Look: 10 most powerful women in the world, according to Forbes

Dubai: 2023 was not a great year for women leading nations and global organisations with many choosing to leave, or having to leave, pivotal positions. Examples include Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand [pictured], Sanna Marin of Finland and Susan Wojcicki of YouTube, among others.

However, 2023 also saw many women jump up ranks in the later part of the year, Taylor Swift [pictured] marking her biggest jump in the rankings yet – and that as a newly minted billionaire. Forbes published their list of most powerful women with new names and a honorary #100 rank to the protagonist in one of the biggest movies ever – Barbie.

#10 MELINDA FRENCH GATES – Philanthropy: When French-Gates (59) joined Microsoft straight out of college, she was the only woman on her team. She left as General Manager of Information Products after having helped the firm develop Microsoft Cinemania, Publisher, Word, and Expedia.com. Today, French-Gates is the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and is worth $10.3 billion according to Forbes.

#9 MARY BARRA – Business: Barra (61) has been the CEO of General Motors since 2014 and when she took over, she was the first woman to lead a major US automaker. Also on the board of Walt Disney company, Barra leads a collection of America’s most powerful CEOS, as chair for the Business Roundtable.

#8 ABIGAIL JOHNSON – BUSINESS: As head of Fidelity Investments, Johnson (62) is leading her family legacy on but Forbes has given her a ‘self-made’ score of 4 – this score ranges from 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest score for individuals who started their journey amid poverty or extremely adverse situations. As chairman and CEO Johnson has been instrumental in expanding the company, which her grandfather founded in the 1940s, bringing in the much-contested crypto-investments sector into the fold at Fidelity.

#7 JANE FRASER – Finance: Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser (56) has been leading the banking giant since 2021, when she became the first woman to lead a Wall Street bank. The banker is known to have surprised sceptics over the years, especially during challenging times — for example, by speaking fluent Spanish in her first town hall meeting to address employees in Latin America.

#6 KAREN LYNCH – Business: Lynch (59) took on her role as CEO of CVS in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. The largest Global 500 company led by a woman is Lynch's CVS Health. Lynch oversaw the CVS’ immunisation process during her initial days as CEO, a process that happened in over 40,000 long-term care facilities and CVS pharmacies in the US.

#5 TAYLOR SWIFT – Media and Entertainment: A new billionaire, Swift (33) is the first musician to find a place on the list just from her performances and music. She has a high self-made score of 8. In 2022, the 12-time Grammy winner became the first artist ever to claim the top ten spots on the Billboard Hot 100 song list.

#4 GIORGIA MELONI – Politics: The Italian Prime Minister, Meloni (46), is the first woman ever to hold the position. A member of the right-wing party Brothers of Italy, Meloni won her first local election at 21 and became Italy’s youngest ever minister in 2008. She was raised by a single mother in a working class district of Rome, after her father abandoned them following her birth.

#3 KAMALA HARRIS – Politics: The first woman in her role as Vice President of the United States, Harris (59) is also the first Black American and first Asian American to win the second highest US office. Harris, whose mother and father emigrated from India and Jamaica, respectively, had her sights set on becoming the first woman U.S. president when she competed against Biden and others for their party's 2020 nomination.

#2 CHRISTINE LAGARDE – Politics and policy: Lagarde (67) is the first ever woman to lead the European central Bank (ECB) and she also was the first woman to head the International Monetary Fund (2011 to 2019). Lagarde is known to be a staunch advocate for gender reform in her male-dominated industry while making financial decisions of global impact in her current role.

#1 URSULA VON DER LEYEN – Politics and policy: Leading 450 million Europeans, von der Leyen (65) is Forbes’ most powerful woman in the world. As president of the European Commission, von der Leyen is – like most women on this list – the first woman in history to hold that position. Before helming the EU, von der Leyen was a member of cabinet in Germany (the longest tenure ever from 2005 to 2019), and in her last stint was the country’s defense minister.