Happy International Women’s Month. A whole month dedicated to celebrating all the incredible, strong and beautiful women in the world. Their achievements, ambition and talent. And I have a good list of women worth celebrating. 

If you’re a man reading this, calm down, you’re going to be OK. 

And let me address the comment I already know someone is thinking. No, men don’t need a month to celebrate their achievements. Yes, every day is International Men’s Day. Why? Because we’re still living in a man’s world. Women are constantly breaking barriers, but the system was built to give men the spotlight first. Disappointing? Yes. Shocking? No. 

There are so many women out there doing incredible things and making a real impact, pushing boundaries and showing other women what’s possible. While the world fawns over men’s accomplishments, these women deserve all the recognition. 

I feel like it’s only right to start with Quinnipiac alumna and American rugby player Ilona Maher. Maher is a powerhouse on and off the rugby pitch. She competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and then led the U.S. Women’s Rugby fives team to its first-ever medal at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.  

Beyond the sport, she advocated for body positivity and challenged stereotypes women face about being muscular. Maher’s message? Women can be strong, bold and muscular. Even though the world believes women need to be “fragile,” she advocates that women can take up space and be proud of it. She even appeared on season 33 of “Dancing with the Stars,” showing a strong and athletic woman can also dance, be graceful and put on a performance. 

She’s rewriting the rules on what women’s bodies are capable of, and yes, it’s making a few people uncomfortable. 

In 2025, Maher won the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly award for Best Breakthrough Athlete, and in her acceptance speech, she preached that being strong is whatever you want it to be: beautiful, powerful, sexy.

And in a world where female athletes are expected to fit into a narrow definition of femininity and success, Maher represents a future in which women in sports are free to be themselves.

Then there’s actress Emma Watson. Most know her for her roles in films like the Harry Potter series, “Little Women” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” but Watson’s real magic happens off the big screen. 

She does so much more than act. Watson actively promotes girls’ education and gender equality worldwide.

In 2014, Watson was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women, where she launched the HeForShe campaign to get men involved in gender equality. 

She delivered a now famous speech at the UN Headquarters for the launch of the campaign. During the speech, Watson reflected on how she first questioned gender stereotypes at eight years old when she was labeled and ridiculed for being “bossy” while the boys got free passes for the same behavior. She also spoke about being sexualized by certain elements of the media at 14. Watson emphasized that feminism is often misunderstood as “man hating,” when in reality it simply means that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. 

Since then, Watson has continued her advocacy work through speaking engagements, activism and initiatives promoting gender equality. She founded a feminist book club called “Our Shared Shelf,” supported organizations fighting workplace harassment and helped launch initiatives, such as Time’s Up UK. 

Watson’s advocacy has helped bring conversations about feminism to a global audience. Her willingness to speak openly about inequality and challenge misconceptions about feminism has inspired many people to join the fight for equal rights. 

The 44th First Lady of the U. S. Michelle Obama, is a prominent advocate for women and girls globally, education, health and equality. She has been doing this through initiatives like Let Girls Learn, Reach Higher and Let’s Move, basically telling us to get educated, dream big and eat our vegetables. Remember when school lunches suddenly seemed healthier? That was thanks to her. 

Beyond policy initiatives, Obama has been a powerful cultural and motivational figure. Through her best-selling memoir “Becoming,” public speaking and mentorship efforts, she has inspired millions of people to believe in their potential and use their voices. Her authenticity, advocacy for equality and commitment to empowering the next generation make her one of the most influential women of modern times.   

And then there’s the one woman you probably didn’t learn about in your history classes, software engineer Margret Hamilton. During the Apollo 11 moon landing, a potentially mission-ending problem occurred just minutes before the lunar module touched the Earth’s surface. The spacecraft’s computer suddenly triggered multiple alarms indicating it was overloaded with tasks. 

The mission was saved because of the onboard software that had been designed to handle those types of situations. The flight software, led by Hamilton, prioritized the most important operations needed for landing and temporarily ignored less critical tasks. 

Thanks to Hamilton’s innovative software design and built-in recovery systems, the computer was able to recognize the overload, sound alarms and continue operating with only the essential functions. This completed the first successful human landing on the moon. 

Of course, when we think about the Apollo 11 moon landing, the names that people remember are astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. But without Hamilton, the moon landing wouldn’t have been possible. But, of course, why let a woman steal the spotlight? It’s a reminder that behind every celebrated hero, there’s often a brilliant woman who deserves recognition too. 

This Women’s History Month, take a minute to actually notice all the amazing things women are accomplishing every single day. From breaking barriers in sports, science and politics, to fighting for equality, starting movements or simply showing up and taking space in the world that often underestimates them, women are constantly shaping the world around us. It’s a reminder to celebrate not only the famous names but also the women in our own lives who inspire, support and push us each day.