The civil rights lawyer has made 'Time' magazine's 2022 Women of the Year list.
Time is honoring 12 incredible women. On Thursday, the publication unveiled its 2022 Women of the Year list, highlighting 12 extraordinary leaders who are working toward a more equal world.
Among the honorees are attorney Amal Clooney, singer Kacey Musgraves, actress Kerry Washington and actress Michaela Jaé "Mj" Rodriguez. Additionally, poet Amanda Gorman, Olympian Allyson Felix, health advocate Jennie Joseph, software engineer Tracy Chou and journalist Zahra Joya are also in this year's class.
Rounding out the 2022 list are Amanda Nguyen, founder and CEO of Rise, Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Adena Friedman, president and CEO of Nasdaq.
"The pandemic underscored the ways in which broken systems hurt women, from rising domestic violence to disproportionate job losses. When we sat down last fall to conceive a version of this project that could become an ongoing tradition, we chose to spotlight leaders who are working to create a better future for women everywhere," said Time's Executive Editor, Naina Bajekal, and Senior Editor, Lucy Feldman. "Our 2022 Women of the Year list features 12 individuals who have reached across communities, generations, and borders to fight for a more inclusive and equitable world."
In her profile, Amal tells the outlet that she works so hard as a human rights lawyer in part because of the 4-year-old twins, Alexander and Ella, she shares with her husband, George Clooney.
"With everything going on today," the 44-year-old civil rights attorney says. "I want to have a good answer when they ask me what I was doing."
Her family, Amal says, is how she achieves "balance" with her oftentimes heavy work.
"Marriage has been wonderful," she gushes of life with the actor, whom she wed in 2014. "I have in my husband a partner who is incredibly inspirational and supportive, and we have a home filled with love and laughter. It is a joy beyond anything I could ever have imagined. I feel so lucky to have found a great love in my life, and to be a mother."
While the public may focus on her marriage and children over her work, Amal wants to use the attention to "try to turn the spotlight to what is important."
"Since I can’t control it, my approach is just not to dwell on it and just get on with my work and my life and hope that attitudes will catch up," she says. "And I do actually feel like there is a female solidarity that has built up on these issues where other women will sort of call that out in a way that maybe wouldn’t have happened five or 10 years ago. So attitudes are changing."
Meanwhile, Musgraves, 33, is a feminist voice in country music, and has pushed through a lot of rejection to get where she is today.
"I decided I’d rather go down in flames for something I really believe in than present a watered-down version of myself that may make me more money," she tells the outlet. "You have to fight that until you can get to a place where you can have total creative freedom, and I’m getting there."
She is equally focused on being free in her private life, regardless of public perception, following her 2020 divorce from Ruston Kelly and amid her current relationship with Cole Schafer.
"I don’t really want to keep things private, because I’m proud of the love that I have. I’m very happy," she says. "It’s natural to want to share that. And I don’t want to come across like a robot -- I think people like me because I share who I am. But you also have to remember that you are under a magnifying glass, and it can get picked apart."
"You’re going to hear from the trolls," Musgraves adds. "I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect me. People forget that there are real feelings there. But it also makes me feel sorry for people -- I can’t imagine being so miserable that I have to spread that negativity."
For Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet of all time, she wants to encourage girls to write through their fear, and to proudly share their experiences with the world.
"Girls have spent so much of their lives being told to be seen and not heard, and you can see how they might bring that fear to the page," the 23-year-old tells the outlet. "So the core aspect of any conversation I have with someone who wants to start writing is: How do you stare at the monster of fear, know that it’s there, but not let it take up so much space?"
Meanwhile, Washington, 45, tells Time, that her work as a producer, investor, and activist is important because "the most effective use of my microphone is handing it to women and marginalized people."
And then there's 31-year-old Rodriguez, who made history in January when she became the first trans woman to win a Golden Globe for her role in Pose.
"When I was younger, I didn’t have representation for anyone of color in the LGBTQI community," she tells the outlet. "Now, I want to be the example. I want to show them that it’s possible."
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