From politics to sport to science, women are making strides both in Europe and on a worldwide scale. This International Women's Day (IWD) 2020, we're celebrating the cultural, political and economic achievements of women across Europe who have driven change in the past year.

IWD is marked on 8 March every year, but it is by no means a one-day campaign. It celebrates the work women have been consistently doing to challenge stereotypes, fight bias and improve the situation of women globally, while also calling for a more gender-equal and inclusive world. 

In Europe, the fight for gender equality is far from over, and figures show that much more needs to be done to reach parity in all aspects of life. But according to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2020, Europe has made the largest steps towards gender parity, standing currently at 76.7 percent. 

Nordic countries are taking the lead not just in Europe, but globally, making up the top four countries on the global top 10 gender gap index rankings for this year. Overall, seven out of the top 10 countries are European.

However, the WEF also bleakly concludes that "none of us are likely to see true gender parity in our lifetime," saying it could take as long as a century to achieve it globally.

But don't despair: while the road ahead is still long, women are continuing to take action, break glass ceilings, and make an impact across the world.

Here are just 10 of the many women who have already changed things in Europe since the last IWD.

Greta Thunberg

"We can't save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed. Everything needs to change - and it has to start today."

The 17-year-old Swedish student Greta Thunberg has become an important figure across Europe and the world, sparking a global protest movement to fight climate change and starting a conversation on the role of young people in creating change.

Thunberg started her campaign in August 2018 by missing school on Fridays to protest outside the Swedish parliament building, holding a banner that read "School Strike for Climate." By 2019, her protest had gone viral and tens of thousands of students across Europe and the world went on strikes to support her cause with the hashtag #FridaysForFuture.

In 2019, the activist took her protest from Sweden to the world stage. She's since spoken at world gatherings and meetings, including standing in front of world leaders at the United Nations and the World Economic Forum.

At the UN climate conference in New York in September 2019, her words and actions inspired millions, as people around the world took part in climate strikes on the day she arrived at the conference - by yacht instead of aeroplane.

At the conference she famously said: "This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean, yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?"

Dina Asher-Smith

"I was very fortunate to be able to go into track and field, because I could see that as a woman I could make it to the top: I could be in the Olympics."

Good luck keeping up with Dina Asher-Smith, because at only 24 years old, she's the fastest British woman in history.

In October 2019, Asher-Smith became an international star after winning the world championship 200 meters in Qatar. She was named European Female Athlete of the Year in the same year for her achievements.

Asher-Smith broke another record for her home country by becoming the first British woman to claim a global sprint title, winning the World Championships in a national record 21.88 seconds.

The triple European gold medalist is inspiring women and girls to get into sports, saying she would like to raise the profile of female athletes. She believes the best way of doing that is to have more women telling the story.

"I was just really happy that I won, and then it's slowly coming to me that I'm actually a world champion - which means so much, I just never thought that it would be me."

Laura Codruţa Kövesi

"I have a message for Romanian citizens and society: corruption can be defeated. Don't give up."

Romania's Laura Codruţa Kövesi is so well-respected for leading the fight against corruption that in September 2019, she was voted in as the EU's first fraud prosecutor.

Her role will see her work in the new European Public Prosecutor's Office, set up by the EU to tackle graft, VAT fraud and other crimes involving the bloc's multi-billion-euro joint budget. Already, 22 EU countries have signed up to the project.

In December 2019, Kövesi was recognized for her work on a European scale, taking home the Woman in Power Award at the Women of Europe Awards in Brussels.

Esther Duflo

"We are at a time when we are starting to realize in the profession that the way that we (treat) each other privately and publicly is not conducive all the time for a very good environment for women."

Paris-born French-American economist Esther Duflo is breaking barriers in the male-dominated field of economics.

In October 2019, Duflo shared the 2019 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with two others, "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty" that has helped millions of children by favoring practical steps over theory.

Following the announcement, Duflo said she hoped her win would prompt "many other men to give [women] the respect they deserve" in the field. Duflo is only the second woman to win the economics Nobel in that prize's 51-year history.

At 46 years old, Duflo's age, gender and specialty - development economics - make her stand out among past recipients of the prize, who have traditionally been older and male (and usually American).

A professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Duflo is acclaimed in the U.S. and in her home country France for her hands-on approach to studying how people can escape the poverty trap.

Sara Snogerup Linse

"To ask a question, design the experiment and find the answer yourself – there is so much satisfaction in that. I really love working in the lab, and I think the pleasure I feel when doing science is visible to those around me!"

You may not have heard of Swedish professor of Biochemistry Sara Linse, but she serves as a Chair of the Committee for the prestigious Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Linse is worth remembering, as the celebrated scientist is making strides within her male-dominated field of research. 

In February 2019, Linse won the European Molecular Biology Organization's Women in Science Award for her contributions to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of protein self-assembly in Alzheimer's disease.

When Linse isn't in the lab working on cutting-edge research, she writes children's books with her husband, and has founded two organizations committed to supporting children and young adults with autism and mental illness.

It's no surprise then that Linse has been lauded as a role model who inspires women to pursue careers in science.

Samira Ahmed

"I just ask why the BBC thinks I am worth only one-sixth of the value of the work of a man for doing a very similar job."

British journalist and BBC broadcaster Samira Ahmed made headlines for taking action on the issue of the gender pay gap.

In October 2019, Ahmed took her employer, the world-renowned British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), to court in a dispute over equal pay.

Ahmed said she was underpaid by £700,000 compared to a male presenter of a similar show on the BBC.

The journalist won the employment tribunal against the broadcaster after they failed to provide evidence that the pay gap was because of reasons other than sex discrimination.

Ahmed's campaign was celebrated by female journalists and others, as she was seen as taking action against the issue of the gender pay gap, which has been a prevalent issue in the journalism industry among many others. 

Zuzana Čaputová

"It seems that Slovak voters can imagine someone who has been in politics only for a short time perhaps brings a different view of current reality and different views on the possible solutions. This signals for me that there is a call for change."

Zuzana Čaputová presented a glimmer of hope for many in central Europe after she was elected as Slovakia's first female president in March 2019.

The political outsider, who wears many hats as a politician, lawyer, environmental activist and anti-corruption campaigner, ran her unexpected campaign on a positive platform, pushing progressive values and political reform.

Čaputová's campaign slogan was "Stand up to evil" as she spoke of the importance of the values of humanism, solidarity and truth.

Before her entry into politics, 45-year-old Čaputová joined anti-government protests following the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak. She has also spoken extensively about fighting corruption in the country.

Her shock victory has been seen by some as a welcome sign of change away from the right-wing populist rhetoric seen across central Europe in recent years.

Christine Lagarde

"If it had been Lehman Sisters rather than Lehman Brothers, the world might well look a lot different today."

France's Christine Lagarde shattered many glass ceilings in the halls of international finance, with the tagline "first-ever female..." following her throughout her career. 

The most recent, in November 2019, has seen her become the first female president of the European Central Bank. In the same year, Forbes magazine named Lagarde the world's second-most powerful woman.

Lagarde's other firsts include the first female chair of major international law firm Baker & McKenzie, the first female chief of finance of a G7 country for her time as France's finance minister, and the first female managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

Though not without her controversies, including a conviction in a French court for failing to challenge a €404m taxpayer-funded payout to businessman Bernard Tapie as well as her ties to disgraced former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, Lagarde is lauded by many for breaking barriers for women in finance.

Sanna Marin

"I have never thought about my age or gender. I think of the reasons I got into politics and those things for which we have won the trust of the electorate."

Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin has been a politician to watch in the past year and will no doubt continue to be in the future.

Marin broke a world record in December 2019 by becoming the youngest ever prime minister at 34 years old.

Although Marin isn't the first Finnish female leader, her coalition government has created a first. All five leaders of the parties in her coalition are women, with four under the age of 35.

READ MORE Four decades of female leaders in Europe

In cabinet, 12 of the 19 newly elected members were also women, giving Finland the world's second-highest percentage of female ministers (after Spain).

The Social Democrat leader, who is considered left-leaning within her party, has prioritized climate change, equality and social welfare at the top of her agenda list.

Marin's government has already made changes to promote gender equality and inclusivity. In a recent move, the government announced plans to give fathers the same parental leave as mothers, meaning the combined paid allowance for both parents will increase to 14 months.

"I want to build a society in which every child can become anything and in which every human being can live and grow old with dignity," she said.

Ursula von der Leyen

"By the end of our mandate, we will have gender equality at all levels of management for the very first time - and this will change the face of the commission."

German politician Ursula von der Leyen made European history in December 2019 when she was elected as the first female president of the European Commission, a chief executive role in the European Union (EU).

As head of the EU executive, Von der Leyen is in charge of trade negotiations, economic and climate policy for 500 million Europeans and antitrust rulings involving powerful tech giants.

Von der Leyen ran on a promise to tackle issues such as climate change, trade and maintaining democracy in the European Union. Her plans include making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, launching a Green Deal for Europe in her first 100 days in office.

Although she has been criticized by many including Greens lawmakers and Greta Thunberg for proposing a weak green deal, Von der Leyen's commitment to gender equality has seen 12 women get a seat at the top table in the commission.

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