Women Who Broke Barriers

YEAR IN REVIEW: WOMEN WHO BROKE BARRIERS

Every day, women of all backgrounds are breaking barriers in politics, business, arts, sports, science, entertainment and more. Here’s a look back at just some of the triumphs by women in the previous year. BUSINESS ROZALIND "ROZ" BREWER: In January 2021, Brewer was named the CEO of Walgreens, a 2020 DiversityInc Top 50 Noteworthy Company. When she takes over on March 15, Brewer will be only one of two current Black woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and only the second in history.

THASUNDA BROWN DUCKETT: In late February 2021, TIAA (No. 9 on the 2020 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list) announced Brown Duckett will be the company's next CEO, making her and Brewer the only two Black women CEOs on the Fortune 500.

MICHELE MEYER-SHIPP: In August 2020, Meyer-Shipp became Major League Baseball’s Chief People and Culture Officer after serving as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at KPMGNo. ( 12 on the DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2020). Under Meyer-Shipp, the MLB made the history-making decision to elevate Negro Leagues baseball teams to major league status.

KAREN LYNCH: In November 2020, Karen Lynch became the CEO of CVS Health (No. 24 in 2020). Lynch’s promotion put her among a fluctuating number of just about 40 other women of Fortune 500 companies currently.

Roz Brewer (courtesy of Walgreens) Michele Meyer-Shipp (courtesy of KPMG) Karen Lynch (courtesy of CVS Health) POLITICS KAMALA HARRIS: Vice President Harris made history in January 2021 when she was sworn in as the first woman to be the Vice President of the United States. She is also the first Black and South Asian person to hold the role.

NANCY PELOSI: Pelosi, who served as Speaker of the House from 2007 to 2011 and again since 2019 is the only woman to hold the role. Before Harris’s inauguration, Pelosi was the highest-ranked woman elected official in U.S. history. She played an integral role in the 2019 impeachment inquiry against former President Trump, and made headlines again following the Capitol insurrection in 2021.

STACEY ABRAMS: During the 2020 presidential election, Abrams, a politician and activist from Georgia, was credited with registering more than 800,000 new voters who ultimately showed up to turn the historically red state blue. She worked alongside groups like Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Black Votes Matter to bolster the voices of people of color.

SARAH MCBRIDE: In November 2020, McBride, a Democrat from Delaware became the first openly transgender U.S. senator and highest-ranking transgender official. She ran on a campaign of affordable healthcare, expanding family paid leave, passing universal pre-K and reforming the criminal justice system. © 2021 DIVERSITYINC 11 MEETING IN A BOX

CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY This document and all of its contents are intended for the sole use of DiversityInc’s benchmarking and subscription-based customers. Any use of this material without specific permission from DiversityInc is strictly prohibited. REPRESENTATION IN NEW MEXICO: In November 2020, New Mexico elected all women of color to the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in the state's history. Democratic Rep. Deb Haaland, who is Indigenous, maintained her seat, while Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell became the first Republican Native American woman in the House. Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez became the first Latina to ever represent northern New Mexico in Congress.

Stacey Abrams (Butch Dill/AP/Shutterstock) Sarah McBride (courtesy image) Yvette Herrell (Russell Contreras/AP/Shutterstock) ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT/SPORTS VALENTINA SAMPAIO: In July 2020, Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio became the first openly transgender model to appear on Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue. Previously, she became Victoria’s Secret’s first openly transgender model in 2019.

AMANDA GORMAN: 22-year-old Amanda Gorman made history when she read her poem “The Hill We Climb” at the Jan- uary 2021 inauguration. She became the youngest inaugural poet, the first poet to recite at the Superbowl in February 2021 and also landed an IMG Models contract.

KIM NG: In November 2020, Ng became the general manager of the Miami Marlins, making her the first woman and first person of East Asian descent to be a general manager of an MLB team.

KATIE SOWERS: In February 2020, San Francisco 49ers coach Sowers became the National Football League’s first openly gay coach and the first female coach to make it to the Super Bowl, though she announced in 2021 she wasn’t renewing her contract for the upcoming season.

Valentina Sampaio (AFF-USA/Shutterstock) Amanda Gorman (Shutterstock) From left, Jennifer A. Doudna, Emmanuelle Charpentier (Berit Roald/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) SCIENCE EMMANUELLE CHARPENTIER AND JENNIFER A. DOUDNA: In October 2020, Charpentier and Doudna became the win- ners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the CRISPR gene editing technology. They became the first all-woman team to receive the honor.

GITANJALI RAO: 15-year-old Gitanjali Rao was named TIME Magazine’s first Kid of the Year in December 2020. The young Indian American scientist’s work has ranged from using technology to address contaminated drinking water, opioid addiction and cyberbullying. She previously landed on the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list and earned the top prize in the 2017 Young Scientist Challenge.