The World's 10 Most Powerful Women in 2021

Who are the most powerful women in the world? That's a question that Forbes often attempts to answer, and it recently released its latest list of who will be at the top of the rankings in 2021. Here's an introduction to the 10 most powerful women in 2021 and their current ranking on this year's list. One woman will be dethroned by another woman within the next five years, so be sure to check back again in 2021 to see who's taken her place!

MacKenzie Scott

MacKenzie Scott

MacKenzie Scott is a philanthropist, writer and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who has been married for 25 years. MacKenzie Scott was born on April 7, 1970 in San Francisco, California. She attended the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut and then went on to graduate with a degree in English at Princeton University in 1992. She studied well and was an assistant for, noted author Toni Morrison. Also, she has published two novels.

Kamala Harris

In 2003, Harris was appointed San Francisco District Attorney and served until 2011 when she became Attorney General and She held that position until she was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016. She was the first African-American and the first woman Attorney General in California. In January 2019, she announced her candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination of the United States, but withdrew from the election campaign in December 2019. In August 2020, she was chosen to serve as his running mate by presumptive presidential candidate Joseph Biden. Then she was the First African American, first Asian American and the third female vice-presidential running mate on a major party ticket. Biden and she won the election in November. in January 20, 2021, Kamala D. Harris became 49th Vice President of the United States, becoming the first woman to serve in that office. 

Christine Lagarde

Creator: FRANCOIS LENOIR | Credit: REUTERS

Christine Lagarde was born on January 1, 1956 in Paris, France. She joined the executive committee in 1995 and was elected chairman of the company in October 1999, becoming the first woman to hold the position. In May 2011, before the end of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's term as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde was named as the successor. On June 28, 2011, Christine Lagarde was elected CEO of the International Monetary Fund, although she is not an economist and has no banking experience. She became president of the European Central Bank in October 2019. Christine Lagarde was the first woman president of the European Central Bank.

Mary Barra

Source: General Motors

Mary Teresa Barra was born on December 24, 1961, in Royal Oak, Michigan, United States. Mary Barra is married to Anthony Barra, an engineering consultant. The two met while they was studying at university. They live in Northville, Detroit, with their two children. She has held various positions ranging from General Director of Internal Communications to Plant Manager. Finally, Barra was appointed CEO of GM on December 10, 2013 and she was the first female head of an automobile manufacturer in the United States.

Melinda French Gates

forbes.com

Melinda Gates was born on August 15, 1964 in Dallas, Texas. Gates, the second of four children, grew up with her family. After graduating, Melinda was offered a job at IBM. but she declined it to work at a small software company called Microsoft. Melinda joined the team in 1987 and was the only woman on her team of ten new recruits with business degrees. She came in as marketing manager and multimedia product development. later She was promoted to General Manager of Information Products. Bill gates and Melinda began their affair and were married seven years later in Lanai, Hawaii. These two have three children. The couple decided to end their 27-year marriage in 2021. They divorced in May 2021.

Abigail Johnson

nairametrics.com

She is currently serving as President and CEO of Fidelity. Since Johnson took over day-to-day operations in 2014, she has been making big moves at Fidelity. She is aiming to turn Fidelity into a full-service investment company, not just a provider of brokerage services and mutual funds. This kind of growth means Johnson will have an enormous impact on Wall Street during her tenure—both through what happens with Fidelity and what others copy from her model.

Ana Patricia Botin

forbes.com

At just 46 years old, Ana Patricia Botin became CEO of Santander Bank, and she’s easily Spain’s most powerful woman. Before taking over as head of Santander, she was a member of its executive committee. Since assuming control, Botin has reshaped Santander into one of Europe’s largest banks by purchasing bank assets from struggling Greece and Italy. Ana Patricia ranked seventh on the list of 100 Most Powerful Women around the world According to Forbes.

Ursula von der Leyen

Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen is a German politician and doctor who has been chair of the European Commission since December 1, 2019. From 2005 to 2019, she served on Angela Markel's cabinet - the longest tenure of any cabinet member. Ursula has been Germany's defense minister for the last six years of Merkel's cabinet.

Tsai Ing-wen

Credit: RITCHIE B TONGO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

In 2016, Tsai became Taiwan’s first female president, taking office as a member of her party, the Democratic Progressive Party. She previously served as chairwoman of Taiwan’s opposition party from 2006 to 2008 and was its presidential candidate in 2012. Prior to that, she had been a law professor at National Taiwan University for two decades.

Julie Sweet

Accenture

Vice Chairman, Accenture; North America, President and CEO, Accenture Digital. At Accenture Digital (acquired by Accenture), Julie leads a portfolio of businesses in Marketing and Sales, Financial Services, Technology and Operations. Sweet has 30 years of strategy consulting experience with a focus on growth, transformation and digital innovation. She has served clients across industries including healthcare, insurance & financial services; telecommunications & media; retail & consumer products; manufacturing & energy; chemicals & transportation; pharmaceuticals; public sector.