Forbes magazine published the 2016 list of the most influential women in the world. It includes 100 women from 29 countries, representing sectors such as politics, business, technology and philanthropy.
The average age of the rating participants is 57 years old. The youngest on the list is Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer (41), and the oldest is Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (90).
This is what the top 10 most influential ladies on the planet look like.
10. Ana Patricia Botin
The most powerful female banker in the world, the offspring of one of the great European banking dynasties. After the death of her father Emilio Botin in 2014, Ana became the chairman of the board of directors of the largest financial and credit group in Spain Santander.
9. Margaret Whitman
The first in the ranking, but not the last influential woman associated with the world of IT technologies. He is the CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. And before that, she managed to work as the CEO of eBay. Under her leadership, the young company soon developed into a giant online auction. In the first year of Whitman's "rule" eBay was worth $ 86 million, and ten years later - already $ 7.7 billion.
8. Susan Wojcicki
It is rare to find an Internet user who does not know about YouTube. But many do not know that a woman is running this largest video platform. Susan Wojcicki took over as CEO of YouTube in 2014. Since then, she is one of the women who shape popular culture around the world. “Google is pretty big,” she says, “but I look at YouTube and I feel like it's Google 10 years ago. And I see potential for growth. "
7. Sheryl Sandberg
At Facebook, Sandberg has a wide range of responsibilities: business operations, personnel, sales management, marketing, and communications. She is generously rewarded for her work and was on the list of women billionaires in 2014.
6. Christine Lagarde
On July 5, 2011, Christine Lagarde became the eleventh Managing Director of the IMF, and also the first woman to hold this post. On February 19, 2016, the IMF Executive Board elected her as Managing Director for a second five-year term. It will start on July 5, 2016.
5. Mary Barra
Was promoted from CEO to President of General Motors in January 2014.
This fragile-looking woman is not afraid to make tough decisions, such as the closure of the Australian, Russian and Indonesian branches of GM or the withdrawal of the Chevrolet brand from the European car market due to low profitability indicators. In 2014, General Motors was rocked by scandals involving the return of 30 million vehicles due to a defect in the ignition lock. Two years later, GM is thriving.
4. Melinda Gates
Computer genius and tycoon Bill Gates once stated that Melinda made him want to marry her. But this desire was contrary to the rationalistic views of Gates on marriage.
In 2015, the co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Foundation, together with her husband, spent $ 4.2 billion on charitable activities. Some of this money went to defend the rights of women and girls in different states.
3. Janet Yellen
Chairman of the Federal Reserve System, the US central banking system.
Previously, Mrs. Yellen chaired the White House Council of Economic Advisers under the Bill Clinton administration.
2. Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton seems to be going head-to-head with Donald Trump in the battle for post of American president.
Mrs. Clinton has already been in the White House as first lady under her husband Billy Clinton and as secretary of state under the Barack Obama administration, and may soon be there as the first woman president.
1. Angela Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel leads the 2016 Top 10 Most Powerful Women for the sixth consecutive year - and 11th time in total.
In opening her country's borders to more than a million immigrants from Syria and other Muslim countries over the past few years, Merkel has decided to play an interesting geopolitical strategy called "explicit humanism." How this will turn out for Germany - time will tell.