Women of the year throwback: 8 Canadians who rocked the ’80s and ’90s

The year: 1991

Pre-empting “Because it’s 2015” by a solid two decades, the NDP hit close-ish to parity by appointing 11 women to its Ontario cabinet. “Politics has been a man’s game for too long — we’re going to change its culture,” said former Premier Bob Rae, whose picks included Health Minister Evelyn Gigantes and the “tall and self-possessed” Zanana Akande for Minister of Community and Social Services. “Other parties will have to sit up and take note of this.” A decade-and-a-half later, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals finally did.