--- description: Hillary Rodham Clinton is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century. title: Hillary Rodham Clinton: 100 Women of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc8abc31290151a1/698a0ae48fd2ee9693360f6e/social-2016_Hillary-Clinton.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 2016: Hillary Rodham Clinton ## Video: FIRSTS Hillary Rodham Clinton [Watch (HLS stream): FIRSTS Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nRyrhM31.m3u8) (1:35)  _Published 2017-09-06. Hillary Rodham Clinton is the FIRST woman to win a major party’s nomination for President of the United States._ Mar 5, 2020 11:42 AM CUT  Ben Lowy by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2020 11:42 AM CUT In an era of [feminist activism](https://time.com/5111480/womens-march/ "undefined"), it’s easy to forget that it was once unthinkable that a woman could be President. [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://time.com/collection/firsts/4921038/hillary-clinton-firsts/ "undefined") changed that when, in 2016, she came within a hair’s breadth of winning the White House. She also [broke barriers](https://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-hillary-clinton-runner-up/ "undefined") along the way. As [First Lady in the ’90s](https://time.com/hillary-clinton-photographs/ "undefined"), she took a more hands-on role in policymaking than her predecessors did, including overseeing the failed effort to pass comprehensive health care reform. It was also during this time that she famously declared that “[human rights are women’s rights](https://time.com/4125236/hillary-clinton-beijing-speech-video/ "undefined"), and women’s rights are human rights.” Clinton was the first [First Lady](https://time.com/5529953/presidents-day-first-ladies-day/ "undefined") to seek elected office, and the first female Senator of New York. As Secretary of State under President Barack Obama, she spread what became known as the “Hillary Doctrine,” which linked the empowerment of women and girls to national security. And though she [lost the presidency to Donald Trump](https://time.com/4563685/donald-trump-wins/ "undefined"), she won the popular vote by nearly 3 million. Over the course of [her political career](https://time.com/hillary-clinton-roots/ "undefined"), Clinton has been both beloved and reviled. Critics can certainly point to mistakes of her own making, but she has also faced what she calls a “pernicious double standard.” Clinton has come to symbolize both the great strides forward for women in politics and the stiff headwinds they still confront. _—Charlotte Alter_ --- _This article is part of_ [_100 Women of the Year_](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined")_, TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Read more_ [_about the project_](https://time.com/5793734/time-100-women-of-the-year-issue/ "undefined")_, explore the_ [_100 covers_](https://time.com/5793732/time-100-women-of-the-year-covers/ "undefined") _and sign up for our_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=article-woy-footer "undefined") _for more._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5793796/hillary-rodham-clinton-100-women-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5793796/hillary-rodham-clinton-100-women-of-the-year/"},"headline":"2016: Hillary Rodham Clinton","datePublished":"2020-03-05T11:42:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:22:10.417Z","description":"Hillary Rodham Clinton is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century.","url":"https://time.com/5793796/hillary-rodham-clinton-100-women-of-the-year/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc8abc31290151a1/698a0ae48fd2ee9693360f6e/social-2016_Hillary-Clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc8abc31290151a1/698a0ae48fd2ee9693360f6e/social-2016_Hillary-Clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SOCIAL - Women of the Year: 2016 Hillary-Clinton","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5793796/hillary-rodham-clinton-100-women-of-the-year/","name":"2016: Hillary Rodham Clinton"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"FIRSTS Hillary Rodham Clinton","description":"Hillary Rodham Clinton is the FIRST woman to win a major party’s nomination for President of the United States.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/nRyrhM31/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-09-06T14:54:01.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nRyrhM31.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5793796/hillary-rodham-clinton-100-women-of-the-year/","duration":"PT1M35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5793796/hillary-rodham-clinton-100-women-of-the-year/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```