5 of the Most Influential Women in History

To narrow down a list of influential women to just five is incredibly hard. Even today, some women surpass excellence in various fields and often live as unsung heroes or silent partners. This isn't necessarily because of gender in the 21st century, but credit is hard to come by unless proof is public. In recent years, I've come to see how inaccurate credibly is when it comes to praise for particular people, especially when the praise should go to others who may have built the foundation to a project or developed the science behind a solution. There are engineers, medical experts, scientists, artists, and many other industries who have hidden gems below the visible layer of who should be publicly known as an industry leader. Much like grade school, the world runs on popularity, fame, and even how loud a voice might be, but the true heroes often have their nose in a book, very few friends, a quiet book, and a disinterest in fame. Those are the leaders who are working to achieve goals that will eventually lead to a world change. As women of the 21st century, intelligence and accomplishments shouldn't be more pronounced because of a marketable personality. A sense of recognition should be given to someone who stands above all others due to their perseverance. The proof is always present, but sometimes we have to look a little harder. These are my picks for the top 5 most influential women in history: I would love to list hundreds and hundreds of more names, but these particular women have always stood out to me. Since I was a little girl, I decided no one should tell me there is anything I can't do because of my gender. At the age of six, I went on a strike against the color pink and refused to play with dolls because I was "supposed to like" these things. I didn't understand why there was a difference in gender roles, but I refused to give in to the ones I noticed over the years. As a grown woman, I appreciate the will and determination I had in my earlier years, never giving into gender-based stereotypes. I'm certainly nowhere near as brave as the aforementioned women above. Still, I think it's so important to teach current and future generations to come that they, no matter their gender, are capable of whatever they want to do in life. For these personal reasons, I wrote Last One Home , centered around a vivacious young woman who refused to succumb to the gender assigned role she was intended to play—a housewife. Instead, she saved hundreds of soldiers, prisoners of war and devoted her life to supporting the fight for freedom. With drive and determination, there's no saying who will accomplish the next greatest achievement in life.