International Women’s Day: 10 inspiring LGBTQ+ women who are changing the world in 2025
This International Women’s Day we celebrate queer women who are changing the world. (Getty/Canva)
International Women’s Day is finally here and, of course, now is a better time than ever to highlight the queer women who are changing the world for the better.
The day of recognition is an annual celebration of the strength and resilience of women across the globe, as well as a call to action for equality.
This year’s theme is “Accelerate Action,” with International Women’s Day – the non-profit behind the day’s creation – writing that this year emphasises the “importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality.”
Here are just a few of the queer women helping to change the world for women for the better to mark International Women’s Day.
Billie Eilish
Singer-songwriter and queer icon Billie Eilish has skyrocketed to stardom in just a few years, quickly becoming a household name across the globe. Not only is the 23-year-old continuing to make waves with her music, including smash hit “What Was I Made For” featured in Barbie, she has also used her platform to speak out against hatred.
Following Donald Trump’s US election win in November, Eilish took a moment during a concert to express her dismay over his second term, saying: “Someone who hates women so, so deeply is about to be the president.”
In 2020, aged just 18, she also gave a powerful speech before her appearance at the Democratic National Convention saying: “You don’t need me to tell you things are a mess, Donald Trump is destroying our country and everything we care about. We need leaders who will solve problems like climate change and Covid, not deny them. Leaders who will fight against systemic racism and inequality.”
Billie Eilish has also expressed clear and firm boundaries when it comes to discussing her sexuality.
Nava Mau
Trans actress and filmmaker Nava Mau’s stellar performance in the dark comedy Netflix drama Baby Reindeer has cemented her as one of the great upcoming performers of a generation.
Shooting to fame with her performance as Teri, Mau has also worked on several other projects as an actress, producer, and director. In 2019, she directed and starred in the short Waking Hour, which sees a young trans woman question whether to go home with a love interest at a party.
In January, she gave a powerful speech on the Golden Globes red carpet about the threats to trans rights in the US, saying: “We’re in a time that is going to require deep emotion. We cannot buy our emotions, we have to let them course through us, share them with [one another], and we’re going to have to fight.”
If Mau’s track record is anything to go by, we can expect great things to come.
Chappell Roan
Chappell Roan’s meteoric rise to fame has marked her as one of the most influential queer artists in the world right now, and this is in large part due to her confidence in being herself.
The 27-year-old artist hasn’t just made waves thanks to her award-winning music, but also due to her willingness to establish boundaries with fans and speak out against poor treatment of artists within the music industry is admirable as it is understandable.
Nothing spells iconic more than calling out a photographer for “disrespectful” behaviour during a film premiere.
Vivian Jenna Wilson
Vivian Jenna Wilson is living proof that being a decent human being isn’t a genetic trait.
The estranged trans daughter of billionaire Elon Musk has used her platform to not only fiercely advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, but completely obliterate the X/Twitter owner on several occasions.
Having a self-professed “weird childhood,” Vivian has said on multiple occasions that she “can’t believe I’m as normal-seeming as I am,” saying that, during a conversation with her mother that she was proud of herself for overcoming the strangeness of her upbringing.
Jools Lebron
Transgender TikTok star and 2024 cultural icon Jools Lebron became so influential over the past year that her now legendary “very demure, very mindful” TikTok post changed the landscape of the English language.
Thanks to Lebron’s viral post, in which she described her “demure” look for work while taking her lunch break, the word “demure” saw an unprecedented surge in usage – estimated to be at over 1,200 per cent.
Online dictionary website dictionary.com labelled it as the word of the year thanks to Lebron’s unintentional efforts. If that isn’t iconic, we don’t know what is.
Cynthia Erivo
Actress and singer Cynthia Erivo could be on this list for the Wicked press tour alongside Ariana Grande alone, but that would be ignoring the 38-year-old’s influence on cinema and music over the past year.
The star’s stellar performance as misunderstood witch Elphaba in the cinematic adaptation of the Broadway musical had a huge impact on culture and the arts for the LGBTQ+ community and beyond in 2024.
So too has her music, which has landed her at over 8.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Dutch darts player Noa-Lynn van Leuven’s dedication to continuing to play the sport she loves despite the outrageous and nonsensical anti-trans backlash against her is as admirable as it is influential.
The player, who transitioned in 2021, has faced criticism after criticism for competing in women’s tournaments despite there being no evidence she has an inherent advantage.
After British darts player, Deta Hedman, forfeited a match against her in 2024, Leuven responded saying she simply wanted to play the sport she loves.
“All we want is to be ourselves. As trans people, we want to be respected. I’m Noa-Lynn, I’m a woman and I just want to do what I love to do and happen to be good at, and that’s darts.”
Alex Consani
Trailblazing trans model Alex Consani became the first trans woman to win Model of the Year at the 2024 Fashion Awards in December, quickly cementing her as a fashion icon.
The 21-year-old, known for her striking bleach-blonde hair and eyebrows, is famous not just for her modelling career since debuting in 2021, but also for her iconic social media clips, becoming a smash hit on TikTok and Instagram.
During her victory speech, she said it was a “big step in the right direction,” while also honouring other marginalised models, including Black trans models such as Connie Fleming and Aaron Rose Philip.
Harper Steele
Writer and trans woman Harper Steele’s transition journey has been a powerfully joyous one to witness. Best friends with Will Ferrell, the 63-year-old former SNL writer teamed up with her bestie for a documentary showcasing their road trip across the US.
The film, Will & Harper, shows the pair hit the open road to “process this new stage of their friendship” – a humbling and down-to-earth showcase of how easy and positive allyship can be.
The film has had rave reviews, with one claiming the emotional documentary will “save lives.” The documentary also received two standing ovations at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
Lady Gaga
You can’t talk about inspiring queer women for International Women’s Day and not mention the bisexual Queen of pop herself. Lady Gaga’s legendary career as one of the world’s greatest artists has landed her a legacy to last for the ages, yet it is her tireless activism, particularly on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community, which makes her such a worthy addition to this list.
Mother Monster’s latest release, Abracadabra, has only continued her storied legacy of creating incredibly popular tracks that the queer community absolutely loves. The sky is truly the limit for the 38-year-old.
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