First woman to command a space shuttle

The Pilot

Luisa Dörr for TIME

‘Being the first always creates a pressure that you don’t want to be the last.’

Rachel Maddow

The Anchor

Rachel Maddow

First openly gay anchor to host a prime-time news program

The Anchor

Photograph by Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Histories

19 women on the people who shaped them

‘Raising hackles means you’re not being ignored; you’re pushing the conversation forward.’

Rita Dove

The Poet

Rita Dove

First black U.S. poet laureate

The Poet

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Adviser

Kellyanne Conway

First woman to run a winning presidential campaign

The Adviser

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Gymnast

Gabby Douglas

First American gymnast to win solo and team all-around gold medals at one Olympics

The Gymnast

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Chair

Janet Yellen

First woman to chair the Federal Reserve

The Chair

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Sculptor

Maya Lin

First woman to design a memorial on the National Mall

The Sculptor

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Engineer

Geisha Williams

First Latina CEO of a Fortune 500 company

The Engineer

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Entrepreneur

Michelle Phan

First woman to build a $500 million company from a web series

The Entrepreneur

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Coach

Kathryn Smith

First woman to become a full-time coach in the NFL

The Coach

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Librarian

Carla Hayden

First woman and first African American to be Librarian of Congress

The Librarian

Luisa Dörr for TIME

‘It was like I could breathe for the first time in my life.’

Candis Cayne

The Performer

Candis Cayne

First transgender woman with a major role on prime-time TV

The Performer

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Ceiling

12 women on shattering the glass

‘The notion that women might menstruate in orbit drove the whole place up the wall.’

Kathryn Sullivan

The Explorer

Kathryn Sullivan

First American woman to walk in space

The Explorer

Luisa Dörr for TIME

The Senator

Mazie Hirono

First Asian-American woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate

Interview

‘The Senate needs a lot more diversity, and I bring quadruple diversity.’

I am the only immigrant serving in the U.S. Senate right now. I was almost 8 when my mother bravely brought her children to this country so we could have a chance at a better life. She figured out early on that she didn’t have a traditional daughter. She never once asked me when I was going to get married or when I was going to have children. Not once. Why should she expect those things from me when her marriage was disastrous? She wanted me to live my own life, and she was supportive of every strange thing I did.

I got involved in the political arena in college, protesting the Vietnam War, and became friends with some of the activists at the University of Hawaii. We got together and said, “It is not enough for us to march and hold signs; we need to have seats at the table.” Which meant that we wanted to prepare ourselves for public service. It was mainly the guys in the group who thought about running for office. I decided I needed more education. I went off to law school so that I could have more credentials.

Women feel we need to be much better prepared, that we need to have a lot of experience behind us before we run for office. When I first ran for office in 1980, there weren’t that many women running for office. I had already run other people’s campaigns, all men.

Having women and minorities makes for a fuller discussion, which leads to better decisionmaking. When I was first running for this Senate seat, in 2012, at one of the big gatherings, I said, “The Senate needs a lot more diversity, and I bring quadruple diversity to the Senate. One, I’m a woman. Two, I am Asian. I would be the first Asian woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Three, I am an immigrant. And four, I am the only Buddhist serving here.” Somebody in the crowd yelled, “Yeah, but are you gay?” And I said, “Nobody’s perfect.”

There were five Democratic women running for open seats in our respective states. We would campaign together—Tammy Baldwin, Heidi Heitkamp, Elizabeth Warren and Shelley Berkley. The dynamic, the visual of all these women … It really hit people at our events that this is a powerful gathering of women who could work together.

Women are problem solvers. The women of the Senate get together on a regular basis. When the government shutdown happened, you probably saw the story of Susan Collins and others who worked hard to end that impasse. I think it’s because women are not as ego-involved in terms of how to get things done. None of us is namby-pamby. We have different approaches, but I believe that women are very effective in what we do and in our ability to keep the lines of communication open.

There are seven women now on the Senate Armed Services Committee—more than ever in the history of that committee. It’s a very macho committee. I believe that all of us women on the committee have experienced sexual harassment at some point in our lives, whether in college or wherever. And it’s when the women sat on that committee that the issue of sexual assault in the military very much came to the forefront. It was really the women, in my view, who drove that issue, and got some changes made.

Clearly we have to make efforts to get women into the pipeline, whether in the corporate decisionmaking ladder or in politics. When you have a huge first like the first woman President, others will follow. Then there will be a second and a third and fourth. That is how things change, as far as the glass ceiling is concerned.

Hirono, who was born in Japan, was elected to Hawaii’s house of representatives in 1980 and later became the state’s lieutenant governor. She served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2013 and has been a Senator since 2013.

Back to Firsts

TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.