What do a female pilot, a Chief Justice, a basketball player, and a Fortune 500 CEO have in common? Recognized as being the first to achieve or accomplish a particular honor, position, or skill in their various roles, these women are all members of a special group known as groundbreakers. In this article, we share the eleven common characteristics or traits of twenty-one women who, in addition to making significant contributions to their individual fields, inspired others to pursue goals previously unattained by women. Descriptions of each of these traits are enhanced by examples from the stories of eleven of the twenty-one women—some whom you will know and some whom you probably will not