--- description: Find out why Rachel Hardeman is one of the 100 most influential people of 2024. title: Rachel Hardeman: The 100 Most Influential People of 2024 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a70540884219dcd/698a558fb21a9caabd509dc9/time-100-2024-rachel-hardeman.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 17, 2024 # Rachel Hardeman by Lauren Underwood  A portrait of Dr. Rachel Hardeman at the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity office in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday, October 16, 2023\. Photo by Jenn Ackerman @ackermangruber A portrait of Dr. Rachel Hardeman at the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity office in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday, October 16, 2023\. Photo by Jenn Ackerman @ackermangruberJenn Ackerman The U.S. remains one of the most dangerous developed countries on earth to give birth in. American moms are dying at unacceptably high rates in a crisis that is, too often, happening in the shadows. Our moms shouldn’t have to beg for their lives, and Rachel Hardeman isn’t afraid to say so. Her antiracism [research](https://www.statnews.com/2024/01/12/rachel-hardeman-links-structural-racism-health-disparities/ "undefined") has been at the forefront of our fight to end our nation’s [maternal-health crisis](https://time.com/collection/time100-voices/6965534/serena-williams-elaine-welteroth-black-maternal-health-birthfund/ "undefined"), uplifting evidence-based [solutions](https://time.com/5866854/black-women-health-care/ "undefined") to address the root causes of racism in our health care system. Hardeman always asks tough questions, confronts uncomfortable realities with grace, and through her unwavering determination offers all of us a path forward toward truly advancing birth equity. She is a critical partner in efforts to pass the Momnibus bill in Congress to ensure that pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the full yearlong postpartum period can be joyful for all of our families. _Underwood, a Democrat, is a U.S. Representative for Illinois_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964631/rachel-hardeman/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964631/rachel-hardeman/"},"headline":"Rachel Hardeman","datePublished":"2024-04-17T10:56:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:28:55.399Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964631/rachel-hardeman/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","2024TIME100","T100Innovators2024"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a70540884219dcd/698a558fb21a9caabd509dc9/time-100-2024-rachel-hardeman.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/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a70540884219dcd/698a558fb21a9caabd509dc9/time-100-2024-rachel-hardeman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"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":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964631/rachel-hardeman/","name":"Rachel Hardeman"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See Everyone on the TIME100 2024 list","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/73p9kgIN/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-04-17T11:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/73p9kgIN.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964631/rachel-hardeman/","duration":"PT1M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964631/rachel-hardeman/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```