Meet 7 Most Powerful Women in the World in 2015

Do you believe that we have very powerful women in the world? If you don’t, you better convince your mind that indeed there are. The following is a list of top 7 most powerful women in the world who started from the bottom and now and they fighting for top places.

7. MARY BARRA

CEO, General Motors

She was born in December 24th 1961 in Waterford, Michigan, USA. Her father worked as a Pontiac for about 40 years. She studied electrical engineering at the General Motors Institute currently known as Kettering University where she obtained a degree in engineering. Later, she received a GM fellowship at the Stanford graduate school of business in the year 1988. In 1990, she cleared her masters in business administration at the same school.

She has held high managerial and influential positions in her career as a woman which kicked off humbly in 1980 when she was the co-op student and administrator for various engineering positions at GM. However, she became famous in 2008 when she was appointed as the vice president of the Global manufacturing company. Between 2009 and 2011, she was the vice president of Global human resources. Currently, she is the CEO of General Motors and has been named by Forbes as the 7th most powerful woman in the world.

6. HILLARY CLINTON

Author, Personality, Philanthropist

She was born in October 26, 1947 as Hillary Diane Clinton in Chicago Illinois and raised in Park Ridge which is a picturesque suburb in Illinois. As A young lady, she had passion for politics. In 1964, she campaigned for Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater but later became a democrat in 1968. In 1969, she was elected as the senior class president for student affairs. A year later, she enrolled at Yale law school graduating in 1973 with honors. At the same time, she met Bill Clinton who eventually turned out to be her husband as well as the president of USA.

She has held various influential positions in the government such as the secretary of state, US Senator and the first lady of United States of America from 1993 to 2001. In all the positions she has held, she has had social and political impact.

5. CHRISTINE LEGARDE

Managing director, International Monetary Fund

She was born in Paris, France on January 1, 1956 and she is currently the Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF). Before that, she held various positions in the French government such as the minister for trade, minister for agriculture and fishing and minister for economic affairs, finance and employment. It should be noted that she is the first woman ever to head IMF as well the first woman to be a finance minister for G8 economy.

In 2009, she was named the best finance minister in Euro Zone by Financial Times. In all her life, she has been a performer according to French government and she has never slept on her job. In 2014, she was ranked as the 5th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

4. DILMA ROUSSEFF

President, Brazil

She is a Brazilian citizen born in December 14, 1947 and has gone into history book by being the first woman ever to head Brazil. She has gone through a lot of torture in Brazil but that didn’t pull her down or make her give up. She was raised in middle class household in Belo Horizonte and during her youth years, she joined urban guerilla group that fought against military dictatorship. This made her serve a 2 year jail between 1970 and 1972.

After she was released, she founded the Democratic Labor Party (LDP) which participated in electoral campaigns. In October 2010, she was elected as the president of Brazil which caught international media attention. Because of the good work she did, she was re-elected as the president of Brazil after the first term was over.

3. MELINDA GATES

Cochair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

She is the wife to American billionaire Bill gates as well as the co-founder of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She was born in Dallas, Texas in 1964 from where she attended St. Monica Catholic School. In 1986, she graduated from Duke University after completing a degree in computer science and economics. Later, she joined Duke’s Fuqua School of business for MBA in 1987. She is well known for her philanthropy work all over the world and has won numerous awards for that.

2. JANET YELLEN

Chair, Federal Reserve, Washington, United States

She was born in Brooklyn, USA in 1946 on 13th August. She has a PhD in economics from university of Yale alongside other honorary degrees. In 2014, she became the first woman ever to be the chairman of the board of governors of Federal Reserve System. She is well known for her anxiety about unemployment and its effects on the society.

1. ANGELA MERKEL

Chancellor, Germany

Forbes just ranked Angela Merkel as the most powerful woman in the world. She was born in Hamburg in Germany in 1954. In fact, she has topped the Forbes most powerful women list 7 times. She is the first political start from East Germany since the reunion of both East and West Germany. She has won different honors and award from different parts of the world.

The above women have moved out of their comfort zones to reach where they are today. They are always on the run to better themselves and never in a comfort zone. They keep pushing and surging ahead and no wonder they are indeed the most powerful women in the world.