Time 23Mar2020

TALK TO US

From left: committee

members Lena

Waithe, Katie Couric,

Mj Rodriguez,

Amanda Nguyen,

Elaine Welteroth,

Soledad O’Brien,

Alma Har’el, Zazie

Beetz and Nancy

Gibbs, photographed

on Feb. 16 in

New York City

Conversation

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each generation inherits a history, focused

through the lens of those who came before it—but time tends

to reveal a greater depth of field. In the words of Edith P.

Mayo, a curator emeritus at the Smithsonian National Mu-

seum of American History, “When you’re invisible, people

assume that you’ve done nothing.”

I was born in Tel Aviv, in a country where God-

worshipping men wake at dawn to say their morning Tefillah,

or prayer. Among meditations of thankfulness for gifts like

sight and freedom, they thank the ruler of their universe for

one more thing: not making them a woman.

As a daughter of secular parents, I asked why. An

Orthodox rabbi might say, Because a man’s role in the world

is celebrated while a woman’s role is only acknowledged

behind closed doors. At the other edges of faith, a more

progressive rabbi might explain it as a reminder that women

are paid less, face the daily threat of sexual violence and often

end up written out of history. Each morning prayer is a call of

duty to fight for a world in which the Shechinah—considered

the “feminine” aspect of God—is back from exile.

DOCUMENTING THE PROCESS

BY ALMA HARÕEL

As a female filmmaker working in a male-dominated

industry that often writes women out, I take solace in pioneers

like Alice Guy-Blaché, who directed nearly a thousand films

and started a film studio long before Hollywood was booming.

She’s one of more than a hundred reasons I joined forces

with TIME to help the publication use its influential global

platform to celebrate International Women’s Day by immor-

talizing a century of visionary, brave women who each might

have been a Woman of the Year, were the scales not tipped

against them. In order to do this list justice, we convened a

committee of gifted female thinkers from various disciplines

and backgrounds. I’m thankful for their conversation, which

was illuminating, inspiring and proof that while the contri-

butions of many women throughout history may have been

erased, it’s up to us to make sure they won’t be forgotten.

I hope these women will make you proud of human his-

tory as they call on you to make your own.

Har’el, the award-winning director of Honey Boy, is

co-producing a documentary on this project

CAMILA FALQUEZ FOR TIME
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