Long gone are the days when women were struggling to prove they were as powerful and able as men. Nowadays, as more and more women enter the limelight of politics, business, and world affairs, the society has realized that there really isn’t anything a woman cannot do. Following, we would like to present you with a list we have compiled of the top 20 most powerful women in 2013, based on the statistics issued earlier this year by Forbes Magazine. Forbes took into account several indicators when ranking these powerful women, such as influence, impact, media coverage, and wealth (based on their earnings in 2012).
For the 7th time in the past decade, German Chancellor Angela Merkel ranks as the most influential woman of the year. With Germany’s thriving economy, it is easy to understand why she is deemed as being the most influential woman in the world.
The list of powerful women, which is now at its tenth edition, also commemorates some women who have been on it since its very inception: media mogul Oprah Winfrey (now ranked 13th), Hillary Clinton (5th), Christine Lagarde (7th), Sonia Gandhi (9th), and Indra Nooyi (10th). The only newcomer in the top 20 is represented by South Korea’s President, Park Geun-hye, which landed on the 11th spot.
Curious to see who else has made it on our list of most powerful women in the year 2013? Let’s take a look at the countdown.
No. 20: Irene Rosenfeld, 60
Country: United States
Field of activity: Business – CEO at Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ)
No. 19: Jill Abramson, 59
Country: United States
Field of activity: Media
No. 18: Maria das Gracas Silva Foster, 60
Country: Brazil
Field of activity: Business – CEO of Petroleo Brasileiro Petrobras SA (ADR) (NYSE:PBR)
No. 17: Beyonce Knowles, 32
Country: United States
Field of activity: Celebrity
No. 16: Georgina Rinehart, 59
Country: Australia
Field of activity: Metals and mining – Executive chairman at Hancock Prospecting
No. 15: Meg Whitman, 57
Country: United States
Field of activity: Technology – CEO of Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ)
No. 14: Ursula Burns, 55
Country: United States
Field of activity: Technology – CEO of Xerox Corporation (NYSE:XRX)
No. 13: Oprah Winfrey, 59
Country: United States
Field of activity: Media
No. 12: Virginia Rometty
Country: United States
Field of activity: Technology – CEO of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM)
No. 11: Geun-hye Park, 61
Country: South Korea
Field of activity: Politics, the President of South Korea
No. 10: Indra Nooyi, 58
Country: United States
Field of activity: Business – CEO of PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP)
No. 9: Sonia Ghandi, 67
Country: India
Field of activity: Politics
No. 8: Janet Napolitano,56
Public Domain Image: Public Domain
Country: United States
Field of activity: Politics
No. 7: Christine Lagarde, 57
Country: France
Field of activity: Politician, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
No. 6: Sheryl Sandberg, 44
Country: United States
Field of activity: Technology – COO of Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)
No. 5: Hillary Clinton, 66
Country: United States
Field of activity: Politics
No. 4: Michelle Obama, 49
Country: United States
Field of activity: Politics
No. 3: Melinda Gates, 49
Country: United States
Field of activity: Philanthropy
No. 2: Dilma Rousseff, 66
Country: Brazil
Field of activity: Politics, the President of Brazil
No. 1: Angela Merkel, 59
Country: Germany
Field of activity: Politics, the Chancellor of Germany
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