NEW YORK – TIME magazine today announced its 2026 list of Women of the Year, recognizing 16 leaders working toward a more equitable world. The announcement, made February 26, 2026, precedes a Women of the Year Leadership Forum and Gala scheduled for March 10 in Los Angeles.
The 2026 honorees span a diverse range of fields, including entertainment, sports, business, science, and activism. Actor and singer-songwriter Teyana Taylor will be featured on the worldwide cover of the magazine, accompanied by an in-depth interview. Other honorees include actor Lucy Liu, singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile, actor Sheryl Lee Ralph, filmmaker Chloé Zhao, Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, author and podcast host Mel Robbins, actor Mariska Hargitay, artist Amy Sherald, Reshma Kewalramani, president and CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Isata Dumbuya, director at Partners In Health, Sister Norma Pimentel, Safeena Husain, founder of Educate Girls, activist and lawyer Mahnoor Omer, Kecia Steelman, CEO of Ulta Beauty, and Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Moms First.
“At a moment when global progress demands bold and decisive action, the 2026 Women of the Year remind us that individual leadership remains one of the most powerful catalysts for change,” said TIME CEO Jessica Sibley in a press release. TIME editor in chief Sam Jacobs added that the annual project “offers needed perspective on the present and a spotlight for those who are shaping our future.”
The Women of the Year Leadership Forum will bring together leaders from the TIME100 and broader TIME community for conversations focused on solutions and advancing equity. Confirmed speakers include Mariska Hargitay, Mel Robbins, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Reshma Saujani, alongside leaders from Autodesk, Booking Holdings, Target, OpenTable, and Deloitte.
The Women of the Year Gala will feature appearances and remarks from Teyana Taylor, Chloé Zhao, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, and Reshma Kewalramani, with a musical performance by Brandi Carlile. The event is presented by P&G, Rolex, Target, Booking.com, Toyota, and Deloitte, with supporting sponsorship from Maker’s Mark Kentucky Bourbon.
This annual list builds upon TIME’s 2020 project recognizing 100 influential women from the past century, an initiative launched in partnership with P&G to address historical underrepresentation in the magazine’s “Man of the Year” (later “Person of the Year”) franchise.
Brandi Carlile, a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning singer-songwriter, has received eleven Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards, and was nominated for an Academy Award, according to her official biography.
