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7 times women made history in 2021

7 times women made history in 2021
Vice President Kamala Harris is the first woman to hold the role.Drew Angerer/Getty Images
  • Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman to hold the role in January.
  • Two of Biden's Cabinet members, Janet Yellen and Avril Haines, are the first women in their roles.
  • Chloe Zhao became the first Asian woman to win a Golden Globe for directing.

2021 has already been a groundbreaking year for women.

In the fields of politics, sports, economics, and entertainment, women are achieving historic firsts and making a few more cracks in the glass ceiling.

In honor of Women's History Month, here are seven women who have already made history this year.

Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman to serve as vice president of the United States in January.

Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman to serve as vice president of the United States in January.
Kamala Harris is sworn as vice president in January 2021.      Alex Wong/Getty Images

Vice President Harris is the first Black and South Asian-American woman to serve as vice president in American history. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, is also the first-ever second gentleman.

When she was elected to the Senate in 2016, Harris became the second African-American woman and first South Asian-American senator in history. Since she left her role in the Senate to serve as vice president, there are currently no Black women serving as senators.

Two other women have run for vice president on a major party ticket: Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and Sarah Palin in 2008.

Sarah McBride was sworn in as the first openly transgender state senator.

Sarah McBride was sworn in as the first openly transgender state senator.
Delaware state senator Sarah McBride.      Business Insider

Upon taking office, Delaware state senator Sarah McBride became the highest-ranking transgender elected official in the US.

"As I reflect on the journey till today I am reminded of the change that it reflects: that we are a community and a country that has continuously opened our hearts and changed our minds and increasingly judged people on their skills and talents not on their identities," she said at her swearing-in ceremony in Claymont, Delaware.

Avril Haines became the first woman to serve as director of national intelligence.

Avril Haines became the first woman to serve as director of national intelligence.
Avril Haines testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in January 2020.      Win McNamee/Getty Images

Haines was nominated to serve as director of national intelligence by President Biden and became his first Cabinet member when she was confirmed by the Senate on Inauguration Day in 2021.

She previously served as deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency and deputy national security advisor during the Obama administration, and was the first woman to hold both of those roles.

Economist Janet Yellen became the first woman to head the Treasury Department since it was founded in 1789.

Economist Janet Yellen became the first woman to head the Treasury Department since it was founded in 1789.
Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.      BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden chose Janet Yellen to head the Treasury Department, and she was sworn in by Vice President Harris in January.

Yellen was also the first woman to serve as chair of the Federal Reserve. In addition to being the first woman to serve as treasury secretary, Yellen would also be the first person of any gender to have led the Federal Reserve, the White House Council of Economic Advisers, and the Treasury Department.

At Super Bowl LV in February, Sarah Thomas was the NFL's first-ever female referee to officiate a Super Bowl.

At Super Bowl LV in February, Sarah Thomas was the NFL
Sarah Thomas points down field during an NFL game in 2019.      Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Thomas is the first full-time female referee in the NFL's 100-year history. She was also the first woman to referee at an NFL playoff game in 2019, and the first woman to work a major college football game.

"I've always said that if you do something because you love it and not try to prove somebody wrong or get recognition for it, the recognition probably just is going to happen," Thomas told CBS News in 2019.

Chloe Zhao became the first Asian woman to win a Golden Globe for best director.

Chloe Zhao became the first Asian woman to win a Golden Globe for best director.
Director Chloe Zhao in 2018.      Phillip Faraone/Getty Images

Zhao won the best director award for "Nomadland," a film starring Frances McDormand about a widow who decides to live out of her van. She is the second woman ever to win a Golden Globe for directing — the first was Barbra Streisand for "Yentl" in 1983 — and the first Asian woman to win.

Also a first: more than one woman was nominated in the best director category at the 2021 awards. Regina King was nominated for the period drama "One Night in Miami" and Emerald Fennell for "Promising Young Woman."

In March, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala became the first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organization since it was founded in 1995.

In March, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala became the first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organization since it was founded in 1995.
Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in July 2020.      FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Nigerian-American economist, previously served as Nigeria's finance minister and foreign minister, and was the first woman to hold both of those positions.

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