New York, NY: TIME magazine named Reshma Saujani, founder of Moms First and the visionary behind Girls Who Code, to its annual TIME Women of the Year list, recognizing 16 women leaders working toward a better, more equitable world.
“To be recognized as one of TIME’s Women of the Year at a moment when it feels risky to fight for women, that is the best acknowledgment I could imagine,” said Saujani. “I’m a serial movement builder, and my work is to break down every barrier that stands in the way of women and girls’ progress.”
Through Moms First, Saujani has reframed unpaid caregiving as an economic issue, mobilized thousands of moms, and driven policy wins, including $16 billion in federal investments for child care and state-level programs expanding affordable access.
The honor comes as Saujani prepares to release her groundbreaking documentary in June 2026. The film chronicles how mothers in America have long been systematically set up to fail, explores the culture war that forces women to choose between work and family, and highlights a nationwide movement to unite mothers and demand structural support. Thousands of moms are already involved as associate producers. The film will then go on a national screening tour with hundreds of watch parties across the country this summer.
TIME’s Women of the Year recognition celebrates Saujani’s fearless leadership, her ability to merge cultural advocacy with systemic policy change, and her ongoing mission to empower a new generation of women and moms to demand equity and opportunity.
“I don’t have the words to express how honored I feel for my name to appear alongside brave women like Teyana Taylor, Chloé Zhao, and Mariska Hargitay. But this recognition doesn’t belong to me alone. It belongs to every woman who has kept building, caregiving, organizing, and leading through a moment that has tried, strategically, to exhaust us into silence. The last few years have been relentless. Most days have felt like pushing a boulder uphill while being told the hill doesn’t exist. That exhaustion is the point. If women are tired enough, overwhelmed enough, financially strained enough, we’re supposed to stop demanding change. We didn’t. There is something deeply meaningful about celebrating women—out loud—right now. So today, I’m grateful. But more than that, I’m energized. This moment is a reminder that our work matters. That women matter. And that the strategy to make us shrink hasn’t worked. This is for all of us. And we’re not done yet. Thank you to TIME's Rebecca Schneid for the kind words,” Saujani wrote in her LinkedIn post.
