NEW YORK: Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman, US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Founder of Biocon Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and HCL Enterprise CEO Roshni Nadar Malhotra have been named among the 100 more powerful women by Forbes, a list headed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the tenth year in a row.
The women on Forbes’ 17th annual list come from 30 countries and were born in four generations.
“There are 10 heads of state, 38 CEOs and five artists between them. But where they differ in age, nationality and job description, they are united in the way they have been using their platforms to tackle the unique challenges of 2020,” Forbes said.
Sitharaman is ranked 41st on the list, Nadar Malhotra is ranked 55, Mazumdar-Shaw, described as “India’s richest self-made woman,” is ranked 68, and the president of the Landmark Group Renuka Jagtiani is ranked 98th.
Merkel is ranked number one for the 10th year in a row. “Merkel remains the de facto leader of Europe, leading the region’s largest economy after leading Germany through the financial crisis and back to growth. His leadership is marked by his stockpile of steel, from standing up to Donald Trump to allowing the entry of more than a million Syrian refugees into Germany, “Forbes said, adding:” The big question the public is now asking is who and what will come after Merkel. time in office is coming to an end. ”
Harris, who became the first woman, the first African American and the first Asian American to be elected vice president, “an unprecedented trifecta of firsts for California Senator Harris,” is third on the list.
Harris’s “rapid rise in American politics has also catapulted her” to the Forbes list of the 100 most powerful women in the world for the first time. The head of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, ranks second for the second year in a row.
“From fighting the pandemic to reengineering American politics, these influential women, including New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams, are making history,” Forbes said.
Several of this year’s Power Women received “global applause” for their effective responses to Covid-19.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (No. 32) defeated a first and second wave of the virus in her country by implementing strict lockdown and quarantine procedures.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (No. 37) implemented a rigorous contact tracing program in January, as a result, to date, the island of 23 million people has lost only seven lives to the virus, she said Forbes.
There are 17 newcomers on this year’s list, illustrating that women are “leading all aspects of a society transformed by a global pandemic.”
The new CEO of the multinational American company United Parcel Service Carol Tomé (No. 11) and the director of Clorox Linda Rendle (No. 87), based in California, are responsible for helping to provide essential services that have kept the Americans connected and clean.
Incoming CVS Health Executive Vice President and CEO Karen Lynch (No. 38) leads the pharmaceutical giant’s vast COVID-19 testing program and, in 2021, will be responsible for its critical management of coronavirus vaccines.
The list also includes Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chair Melinda Gates (5), Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi (7), Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (22) , the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina (39), the Queen of the United Kingdom. Elizabeth II (46), famous artists Rihana (69) and Beyonce (72).
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