Results: If You Don't Know About These Women, You Should

In a recent survey I did on International Women's Day, I was surprised to see that over 60% of the people on Tellwut had not heard about Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Her country's response has been cited as the strongest and best during Covid-19, with only 2,000 cases of the virus and 26 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Within a month of the Christchurch Massacre that killed 51 people, Arden led Parliament in banning most assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons across the country. And she's done all this while she was a new mother. She been lauded as a new kind of leader, or 'the anti-Trump', for the traits she chooses to exhibit every day – empathy, authenticity, tolerance and kindness. She endeared herself to the world, when she held a special press conference just for children, realizing the young needed extra help understanding what was happening during the first few weeks of the pandemic. But while she might lead from a place of emotion, she is always decisive and strong in her decision-making. And even though she has made mistakes, perhaps the most important thing of all, she's always ready to admit she made them, learn from them, and rectify them. Does Ardern sound like the type of leader you wish we had in our countries (Canada or the U.S.)?

Nasrin Sotoudeh became a lawyer to stand up for people who could not stand up for themselves. Born and raised in Iran, she had everything working against her, but fought hard to become a practising lawyer -- waiting for eight years after graduating from law school to be able to actively practise. For more than two decades, Sotoudeh, 57, fought for some of Iran's most sensitive causes — the rights of women, children on death row, endangered minorities. She has won international acclaim, but her defiance has come at a heavy personal price: She is now serving a 38-year prison sentence for "national security" crimes, after defending women who protested Iran's compulsory head-covering law. A social media campaign with the hashtag #FreeNasrin has attracted widespread support and politicians including President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau have called for her release. While being held in prison, she has endured torture, hunger strikes, threats to her family, and Covid-19. Do you admire a woman who works so hard and risks her own freedom to stand up for other's human rights?

Perhaps no other woman had as big a behind-the-scenes global impact in the past year than Kathrin Jansen. As Pfizer's head of vaccine research and development, Jansen was tasked with a nearly impossible task: to create and test a viable COVID-19 vaccine in less than a year. Throughout the pandemic, Jansen led a team of 650 experts to develop the first successful coronavirus vaccine. But getting to this point required taking risks, including using unproven mRNA technology. Throughout her career, Jansen hasn't backed down from taking risks, which have often led to major scientific breakthroughs. While at Merck, she initiated a project to tackle human papillomavirus (HPV) — a sexually transmitted infection that causes cervical cancer — even as many colleagues told her the research was a waste of time and money. That effort ultimately yielded the world's first HPV vaccine, Gardasil, which is expected to save millions of lives through cancer prevention. Her bold leadership has changed the face of science and saved countless lives. No only that, she has inspired countless young women to pursue careers in the sciences. Did you know about this amazing dedicated woman?