15 times women made history in 2018
From entertainment to space to politics, women shattered almost every ceiling in 2018. More women are in Congress than ever before. Diverse woman had a breakthrough year in Hollywood. All around the world, women spoke up, spoke out and stepped up to lead.
Here are some of the biggest female firsts of the year — and let’s hope they’re not the last.
1. Beyoncé is the first black woman to headline Coachella
A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on Apr 15, 2018 at 9:31am PDT
Fam.
The Black National Anthem.
Malcolm X quotes.
Nina Simone samples.
Stepping and marching bands.
Jigga for the deja vu.
A Destiny’s Child reunion.
A Solange dance collabo.The greatest living entertainer is a Black woman named Beyonce. This is not up for debate.#Beychella
— Amanda Parris (@amanda_parris) April 15, 2018
dress for the job you deserve. 👑 #Beychella https://t.co/hXVGHccPoE pic.twitter.com/enKtTgt8Vb
— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) April 15, 2018
2. Amy Sherman-Palladino is the first woman to win a writing and directing Emmy in the same year
Women👏 making👏 history 👏
Amy Sherman-Palladino made #Emmy history last night with her wins for comedy writing and directing on @MaiselTV, making her the first woman in the awards’ 70-year history to do so. ⚡️ Congrats to this historyMAKER! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/LRiBRaGm2f— MAKERS (@MAKERSwomen) September 18, 2018
3. Simone Biles is first American to win medals at every event at the World Gymnastics Championships
What a night for @Simone_Biles, the 2018 U.S. national all-around champion! #USGymChamps pic.twitter.com/KKkLJGuicA
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) August 20, 2018
4. Missy Elliot is the first female rapper nominated to the 2019 Songwriters Hall of Fame
A post shared by MAKERS (@makerswomen) on Nov 7, 2018 at 11:27am PST
5. Nadia Murad is the first Iraqi to win the Nobel Peace Prize
Nadia Murad & Dr. Denis Mukwege received their shared Nobel Peace Prize today.
Murad, the first Iraqi to win the award, advocates for victims of sex abuse after she was tortured by ISIS.
Mukwege opened a hospital in DR Congo that treats thousands of victims of sexual violence. pic.twitter.com/HfSQtWyUGH
— AJ+ (@ajplus) December 10, 2018
6. Sandra Oh is first Asian woman nominated for a lead actress role at the Emmys. (In 2019, she will also become the first Asian to host a major awards show when the Golden Globes air in January)
Earlier this year, Sandra Oh made history as the first woman of Asian descent to earn an Emmy nom for #KillingEve.
As of today, she's up for a Golden Globe for the same role AND is hosting! If she wins, it will be her second Globe, after "Grey's Anatomy" https://t.co/5zrGl0sxtb pic.twitter.com/ai8DVzDGdf
— LAT Entertainment (@latimesent) December 6, 2018
Sandra Oh is the first Asian person EVER to host one of the major awards shows and we are HERE 👏 FOR 👏 IT. 👏 pic.twitter.com/W5Eoh5lNaq
— MAKERS (@MAKERSwomen) December 6, 2018
7. Naomi Osaka is the first Haitian-Japanese woman to win the U.S. Open
Naomi Osaka:
🏆 20 years old
🇯🇵 First Japanese woman to win a Grand Slam
🇭🇹 First Haitian woman to win a Grand Slam
💪 Played against her idol, Serena Williams pic.twitter.com/tzfJphBHs8— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 8, 2018
Congrats to Naomi Osaka on becoming the first Haitian-Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles title! #USOpen pic.twitter.com/UGVIPxDGlQ
— MEFeater Magazine (@mefeater) September 8, 2018
8. Kristine E. Guillaume becomes the first black female president of the Harvard Crimson
#RepresentationMattershttps://t.co/eMW0FCLIiw
— Chris Taylor (@ChrisTaylorWI) December 11, 2018
9. Beth Ford becomes the first openly gay woman to lead a Fortune 500 company
Beth Ford is the first openly gay woman to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company #SheIsTheFirst https://t.co/MNVMbovBHT
— TIME (@TIME) November 25, 2018
10. Debra Perelman is the first woman CEO of Revlon
Debra Perelman was appointed as CEO of @revlon, making her the first woman in the position in the company's 86 years of existence. Congratulations!https://t.co/tJkofOYBl7
— Chiara Corazza (@ChiaraCorazzaWF) June 14, 2018
11. Young Jean Lee is the first Asian-American woman to write a play for Broadway
Young Jean Lee is the first Asian-American woman to write a play produced on Broadway #SheIsTheFirst https://t.co/Gru3uAr9wC
— TIME (@TIME) September 25, 2018
12. Stacey Cunningham is the first female president of the New York Stock Exchange
It took the @NYSE 226 years to appoint their first ever female president, Stacey Cunningham. It took @stacey_cunning less than one day to point out how few Fortune 500 companies have female board members. 👊💥https://t.co/vlCKt8ougC
— MAKERS (@MAKERSwomen) May 23, 2018
She began her career as a summer intern on the New York stock exchange 24 years ago and the became the first woman to head the 226-year-old financial market #NYSE #leader https://t.co/I1SuMiCOlx
— SiriusSamara (@SiriusSamara) December 3, 2018
13. Dame Sarah Mullaly is the first woman to be instated as the Bishop of London, one of the highest ranking officials in church of England
Dame Sarah Mullaly is the first woman EVER to be instated as the Bishop of London at @StPaulsLondon, making her one of the highest ranking officials in the @churchofengland. 👏https://t.co/sBLfsS1hhy
— MAKERS (@MAKERSwomen) May 16, 2018
It’s @bishopSarahM , the first female Bishop of London! She was consecrated a Bishop in 2015 by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury. As Bishop of London, she is the third most senior Bishop in the Church of England. https://t.co/4120O91mtc pic.twitter.com/WVam7rkMzz
— St Paul's Edu (@stpaulsedu) August 3, 2018
14. Tammy Duckworth is the first U.S. Senator to give birth while in office
It’s about time that the Senate moved into the 21st Century and is accommodating working mothers.
👏👏👏 @SenDuckworth pic.twitter.com/0cLjlAFxp9— MAKERS (@MAKERSwomen) April 19, 2018
15. Sahle-Work Zewde becomes the first female president of Ethiopia
Ethiopia just elected its FIRST female president, Sahle-Work Zewde. After last week’s reshuffling of the cabinet, half the ministers are now women in Africa’s second-most populous country. 👏👏https://t.co/pTbxORK3ds
— MAKERS (@MAKERSwomen) October 25, 2018
Read more from MAKERS:
Top 10 moments women stood up to sexism and said ‘we want better’ in 2018
Nancy Pelosi walks out of the White House looking like a boss — and the internet is losing it
