The honor is well-deserved!
TIME has announced its annual 2022 Women of the Year list. The honor highlights women who are leading the charge to create a more equitable and inclusive world. In response to the pandemic, TIME thought to look for ways to combat broken systems that disproportionately and negatively impacted women. The result was paying homage, amplifying the 12 women and their extraordinary work, in hopes to create a more empowering narrative for women everywhere. “Creating a better future for women means building bridges—across generations, communities, and borders,” TIME wrote.
Below is a list of the extraordinary Black women who made this year’s list. The celebration of their contributions will culminate with a gala in Los Angeles on March 8th, International Women’s Day.
Allyson Felix, Most Decorated Woman In Track and Founder of Saysh
Photo Courtesy of Djeneba Aduayom/TIME
“When you speak your truth, things happen. You draw power from one another.” – Allyson Felix
Amanda Gorman, Youngest Inaugural Poet in U.S. History
Photo Courtesy of Kennedi Carter
“The type of leadership that I like to participate in really leans into my femininity. Things like empathy, compassion, listening, tenderness, sharing power—you risk being called ‘too emotional,’ but I like to lean into those characteristics because we need to see more of that in the world.” – Amanda Gorman
Jennie Joseph, Maternal Health Care Advocate
Photo Courtesy of Myesha Evon Gardner/TIME
“There’s the calling to midwifery. It’s been my entire life. Because you cannot stand by and tolerate injustice. Not when you’ve found ways that do actually make a difference.” – Jennie Joseph
Kerry Washington, Actor and Activist
Photo Courtesy of Daria Kobayashi Ritch/TIME
“In a world that marginalizes people of color and women, to center a Black woman and make her fully human became perceived as a political act,” – Kerry Washington
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, First Trans Actor To Win A Golden Globe
Photo Courtesy of Natalia Mantini/TIME
“When I was younger, I didn’t have representation for anyone of color in the LGBTQI community. Now, I want to be the example. I want to show them that it’s possible.” – Michaela Jaé Rodriguez
Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director Counsel of NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
Photo Courtesy of Rog and Bee Walker—INSTITUTE
“I think it has mattered, my voice not only as a Black civil rights leader but as a Black woman civil rights leader, to speak with power, authority, and knowledge. It is important to show that women who have chosen a path of service [can] rise to the highest level.” – Sherrilyn Ifill
Click here to see the full list of TIME’s 2022 Women of the Year. Congratulations to all of the honorees!
Photo Courtesy of Daria Kobayashi Ritch/TIME