With our world prone to stereotypes about men and women’s abilities, as well as unchecked sexual discrimination in the workplace–particularly against women and just a whole bunch of ignorance about which gender should do what job, we’ve arranged a list of women who we think defy gender stereotypes. Meet them, after the jump.
Ursula Burns – CEO of Xerox
Madame Ursula Burns is infinitely exquisite, because she defies both race and gender. She became the CEO of Xerox last year, making her the first black woman to head a Fortune 500 company. Fierce at 51, she looks great, stands tall, and serves as an inspiration for us all.
Nicole Lyons – Race Car Driver
Race car driver Nicole Lyons gives a whole new meaning to what it means to be driven. Talented as she is beautiful, she’s carving a name for herself as one of the rarest entities in drag racing: an African-American woman. Madame Noire caught up with her here as she opened up about drag racing, her pro football husband’s injuries, and her undying love for her parents.
Lauryn Hill – Rapper/ Hip-Hop Artist
Rap can be a hyper-masculine sport, in which male aggression and posturing dominate lyric and rhyme. Few rappers tend to catapult into largeness that are female. Yet, it’s indubitable that Lauryn Hill is so powerful a rapper that she’s in the top 5% of hip-hop artists ever to have hit the American hip-hop scene.
Laila Ali – Boxing Icon
Laila made her professional boxing debut on October 8, 1999, and in a sign of things to come, she knocked out her opponent, April Fowler, 31 seconds into the 1st round. Laila retired from boxing as the undefeated Super Middleweight Boxing Champion of the world with a 24-0 record, with 21 knock-outs. In her last fight, on February 3rd, 2007, Laila knocked out her opponent, Gwendolyn O’Neal, in just 56 seconds.
Nancy Pelosi – Speaker of the House
Overwhelmingly elected by her colleagues in the fall of 2002 as Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi is the first woman in American history to lead a major party in the U.S. Congress. Before being elected Leader, she served as House Democratic Whip for one year and was responsible for the party’s legislative strategy in the House. On January 4, 2007, Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
Hit-Girl – Superhero Extraordinaire
If you’ve seen the hit movie Kick-A$$, which debuted in theaters this year, you understand why Hit-Girl is one of the most powerful superheroes of all time–or at least the most “adorably” powerful. Standing tall at 11 years old in the movie, Hit-Girl outshines every other superhero and is much smarter, much more humanistic than her dad who trained her (She’s also much cuter than “Kick-A$$” himself). She symbolizes the strength and wonderfulness with which every little girl is born!
Have any more women to add to this list? Share in your comments below!
