14 Inspiring Women Who Took On COVID-19 – & Won

The world today is incomprehensibly different from that of International Women's Day 2020. The pandemic has wrought havoc on how women everywhere live, from the economic impact to the higher rates of domestic violence to the burden of domestic care which has landed disproportionately on women's shoulders. Even our sex lives have taken a hit.

But the pandemic has also shown time and time again the strength of women's contributions in areas in which they are still underrepresented. From political leadership to STEM to grassroots community organising, women are stepping up to fight coronavirus. And in more ways than one, that fight has prevented the pandemic and the death toll from being much, much worse.

It's fitting, then, that the theme for this year's International Women's Day is Choose To Challenge. Women everywhere stood up and challenged the incoming tide of a global pandemic and worked to make sure as few people as possible were caught in its wake.

Ahead we take a look at just some of the genuinely inspiring women around the world who have worked to save people's lives this past year. We would be in a far worse place without them.