10 Women Who Inspire And Empower

Simona De Silvestro is a Swiss race car driver. Currently, out of thirty-three drivers in the 2021 Indy 500, she is the only woman driver. In her races, Silvestro represents Paretta Autosports, a mostly woman-run operation with a team made up of seventy percent women! 

Additionally, Silvestro made history by being the first-ever female driver representing a female-owned company to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. She hopes to open doors for more girls and increase the opportunities for young women who want to drive as she does. Silvestro inspires girls to be who they want to be by going after what they want.

Tamika Stembridge is the executive director of dfree® Global Foundation, a non-profit that teaches and empowers African American communities to build wealth and live debt-free. Stembridge’s message is centered around taking control of your life. She encourages women to successfully manage their habits and focus on achieving their goals in order to live a financially free lifestyle.

Megan Rapinoe is an American soccer player who plays for both the National Women’s Soccer League and the United States National Team. Rapinoe led the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team in 2019 when they won the World Cup Champions! 

This thirty-five-year-old has more to offer than just her athleticism. As an advocate for women’s rights, she has taken on the task of working to close the gender wage gap in sports. She started by filing a lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation for gender discrimination, noting that their male counterparts earn far more than they do. Rapinoe sends a message to not settle for anything less and to always fight for what you want.

At only twenty-two years old, Somalian fashion model, Halima Aden, showed tremendous courage and pride for her culture. She was the first contestant to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant. She then went on to become the first woman to wear a hijab in a Sports Illustrated annual Swimsuit Issue!

Aden advocates for greater diversity and inclusivity in the modeling industry. She wants to show girls that the world will meet them exactly where they are which goes against society’s view that girls should change themselves completely.

An American author best known for her New York Times bestsellers, “Untamed” and “Love Warrior,” Glennon Doyle is also an activist.

Doyle empowers people to make a difference in the world through meaningful projects that provide assistance to people in need. Doyle founded the non-profit Together Rising as a way of helping people who work for similar causes connect with each other.

Sheryl Sandberg is a business executive and philanthropist. She serves as the Chief Operating Officer and first female on the board of directors for Facebook. Sandberg is also the founder of Lean In, which is an organization with the goal of helping women achieve their ambitions without bias. 

Lean In focuses on helping young girls grow up to be confident, resilient leaders. Sandberg also gives generously to charities that support the causes she’s so passionate about!

Jamie Kern Lima is an entrepreneur, author, and media personality who inspires young women to go after what they want and never stop following their dreams.

Lima was largely responsible for helping initiate the beauty industry’s transformation of stereotypical models by promoting body confidence. 

She is now the co-founder of IT Cosmetics, as well as the first female chief executive officer of L’Oreal. She went on to write the book, “Believe It: How to Go from Underestimated to Unstoppable.” Today, she continues to promote her message of keeping the faith and holding onto your vision of better.

Lindsay Kaplan is the co-founder of Chief, a woman-owned business that created a small private network for women executives to receive the resources and support they need both in business and leadership. Kaplan works to help motivate and drive women to achieve greatness professionally.

She offers tips that help women understand how to eliminate barriers and obstacles to their success. Kaplan also encourages women to constantly strengthen their skills and sharpen their business-oriented drive.

Most notably known for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, Emma Watson is a feminist activist both on- and off-screen. In 2014, she was appointed as a UN Women Goodwill ambassador.

Watson took part in the launch of the UN Women campaign called HeForShe, which called upon men to advocate for gender equality. This hard-working, strong-willed actress sends a message that hard work always pays off, and as long as you persevere, your dreams will come true.

Greta Thunberg is young but mighty! She is a Swedish environmental activist who challenges world leaders to take action for climate change mitigation. At only eighteen years old, she’s been nominated for a Nobel Prize three years in a row! Thunberg was also named TIME’s Person of the Year in 2019. 

This young woman has set up a nonprofit foundation supporting her #FridayForFuture campaign, and she is constantly bringing attention to climate change among other environmental concerns.