International Women’s Day - 12 women who #breakthebias

Dominique Crenn

In a profession where men dominate, Dominique has achieved so much as a star chef in the US.  Since moving to San Francisco from France, the accolades haven’t stopped coming.

Not only was she the first first woman in the US to win two Michelin stars back in 2012, but she was later named ‘best female chef’ in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2016. Her first restaurant, Atelier Crenn, was awarded three Michelin stars in 2019 - let’s not forget that there are only 14 3-star restaurants in the whole of the US!

But it’s not always been an easy path for her. In an interview with the UK’s Guardian newspaper in 2019, she discussed dealing with sexism when starting out in the food industry, and how in many places women are still being paid less than their male counterparts. None of that has stopped her…

Eric Ripert, executive chef of three-star New York restaurant Le Bernardin, describes Crenn as a ‘pioneer’and a ‘rule-breaker’.“It’s not many women worldwide who have that achievement,” he says, “and it’s a big deal for the US. There aren’t too many three-star Michelin [restaurants] in America to begin with.”

She flys two flags. Like many of the WorldRemit community, Dominque has one foot in one country and another somewhere else. While she loves France, and still votes there, it was in America that she found her voice through cooking.

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou once said, “Be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity.” I think we can safely say that on her death in 2014 she had certainly done more than her bit for humanity. She left an amazing and enduring legacy.

Born in St Louis, Missouri in 1928 and after very difficult beginnings - she went on to become  an acclaimed poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. A prolific writer, she published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows.

One of her most famous works was her autobiography I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, which tells of her life up to the age of 17, and brought her international recognition and acclaim.

She was the recipient of more than 20 honorary degrees and read one of her poems at Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1992. She died in 2014 - but proof of her enduring legacy came this year when she became the first African-American woman to appear on US currency.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is quite a force to be reckoned with. An economist and international development professional, with more than 30 years’ experience working all over the world, she was the first woman to be Director-General of the World Trade Organisation.

Another first! She was also the first female finance minister and foreign minister in Nigeria - where she fought for major changes to improve transparency of public finances in the country. She’s also the chair of the Board of Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi).

Often described by others in her field as as continuously smashing glass ceilings, it’s no wonder Forbes named her one of the 100 most powerful women in the world in 2021.

Emma Raducanu

So young and with so much talent, Emma took the tennis world by storm in 2021 - coming from relative obscurity to win the US Open at the tender age of 19,  just a few months after taking her A Levels.

She’s the first British woman to win a Grand Slam title in more than 40 years, and the youngest female tennis champion since Maria Sharapova in 2004.

She’s also the first woman to win a major tennis tournament in fewer than four appearances. When she competed in Wimbledon two months before the US Open, she was a ‘wildcard’ entry (outside the top 300 ranked players in the world). Fast forward two months and she’s made it into the history books and is a global superstar!

For all her glittering achievement, she was named the British “Sports personality of the year” by the BBC in 2021.

Her background? She flies not just 1, 2, or 3 but 4 flags. Born in Toronto and raised in London, her father is from Romania and her mother is Chinese. That’s four countries to cheer her on in her upcoming tennis tournaments!

Shina Novalinga

22 year old Shina is quite the social media sensation. Canadian college student by day, outside her studies Shina uses Tik Tok to educate and raise awareness of the indigenous history and culture of the Inuk.

She has just under 4 million followers and shares Inuit culture and style including; throat singing and Inuk style and fashion - clothes, hairstyles and traditional face paint and makeup styles.  

Shina has been very vocal about her desire to educate others about Inuit culture and history. She frequently adds "indigenous twists" to trends on TikTok, as a way of sharing her culture, and has collaborated with Cree creators including hoop dancer James Jones and model Michelle Chubb.

She also used her platform to raise support for various charitable causes - raising over $12,000 for an indigenous women's shelter in Quebec in December 2020.

Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi

After a police officer in Florida was acquitted of the murder of black teenager, Trayvon Martin in 2013, as he walked home from a convenience store - an unstoppable force was ignited by three inspirational women.

Amid the growing national outrage, Alicia Garza took to Facebook and wrote a series of posts titled A love letter to Black People and included messages such as “I continue to be surprised at how little Black lives matter.” Patrisse Cullors, a fellow activist took up the message and created the now famous #BlackLivesMatter. They then reached out to another fellow activist and social media expert, Opal Tometi. Thanks to the hard work of these three women (and following many more outrageous injustices), the hashtag grew and grew into a rallying cry and eventually into a worldwide movement.

But is was following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, that the movement really gained impetus - both nationally and internationally. An estimated 15 million to 26 million people participated in the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in the United States, making it one of the largest movements in the country's history. It comprised many views and a broad array of demands, but they centred on criminal justice reform.

Leymah Gbowee

Well, it doesn’t get much more impressive than this. Leymah Gbowee, the Liberian peace activist, social worker and women’s rights advocate won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.

Founder and President of the Gbowee Peace Foundation, she’s best known for leading a non-violent movement that played a pivotal role in ending Liberia's 14-year civil war. The movement brought together Christian and Muslim women in peaceful protest. It also paved the way for the Africa’s first female head of state, Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

In 2012 she launched the non-profit organisation, the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa (GPFA), which provides educational and development opportunities for women and youth.  And on top of her long list of accomplishments and accolades, she is the proud mother of six children.

Nirmala Sitharaman

Politicians don’t come much more high-flying than Nirmala Sitharaman. An Indian economist and politician, she serves as the current Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India.

She’s been a member of the Indian Parliament since 2014 and was formerly India’s first female defence minister and is the first female full-time Finance Minister. She also featured in Forbes 2021 list of the 100 most powerful women in the world and was ranked 37.

Nicke Widyawati

Nicke Widyawati is an Indonesian business woman who’s been the President and Director of Pertamina, the giant state-owned oil and gas company since 2013. The company employs over 30,000 people and ranks 175th in the Fortune Global 500.

As president Nicke is working flat out to support Indonesia’s energy transition by building a portfolio of renewable energy sources to more cleanly power the country in the future. She has committed around $68 billion investment for the next 5 years to ensure the availability, accessibility and sustainability of energy in the country. How? By committing to the longest seismic survey in Asia for the last 10 years and the evolution of Refinery and Petrochemicals.  

In Fortune’s list of most powerful international women 2021, Widyawati was ranked very highly at number 17.

Mitu Bhowmick Lange

The Indian/Australian film director and film curator, Mitu most certainly flies two flags - and flies them high. She’s a strong advocate for female participation in the film industry, regularly hiring and mentoring women.

Director and founder of Mind Blowing Films, she’s also the Director of Mind Blowing World - an independent film distribution company that specialises in the distribution of quality local content to audiences in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.

In 2016, Mitu produced the multi-award-winning documentary, Raising the Bar, which was directed by the renowned Indian filmmaker, Onir. The film depicts the trials, tribulations and joys of six individuals from Australia and India with Down Syndrome who meet the World Down Syndrome Conference in Chennai, India.

Recognised by Film Victoria for her achievements in leadership and mentorship of women in film, Mitu was appointed to the Board of Film Victoria in 2018. She was the first Indian in Australia to be offered this prestigious role.

We support inspiring women the world over

The women listed here have all certainly made a name for themselves. But so many of our customers equally inspire us with their stories of courage and selflessness. That’s why we’re delighted to support them with a fast, secure and convenient money transfer service. While they are out in the world working to make life better for their loved ones - WorldRemit is working hard to get their money back home.