There are many professional fields where there is large gender imbalance, but few as great as professional sports. The pay, the fame, and the appreciation are heavily in favor of male athletes. Their female counterparts are rarely offered the same prize money, sponsorships, and opportunities to that of the men in the same sports.

Still, there are female athletes in every sport around the world who are working to change the status quo. For one, there are far more female athletes competing in the Olympics now than a few years ago. In 1992, women made up only 28.8% of the total athletes. In the 2016 games, that number climbed to 45%.

The women on this list not only excel in their craft, but they stand for a cause greater than themselves. Here's to the women who refuse to be silenced.

1. Serena Williams

Serena Williams is arguably the most famous and accomplished athlete (male or female) in the world. She held her ranking as the Women's Tennis Association's #1 player for 186 consecutive weeks (almost 3 1/2 years). She holds 39 Grand Slam titles. In addition to dominating the sport for well over a decade, she is a mother, activist, and philanthropist.

2. Sarah Attar

Sarah Attar is an American-born track and field athlete. She came into the public eye when she was one of the first two women to ever represent Saudi Arabia in the Olympics in 2012. She has been vocal in her criticism for how the Kingdom treated their two female athletes, but she hopes that her participation in the games will open doors for other women.

3. Misty Copeland

Misty has been a dance prodigy since she began dancing at age 13. In 2015 she became the first African American woman to earn the position of principal dancer in American Ballet Theater history. She has appeared in major performances all over the country and released a book about her experiences in 2014.

4. Megan Rapinoe

Megan is an American professional soccer player. She played on the U.S. women's national soccer team and helped the U.S. win gold at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and 2012 London Olympics, and a silver medal in the 2011 World Cup. Megan is also very involved in LGBTQ activism including Athlete Ally.

5. Danica Patrick

Danica Patrick is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing. She is also the only women to ever win an IndyCar series race. She announced that she was taking a break from racing in 2017 but will compete in the 2018 Indianapolis 500.

6. Jennifer Welter

Jennifer is the first female to be a coach in the NFL. In 2015, she was hired by the Arizona Cardinals to coach their inside linebackers. Before becoming a coach, Welter was a football player herself. She played for several women's leagues as well as a position on a men's team. On November 19th, 2015, Welter was presented with the Women's Entrepreneurship Day Sports Pioneer award at the United Nations.

7. Chloe Kim

Chole, a California native, became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding medal. At just 17, Kim won gold at the 2018 Olympics in the women's snowboard half-pipe. At the 2016 U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix, she scored a perfect 100. She is the second person to have done this after Shaun White.

8. Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere, and Akuoma Omeoga

Adigun, Onwumere, and Omeoga represented Nigeria in the 2018 Olympics. They made history by becoming the first people to represent an African nation in bobsled. Although they did not win a medal, they were proud to have made it to the Olympics, especially considering the circumstances.

9. Simone Biles

At just 21 years of age, Biles is the most decorated American gymnast. She holds a combined total of nineteen Olympic and World Championship medals. She is regarded by some as the greatest gymnast ever.

10. Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh

Both champions in their own right, this pair is the first same-sex married couple to couple to win an Olympic gold medal as part of the same team. In 2016, they competed together on the British field hockey Olympics team.