100 Women (BBC)

After the 2012 Delhi gang rape, then BBC Controller Liliane Landor,[6] BBC editor Fiona Crack[7] and other journalists, were inspired to create a series focusing on the issues and achievements of women in society today.[8] They felt that many of the issues women faced were not getting in-depth coverage, and in March 2013 a "flood of feedback from female listeners" was received by the BBC to the effect that the corporation should provide more "content from and about women."[9]

The BBC launched this series in 2013 to address the under-representation of women in the media.[8][10] Women to participate in the first program were chosen by survey in 26 different language services.[9] Programming ran over the course of a month, culminating in a conference held on 25 October, in which 100 women from across the world discussed issues they shared. A wide range of topics were debated covering employment challenges, feminism, motherhood, and religion,[11] to examine both the cultural and social challenges women faced in living their lives.[12]

The series has since covered many topics, including education, healthcare, equal pay, genital mutilation, domestic violence, and sexual abuse[13] and seeks to provide women with a platform to discuss how to improve the world and eliminate sexism.[14] Women included on the list are from around the globe, and involved in diverse fields of endeavour.[15] Women who are already famous are included, as well as people who are less known.[16][17]