It may come as a surprise to you that, from the computer to an ice-cream maker, some of the most important discoveries and inventions by women.

We’ve all heard of famous inventors such as Thomas Jefferson (Monticello’s Great Clock), Alexander Graham Bell (the telephone), and Benjamin Franklin (bifocal glasses), but what about Grace Hopper and Stephanie Kwolek?

Hopper invented computer programming — without which, it’s fair to say, the world would be a very different place—and Kwolek invented Kevlar, a material five times stronger than steel and currently used around the world to protect people from bullets.

Despite how important these inventions are, history has shown us that women’s achievements are often overlooked when it comes to handing out praise. So we’re looking to spread the love.

Ruth Handler is second on a chronological list compiled by David Lidsky in an article for Fast Company. She founded Mattel and was once described as a “one-woman sales merchandising promotion administrative force” She bet on TV ads, created pioneering sales-tracking and forecasting tools — and dreamed up Barbie. Handler focused on design and marketing while outsourcing manufacturing, a new business model that Apple would later follow.

To learn more about her, please click here.

David Lidsky is Deputy Editor of Fast Company.