For the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2019, pop stardom is, roughly, a tale of two genders: Powerful women who stand proudly alone, and well-behaved groups of men with too many bass players to mention.

For its 34th annual induction ceremony on Friday night, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the hall opened the pantheon to Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Radiohead, Def Leppard, the Cure, Roxy Music and the Zombies — a crop of respected acts that have each had a palpable impact on pop culture, and who arrived at the institution with a notable lack of controversy or internecine squabbles.

But it was the women who left the strongest impression this year, and who made the most powerful statements at the microphone.