The top 10 influential women in leadership roles who have been outstanding women at work
Women in leadership roles are creating the mechanisms that allow them to choose to do or be anything, and the women leaders are demanding a new kind of society that affords them that option. However, a female entrepreneur doesn’t require a corporate title to be a leader.
A real leader shows up in their community to have a significant influence. Regardless of status or title, women at work all throughout the world carry out that daily. Here are the top ten influential women in leadership.
1. Ursula von der Leyen
In July 2019, Ursula von der Leyen was chosen to lead the European Commission, the Union’s executive body. She is the first woman to hold the position, which oversees legislation that has an impact on more than 450 million Europeans. In 2020, she was the driving force behind a 750 million euro Covid relief package, and in 2022, during Russia’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine, she emerged as one of the West’s most ardent allies.
2. Christine Lagarde
On November 1, 2019, Lagarde became the first female to lead the European Central Bank.
Lagarde, who oversees European monetary policy, must pass a crucial test to prevent the Eurozone from being further destabilized by the coronavirus outbreak. Lagarde oversaw the International Monetary Fund, which seeks to maintain the stability of the world monetary system, from 2011 to mid-2019. She held that role for the first time as a woman.
3. Kamala Harris
As CEO of GM since 2014, Barra is the first woman to hold that position at one of the nation’s top three manufacturers. Barra has made significant investments in electric automobiles, self-driving cars, and Maven, a ride-sharing service. She rearranged GM’s production lines in the spring of 2020 to assist Ventec Life Systems in producing ventilators that were urgently needed.
4. Mary Barra
As CEO of GM since 2014, Barra is the first woman to hold that position at one of the nation’s top three manufacturers. Barra has made significant investments in electric automobiles, self-driving cars, and Maven, a ride-sharing service. She rearranged GM’s production lines in the spring of 2020 to assist Ventec Life Systems in producing ventilators that were urgently needed.
5. Abigail Johnson
Since taking over for her father as CEO of Fidelity Investments in 2014, Abigail Johnson has also served as chairman since 2016. The massive Boston-based mutual fund company was established in 1946 by her grandpa, Edward Johnson II. She reportedly owns a 24.5% stake in the company, which manages $3.7 trillion in assets.
6. Melinda French Gates
Melinda French Gates, the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is one of the most influential women in philanthropy. Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce in May 2021, but they will continue to serve as co-chairs of the foundation. According to papers, Melinda became a billionaire on her own after Bill Gates transferred $2.4 billion worth of stock to her in May 2021.
7. Giorgia Meloni
Giorgia Meloni, the first female prime minister of Italy in history, assumed office on October 22, 2022. The right-leaning Brothers of Italy party in Italy is also led by Meloni. She began holding that position in March 2014. She joined the youth branch of the Italian Social Movement, a “neo-fascist” political organisation created by admirers of the late Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, when she was 15 years old.
8. Karen Lynch
In February 2021, Lynch was promoted to the top position of the 300,000-person health services organisation. When CVS closed its $70 billion acquisition of Aetna in 2018, she became its executive vice president. Lynch assumed leadership of CVS’s Covid response in March 2020; the business oversees the majority of independently-run Covid testing centers in the US.
9. Julie Sweet
In September 2019, Julie Sweet was appointed CEO of the multinational services provider Accenture. Sweet was Accenture’s general counsel and head of North America, the company’s largest market, prior to becoming CEO. Additionally, Sweet is on the boards of directors for Catalyst and the Business Roundtable as well as the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum.
10. Jane Fraser
Jane Fraser, a longtime Citigroup employee, was chosen in 2020 to succeed Michael Corbat as CEO; she took up the position formally in March 2021. She is not only Citi’s first female CEO in company history but also the first woman to ever lead a significant Wall Street bank. Fraser held the positions of president of Citigroup and CEO of Global Consumer Banking prior to being named the company’s CEO.
Add comment