BBC 100 Women

Whether she's on a film set or on a stage at a political rally, actress, producer and director America Ferrera has built a career fighting against the labels that everybody told her would hold her back. But beyond her recognisable roles in Ugly Betty or 2023's hit blockbuster Barbie, Ferrera is a committed activist working to engage Latino communities and has even invested in women's football. She sat down with BBC 100 Women to discuss her experience growing up in a family of immigrants, the need to have more representation on screen, and how she uses what she calls her 'superpower'.

Bollywood star Dia Mirza is also a committed environmental campaigner. In this interview with BBC 100 Women, she says she thinks the biggest climate issue is a 'bunch of egotistical men who refuse to change.' Born and raised in southern India, surrounded by nature, Mirza embraced climate activism even as her career in modelling and film was taking off 20 years ago. But along with advocating for sustainable living, she says she wants to challenge established gender stereotypes when it comes to her acting roles and her life away from the cameras

British singer-songwriter Raye has had the kind of year other artists can only dream of. She won six Brit Awards and became the first woman to win the songwriter of the year accolade. After leaving her record label to become an independent artist, her debut studio album My 21st Century Blues was a critical and commercial hit - establishing her as one of the biggest solo artists in the game. BBC 100 Women sat down with Raye to discuss life as an independent artist, the music industry's relationship with women and how she copes with pressure and fame.

Deep in the Amazon rainforest, sex is traded for gold dug straight from the earth. The lives of women here are shaped by the illegal gold mines known as 'garimpos' and the brothels that spring up alongside them. For some, they are a source of survival, for others a source of suffering. With unprecedented, intimate access, BBC 100 Women travelled to the Brazilian Amazon to reveal the hidden lives of three women caught in this dangerous web, risking the violence of the mines for their dream of a better future.

It all starts with a friendly voice that offers vulnerable women an opportunity when they need it the most - until the penny drops, and they realise their lives will never be the same. In Spain, both a destination and a transit country for victims trafficked for sex into Europe mostly from Latin America and Africa, an elite group of women investigators are fighting international gangs to liberate women from the sinister trap they are caught in. BBC 100 Women followed them as they engage in round-the-clock surveillance operations and raids, with unprecedented access into the heart of a global crime that is often hidden just in the flat next door.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad endured the Yazidi genocide in Iraq, carried out by the group calling itself Islamic State (IS) in 2014. She was captured by IS militants, forced into slavery and subjected to rape and abuse. After her escape, Murad has bravely recounted her ordeal to the world to raise awareness about conflict-related sexual violence. She partnered with human rights lawyer Amal Clooney to hold IS accountable and launched Nadia's Initiative to advocate for reparations for survivors. On the tenth anniversary of the Yazidi genocide, the human rights activist sat down with BBC 100 Women to talk about her work seeking justice for her community and what needs to be done to eliminate sexual violence in war.

Iceland is often considered a great country to be a woman, as it tops world rankings when it comes to gender parity. Parental leave conditions for mothers and fathers are so good that nearly 90 per cent of working-age women have jobs. Almost half of the country's MPs are female, and a high number of women hold managerial and executive positions. But it is also a country with persistently high rates of gender-based violence. Is Iceland the gender equality paradise it is branded to be? BBC 100 Women explores what the country is doing right - and whether things are as good as they seem for women.

With a record 20 World Championship medals and 11 Olympic medals to her name, Allyson Felix is the most decorated track and field athlete in history. A dangerous pregnancy and the death of a close friend turned her into a fierce advocate for better maternal healthcare for black women. The retired athlete was behind the first nursery ever to open in an Olympic village, during the Paris 2024 games, and is now a member of the International Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission. BBC 100 Women sat down with Felix to talk about the challenges of combining motherhood and elite sport, and improving working conditions and safety for women athletes.

Hollywood star Sharon Stone sits down with BBC 100 Women to talk movies, art, resilience and rebuilding a life from scratch after a near fatal brain haemorrhage.