Women shined in 2024. More, please, in 2025.

2024 was a banner year for women. In the world of sports, collegiate basketball phenom Caitlyn Clark went pro and Olympians Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles shined in Paris. South Carolina went 38-0 to win the NCAA Women’s Division 1 basketball championship.

In the real world, Mexico elected its first female President (and first Jewish head of state), energy engineer and former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Scheinbaum. In the courtroom, plaintiff E. Jean Carroll was granted a judgment of $83.3 million for being libeled by DJ Trump, after last year’s $5 million judgment for sexual abuse and defamation.

Billionaire philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott gave $640 million to 361 small nonprofits

in Yield Giving’s first round of donations, either $2 million or $1 million to each. The ex-spouse

of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos started this philanthropy in 2019, and has donated $16.5 billion.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, lifted hearts around the world with word in early September that

she had completed chemotherapy treatments and was cancer-free. She wrote on X (Twitter):

"The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can

change in an instant, and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road

unknown." The royalty known simply as Kate had first announced in March that she was being treated for cancer after barely being seen in public for two months, following abdominal surgery and 13 days of hospitalization in January.

Kamala Harris, the “next woman” after Hillary, with only 100 days to campaign ahead of the

November election, collected 48.5 percent of the popular vote for U.S. President. She didn’t

win or place, but she did show. Had she campaigned on a platform inflated with something

more than joy – and perhaps with more time, she may have reached the finish line.

Nikki Haley deserves mention for presenting a sane, seasoned, and non-corrupt alternative as

the GOP nominee for President. She accounted for herself courageously and formidably in the

face of insurmountable MAGA odds, suspending her campaign after the Super Tuesday

primaries. Of her opponent, she assessed: “. . . chaos follows him . . . and we can’t have a

country in disarray and a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. We won’t

survive it.” Prescient words.

Meanwhile, the Queen of the Swifties completed her 2-year more-than-mega Eras Tour on

December 8 in Vancouver, becoming the highest grossing concert tour of all time. There are

not adequate superlatives to label Taylor Swift’s global talent and achievements, not to

mention her grace and class – and influence. Her September 10 post endorsing Kamala Harris -

- to her 283 million Instagram followers -- sent 405,999 people to a government Web site with

information on how to register to vote.

In France, the tragedy and courage of Gisele Pelicot played out graphically in front of that

nation, a woman subjected by her perverted husband to repeated rapes while drugged, all

during a 10-year period. She opened up her trial to the public to shed light on the “problem” of

sexual violence, a spectacle that transfixed France for months. Her now ex-husband and 50

other men were convicted in a French court, though light sentences including for time served

ignited outrage.

Meantime, in the U.S. and around the globe, old white men in positions of leadership got older

and showed rare grace or class – and often little capacity and capability -- while struggling to

run countries. Here’s hoping women will continue to impose their will, showcase their skill,

model goodwill, and instill transformative leadership in this new year.