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German Chancellor Angela Merkel has taken the top spot once again on Forbes’ World’s Most Powerful Women 2017 list.
Merkel retains the top spot on the annual list of female leaders, taking first place for the seventh consecutive year, and twelve times in total. She is joined at the top by Prime Minister Theresa May, who, according to Forbes, ranks highly on the list due to ‘leading her country through Brexit, a historic, complex and transformative time for the country’.
May is followed by Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg at number four. GM CEO Mary Barra rounds out the top five.
Forbes used media presence and money, net worth, company revenues and GDP, and impact in each woman’s given field to finalise and rank the list.
2017’s list marks the 14th edition of the leadership ranking, and boasts 23 newcomers to the list.
According to Forbes’ stats, the 100 women have a cumulative net worth of $95 billion, and control $1.5 trillion in revenue. Ivanka Trump is one of the new entries, taking the No.19 spot for being a ‘key player in the Donald Trump White House’.
Forbes’ explained: “While her father might not always heed her advice, she is targeting policy areas such as paid family leave, promotion of women in science and female entrepreneurship.“
Her step-mother, Melania Trump, doesn’t appear on the list of 100 women, due to ‘mostly abdicating the first-lady spotlight’. In finance, Kathryn Petralia, Co-founder and COO of Kabbage debuted on the list at number 98, for leading the charge into fintech.
For women in media, Kathleen Kennedy, an American Film producer, reached No.77. Kennedy is known for firing directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller from the upcoming Han Solo prequel film.
The list features 48 women from the USA, and several newcomers from other nations, including Norway and Estonia.
China also proved to be a leader in female-owned businesses and start ups, with 55 per cent of new businesses being founded by women. On the list, Jean Liu made No.40 for her Chinese rideshare company.
The list’s editor Dorothy Pomerantz noted, “While they may still be in the minority when it comes to leadership, the women on our list are making real changes. That should give everyone hope for the coming year.“
View the full list of Forbes’ World’s 100 Most Powerful Women In 2017 here.
