Women’s Day: Top 10 Women Who Shaped The Globe in 2023

In the first months of 2023, the ranks of the world’s most influential women shrank. Between January and April, political leaders Sanna Marin, Jacinda Ardern, and Nicola Sturgeon either lost or abandoned their positions in Finland, New Zealand, and Scotland. Susan Wojcicki resigned down as YouTube CEO after nine years in charge. As did Martina Merz, CEO of German company Thyssenkrupp. All of them were replaced by men.

When the seasons shifted to summer, the story of female empowerment also heated up. Robyn Grew became the first woman to run the Man Group, a hedge fund with $161 billion in assets named for the gender mix of its business. Debra Crew, a former US Army officer, took over as CEO of Diageo in June, becoming one of just a few female CEOs among the top 100 corporations listed on the London Stock Exchange. Of course, the trinity of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Barbie generated billions of dollars in consumer purchasing. Their impact on consumers was so strong that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell addressed it during a July press conference.

As a result of their impact, the trio, which includes Barbie, has been named to the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list for 2023. Swift has her highest-ever performance at No. 5, while Beyoncé jumps to No. 36, up from 80 in 2022; Crew debuts at No. 79, and Grew debuts at No.83. Barbie occupies the No. 100 place, which is reserved each year for a character who is not the usual image of authority but has yet come to define a year.

As always, the 2023 Power List was selected by four key metrics: money, media, impact, and spheres of influence. We considered GDP and population for political leaders, whereas revenues, values, and personnel counts were important for corporate executives. Media mentions and social reach were assessed for everyone. As a consequence, 100 women are influencing the laws, products, and political debates that define our world.

Here is a list of top 10 women who shaped the globe in 2023!

1. Ursula von der Leyen:

• Ursula von der Leyen was named President of the European Commission, the European Union’s executive department, in July 2019.
• She is the first woman to hold the position, which is responsible for laws impacting over 450 million Europeans.
• Von der Leyen was the longest-serving cabinet member under Angela Merkel, serving from 2005 until 2019.
• She served as Germany’s defense minister for the final six years of her cabinet tenure.
• She championed a 750 billion euro Covid relief package in 2020 and, in 2022, emerged as one of the West’s staunchest backers of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s unjustified invasion.

2. Christine Lagarde:

• On November 1, 2019, Lagarde became the first woman to lead the European Central Bank.
• Lagarde, as the leader of European monetary policy, confronts a key test: guaranteeing economic growth in a context of rising inflation.
• From 2011 to mid-2019, Lagarde led the International Monetary Fund, which seeks to maintain the global monetary system’s stability.
• She was the first woman to occupy the role.
• In examining the 2008 financial crisis, Lagarde identified “Groupthink” in the male-dominated business and advocated for gender change.

3. Kamala Harris:

• On January 20, 2021, Harris became the first woman, Black person, and South Asian-American to serve as Vice President of the United States.
• She is no stranger to firsts. In 2016, Harris became the first Indian-American woman elected to the United States Senate.
• In 2010, Harris became California’s first African-American and woman attorney general.
• Harris is a California native who was born in Oakland to immigrant parents.
• Harris, a Howard University alumni, is the first historically Black college or university graduate to assume the vice presidency.

4. Giorgia Meloni:

• Giorgia Meloni became Italy’s prime minister on October 22, 2022, making her the first woman to do so in history.
• In November 2023, she supported a constitutional change proposal that would allow for direct election of the Prime Minister. She described it as an effort to lessen Italy’s political volatility.
• Meloni also serves as the president of Italy’s right-wing Brothers of Italy party. She took up the office in March 2014.
• At the age of 15, she joined the youth branch of the Italian Social Movement, a group created by followers of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and regarded as “Neo-fascist.”
• “Yes to natural families, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity, and no to gender ideology,” she stated in a June 2022 address, raising concerns that her election will undermine women’s and LGBTQ rights.

5. Taylor Swift:

• Taylor Swift became a billionaire in October 2023, owing to the proceeds from her Eras tour and the value of her music catalogue.
• Swift is the first singer to climb the rankings exclusively on the basis of her songs and performances.
• Her fortune is believed to be worth more than $500 million due to royalties and touring, as well as a $500 million song catalog and over $125 million in real estate.
• Swift began releasing re-recorded versions of her first six albums in 2021 to reclaim ownership rights.
• The demand for tickets to her 2023 Eras Tour overloaded Ticketmaster, forcing members of Congress to question the company’s control over concert sales.

6. Karen Lynch:

• Lynch became leadership of the 300,000-person health services organization in February 2021.
• She became CVS’s executive vice president when the company finalized its $70 billion acquisition of Aetna in 2018.
• Lynch led the purchases of primary care provider Oak Street Health and home health care specialist Signify Health in 2023 for $10 billion and $8 billion, respectively.
• Lynch is a member of the Business Roundtable, the World Economic Forum’s Global Coalition for Value in Healthcare Executive Board, and the Boston College Women’s Council.
• She began her career as a certified public accountant at Ernst & Young.

7. Jane Fraser:

• Jane Fraser, a longtime Citigroup executive, was selected CEO Michael Corbat’s replacement in 2020; she will officially take over in March 2021.
• She is Citi’s first female CEO in history, as well as the first woman to lead a major Wall Street bank.
• Fraser formerly served as Citigroup’s president and CEO of Global Consumer Banking.
• Since joining Citi in 2004, she has overseen a number of teams, including corporate strategy and mergers and acquisitions throughout the financial crisis.

8. Abigail Johnson:

• Abigail Johnson became CEO of Fidelity Investments in 2014, succeeding her father, and has been chairman since 2016.
• Her grandfather, Edward Johnson II, established the Boston-based mutual fund conglomerate in 1946.
• She controls an estimated 28.5% of the business, which will manage $4.5 trillion in discretionary assets as of September 2023.
• Johnson has embraced cryptocurrencies, and in 2018, Fidelity developed a platform for institutional investors to trade bitcoin and ether.
• She worked summers at Fidelity while college and became a full-time analyst in 1988 after earning a Harvard MBA.

9. Mary Barra:

• Barra, GM’s CEO since 2014, is the first woman to oversee one of the Big Three automakers in the United States.
• Barra has invested billions of dollars in electric vehicles and self-driving automobiles. GM plans to create one million EVs by the end of 2025, the firm announced in late 2023.
• Barra began working for GM in 1980 as a student in their co-op program. The first division she worked for was Pontiac Motors.
• She is the head of the Business Roundtable, an organization of America’s most prominent corporate executives. Barra also serves on the board of directors for the Walt Disney Company.

10. Melinda French Gates:

• Melinda French Gates is co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, making her one of the most influential women in charity.
• Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce in May 2021, but will continue to serve as foundation co-chairs.
• After they announced their divorce, Bill transferred at least $5 billion in shares in several public firms to Melinda.
• She has spent a lot of time working on women’s and girls’ rights as part of the foundation’s objective to help everyone live healthy, productive lives.
• Melinda French Gates’ next chapter will focus on closing the financing gap for female innovators through her investing and incubator business, Pivotal Ventures.