ICYMI: TIME has revealed the 2024 TIME100 List of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. While there were many usual suspects on the list, we wanted to pull together some of the trailblazing women on the list who might not be on your radar yet.
Sakshi Malik
Sakshi Malik is India’s first and only female wrestler to ever win an Olympic medal. She joined high-profile protests last year (successfully) demanding the immediate arrest and resignation of the chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, who had been accused of sexually harassing female athletes. “This fight is no longer only for India’s female wrestlers…it is for the daughters of India whose voices have been silenced time and again,” she said at the time.
Julienne Lusenge
Julienne Lusenge is a gender equality advocate and human rights defender based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Julienne co-founded SOFEPADI, which works to prevent sexual and gender-based violence and provide support to empower survivors. She is also on the board of the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. “Women are the first victims of war, but only they hold the unique key to peace,” she said.
Chizuko Ueno
Chizuko Ueno is a Japanese sociologist known for her progressive feminist writing. “Even as the government persecutes feminists—journalist and #MeToo activist Huang Xueqin was put on trial last September—translations of Ueno’s books, with topics including feminism and misogyny, have become best sellers,” TIME 100 wrote. Ueno’s writing has been credited as driving feminist ideas into mainstream Chinese society.
Kelley Robinson
Kelley Robinson is an American community organiser who is the current President of the Human Rights Campaign. Prior to this role, she was the Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “In no short order, she has ignited innovative campaigns that uplift the most marginalized in our community, including queer people of color and transgender people,” says TIME 100.
Akiko Iwasaki
Akiko is the Sterling Professor of Immunobiology and Professor of Dermatology and of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and of Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases), and an Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (what a list!). “Her expertise in innate immunity—or how the immune system first reacts to pathogens—is providing key insights into Long COVID, validating patient experiences and informing treatment strategies,” says TIME 100.
Reading about the work of these incredible women has really made our week here at Missing Perspectives – and we really hope it does the same to you. We can’t wait to see the incredible grassroots activists who’ll be on next year’s list.