Simone de Beauvoir

“Mother of the modern women’s movement” whose two-volume philosophical treatise, The Second Sex, is considered the starting point of second-wave feminism.  Upon her death, in April 1986, the newspaper headline read: “Women, you owe her everything!” So, women: You may pay her back by reading The Second Sex. I would also recommend de Beauvoir’s autobiographies, particular The Prime of Life.