Who are the world’s most powerful women this year? They are the smartest and toughest female business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, philanthropists and CEOs making their mark in the world today. They’re women who are building billion-dollar brands, calling the shots in the financial markets, and crisscrossing the globe to broker international agreements and provide aid.
Their accomplishments are formidable on their own, and even more so given how hard it can be to establish inroads into industries and job titles traditionally dominated by men. Statistics on women in positions of power remain bleak. According to the latest survey by Catalyst, a nonprofit that tracks gender parity in the workplace, women occupy a measly 4% of corner offices at S&P 500 companies. And they hold only 25% of executive or senior-level jobs in those same firms.
Amidst sobering numbers like these, one offers new promise. Since 2005, the number of women who are world leaders—presidents or heads of state—had more than doubled by last year, according to the Pew Research Center.
