We document the evolution of women's status across the globe and throughout recorded history.We first construct a new database of seven million notable individuals (Human BiographicalRecord). We then measure women's status as women's share among the most prominent fractionof population that allows comparison across time and space. The records show no long-run trendin women's share in recorded history. Historically, women's power has been a side-effect ofnepotism: the more important family connections, the higher the women's share. But self-madewomen began to rise among the writers in the 17th century before a broader take off started withthe 1800 birth cohort: first among artists and scholars, followed by elected politicians, and finallyappointed politicians. The first wave among writers emerged when informal humanist educationand new public spheres shaped a supply of literary women, who met the demand of a new femalereading public. A strong writer wave predicts a stronger takeoff of self-made women in the 19thcentury. This effect has persisted and created cross-country divergence.