Women build bridges

Temple Grandin has spent her life navigating gaps most people don’t even see—and building bridges across them.

As a child in the 1940s, she was diagnosed with autism. At that time, this often meant being written off completely. She didn’t speak until she was four. But she was taking everything in. Watching carefully. Noticing details others ignored. That way of seeing—pattern-based, visual, precise—became the foundation of a career that changed how animals are treated around the world.

Temple Grandin is best known for transforming livestock handling. In the 1970s, she walked through a feedlot in Arizona. She saw what no one else had bothered to notice: animals frightened by shadows. They were also scared of loud noises and sudden turns. She understood, instinctively and analytically, that they weren’t being difficult—they were scared. And she redesigned the systems to reduce that fear. Curved chutes. Quiet zones. A slower, calmer process. Her designs are now used in more than half the cattle facilities in the U.S.

That kind of change doesn’t come from shouting or pushing from the outside. It comes from persistence. From staying in the room. From showing up with something better and making people take it seriously. And she did—over and over again, in an industry that wasn’t built for someone like her.

But that’s just one bridge. Grandin has also spent decades helping people better understand autism. She views it not as a problem to be fixed but as a different way of thinking. She’s helped thousands of people on the spectrum feel seen and valued. She has also helped others see that neurodivergent minds bring real strengths.

What I admire most is her tenacity. She bridged the gap between humans and another species—not with sentimentality, but with deep observation and respect. She helped people see animals not just as units in a system, but as sentient beings with experiences that matter. That’s no small feat. She didn’t demand the world change for her—she changed it anyway. Quietly, consistently, by showing what was possible.

At Women Build Bridges, we celebrate women like Temple Grandin. These are women who cross divides and translate between worlds. They make systems work better by seeing them differently. That’s what bridge-building really looks like.