TIME's 2024 Women of the Year: Greta Gerwig, Taraji P Henson and Andra Day among 12 honorees

12 outstanding honorees featured on the 2024 TIME's Women of the Year list 

Building bridges across borders, communities, and generations is essential to securing a better future for women. TIME Magazine unveiled its choice of the 2024 Women of the Year, featuring 12 trailblazers across a range of industries. These women are being honored for their dedication to their passions, which encompass a wide range of topics such as equality, human rights, the environment, and peace. Let's have a look at 12 women whose social impact led them to be featured on the prestigious TIME's Women of the Year list in 2024.

1. Greta Gerwig

Greta Gerwig, 40, is a writer, director, and actress who gained recognition most recently as the creator behind the much-loved fantasy-comedy film 'Barbie'. Gerwig, previously listed among the world's most influential people by TIME in 2018, has a talent for developing inclusive tales that feature an array of female representations in the film industry through projects like 'Lady Bird', 'Little Women', and 'Barbie'. Known for her "humane, emotional, playful" filmmaking, Gerwig is the first director in history to have had three of their first solo feature films nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, as per TIME Magazine.

2. Taraji P Henson

Actress Taraji P Henson, 53, is known for her vibrant personality and extensive television career. As a Black woman, she has been open about her emotions regarding discrimination in the industry, including receiving "lowball offers" for jobs despite her prolific presence in Hollywood. Notably, Henson was recognized as one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in 2016. 

3. Andra Day

Andra Day, 39, is a recognized R&B and soul singer who gained popularity for her ability to turn requests to sing 'The Star-Spangled Banner' into a chance to perform 'Lift Every Voice and Sing'. She recently performed the Black national anthem at Super Bowl LVIII. Day even portrayed one of the greatest singers of all time, Billie Holiday, in 2021 in her first major role in the feature film, 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday'. Her spectacular performance not only received an Oscar nomination, but she also managed to bag a Golden Globe and a Grammy Award. 

4. Coco Gauff

One match at a time, professional tennis star Coco Gauff, 19, wins over fans' hearts worldwide. The 2023 US Open champion has aggressively advocated for various social justice causes, including activism against climate change, gender parity, and Black Lives Matter, using her platform. As the world's highest-paid female athlete, Gauff managed to earn a staggering $22 million in 2023, as per Sportico. 

5. Claudia Goldin

The 77-year-old labor economist and economic historian Claudia Goldin was the third woman to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and the first one to win the award solo. She is committed to researching women and work, measures to support women in juggling work and family obligations, the persistence of the gender pay gap, and the impact of the birth control bill on women.

6. Leena Nair

The global CEO of Chanel, Leena Nair, 54, aspires to lead in a little unconventional way. Her belief in "collective voice, in diverse perspectives" is rooted in her desire to emphasize "compassion, empathy and kindness." Nair is renowned for her work in human resources as well as her extraordinary ability to change multinational corporations. She previously served as the Chief Human Resource Officer of Unilever and was the first female and first Asian person to hold the role. 

7 & 8. Yael Admi and Reem Hajajreh

Reem Hajajreh is the director of the Palestinian group, "Women of the Sun," while Yael Admi is the co-founder and head of the Israeli movement, "Women Wage Peace." Despite representing two distinct peace organizations, the two have allied and collaborated to find solutions to stop the "cycle of bloodshed" that is engulfing their communities. Both organizations feel that a peaceful resolution is essential, yet they do not support any specific political faction. 

9. Nadia Murad

German-born Nadia Murad, 30, is a Yazdi human rights campaigner. In 2014, she was abducted from her hometown of Kocho and detained there for three months. Nadia's Initiative was established to "help women and children victimized by genocides, mass atrocities, and human trafficking to heal and rebuild their lives and communities." In December of 2018, the Nobel Peace Prize winner was the principal plaintiff in a lawsuit brought on behalf of about 400 Yazidi Americans.

10. Ada Limon

Ada Limon, 47, became the first woman of Latin American origin to be named the 24th poet laureate of the US by the Librarian of Congress in July 2022 and reappointed for a two-year second term in April 2023. As part of her You Are Here campaign, Limon is going to start a nationwide tour to display poems in seven national parks. The primary motivation for her initiative is "the solitary experience of writing" that she has when she puts pen to paper.

11. Marlena Fejzo

Marlena Fejzo, 56, is a geneticist who specializes in the study of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), a disorder that affects up to 3% of pregnancies and causes extreme nausea and vomiting. Fejzo knew she wanted to help people with the sickness but "didn’t have the energy to fight" after experiencing HG during her pregnancy and dealing with a doctor who ignored the situation. She is the Chief Scientific Officer of Harmonia Healthcare, a women's health company that intends to open an HG-focused treatment center in the Northeast, and she also serves on the board of the Hyperemesis Education & Research Foundation, as per TIME.

12. Jacqui Patterson

Jacqui Patterson is the creator and executive director of The Chisholm Legacy Project: A Resource Hub for Black Frontline Climate Justice Leadership. She believes there is a correlation between gender inequality, poverty, racial discrimination, and environmental difficulties. Patterson picked the name of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to be elected to the US Congress, for the name of her organization name to honor her intersectional theory. "The communities that don’t have other nonprofit organizations working within them are the communities most at climate risk," told Patterson to TIME.