Susan Raven, a British historian, and Alison Weir, bestselling author who teaches at London University, concentrate on universally admired women. Copyrighted in 1981, it gives an overview of the contributions of women through time. It is divided into segments: Politics and Power, Education and Social Reform, Religion, The Written word, The Performing Arts, The Visual Arts, Science and Medicine, Money and Management, Travel and Exploration, and Sports.

Their choices focus on innovators, not merely achievers, and include Cleopatra, Sappho, Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Betty Friedan, Marilyn Monroe, Billie Jean King and Indira Gandhi.

Lesser known selections include: Boudicca, the warrior queen of Britain's Iceni tribe, who fought the Romans around A.D. 61; Walladah al-Mustakfi, an 11th-century Spanish poet; Carrie Chapman Catt, the American suffragist; and Valentina Tereshkova, the only female astronaut.