The month of March is Women’s History Month. March 8th was International Women’s Day. The theme for the month is “Nevertheless she persisted: Honoring Women Who Fight All Forms of Discrimination Against Women” while the theme for March 8th is #PressforProgress. Both of these are powerful messages and I thought that we should all take the time to look into women who have impacted the world around us.

1. Malala Yousafzai

Born in Pakistan, Yousafzai grew up in Pakistan and loves learning. The Taliban took control of the place she called home and banned girls from going to school but she was determined. She advocated for educating girls and was targeted by the Taliban when they boarded her school bus and shot her three times. In December of 2014 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Currently attending the University of Oxford, she continues to fight for girls worldwide.

2. Tarana Burke

Burke is the senior director of Girls for Gender Equality. When Burke founded the me too movement she had no idea the effect it would have. She established it to help survivors of sexual violence everywhere know that they are not alone in their fight. When Burke opened her Twitter in October she was surprised at what she saw. Millions of women were telling their story with #MeToo after actress Alyssa Milano. TIME Magazine named those who spoke out in the name of the #MeToo movement as its Person of the Year.

3. Christiane Amanpour

Amanpour is one of the world’s leading TV correspondents. She first gained the public’s eye after reporting in Tehran, Iran which ended up winning her the DuPont award and was internationally recognized after she covered the events during the Bosnian crisis. She is currently the chief international correspondent for CNN and serves as a role model for so many girls around the globe.

4. Aung San Suu Kyi

Suu Kyi spoke out publicly against dictator U Ne Win of Myanmar. Her fighting against discrimination was noticed by the military government and they placed her under house arrest unless she agreed to leave the country. She was released after six years only to be put under house arrest again five years later after working with the National League for Democracy. In 2011, the NLD re-registered as a political party and Suu Kyi was elected to a seat in parliament as the state counselor.

5. Oprah Winfrey

Winfrey became the first African-American female host of a daily talk show when "The Oprah Winfrey Show" premiered. She was the first recipient of the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award. Winfrey has worked to promote and raise money for many different organizations. She is an activist who emphasizes speaking the truth and the importance of the free press. Most recently, she was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award for her contributions to the entertainment world.

6. Barbara Walters

Walters was the first female co-anchor of a major network evening news program at ABC. She began her career working for NBC at the "Today" show where she made her breakthrough. She struggled with being overlooked because of her gender. In 1976, she started working at ABC, moderated the final presidential debate and launched the "Barbara Walters Specials."Walters has made history by interviewing people all around the world. She retired in 2013 but received many awards during her career.

7. Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ginsburg is a current U.S. Supreme Court justice and the second woman to be appointed this position. Ginsburg is an advocate for the fair treatment of women and worked as the director of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project. After graduating first in her class at Cornell, she went on to Harvard law school where she faced the challenge of being one of nine females in a class of over 500. She became the first woman to be a member of the "Harvard Law Review."She has been a part of many historic rulings.

8. Dolores Huerta

Growing up, Huerta experienced a lot of racism due to her Mexican-American background. During her time working as a teacher, she noticed all of the poverty-stricken children that would come through her classroom. She co-founded a Community Services Organization chapter to combat segregation, police brutality, and discrimination as well as to work for the rights of non-U.S. citizen migrant workers. She later co-founded the United Farm Workers and now continues to work and fight for many different social issues.

9. Tamika Mallory, Bob Bland, Carmen Perez, and Linda Sarsour

These four women, along with so many others, were very instrumental in organizing the Women’s March. Together they fight for many different social issues such as civil rights, women's equality, health care, and gun violence. Each of these women have worked very hard in their own communities to bring change. All of their hard work was brought to life at the beginning of both this year and last year as many people gathered in cities around the world for the different marches.

The list of influential women is endless but these are just a couple to get your month started.