FIRSTS

"She broke the glass ceiling." What a jagged image we use for women who achieve greatly, defining accomplishment in terms of the barrier rather than the triumph. There she is up where the air is thin, where men still outnumber women, but where the altitude is awesome. Our goal with Firsts is for every woman and girl to find someone whose presence in the highest reaches of success says to her that it is safe to climb, come on up, the view is spectacular.

The documentary series, directed and produced by Spencer Bakalar and Diane Tsai, includes the stories of 46 groundbreaking women—including Aretha Franklin, Hillary Clinton, Serena Williams, Oprah Winfrey, Madeleine Albright, and Selena Gomez—as they reflect on their achievements, childhoods, setbacks, motivations, and more.

See the full project at time.com/firsts