The woman is powerful, beautiful, a hustler, a peacemaker, tenacious, vivacious, and whatnot. She belongs in all places and all fields be it finance, household, science and tech, education, hospitality, and many more. But several factors hold them back in reality. Women empowerment is a topic most influential and controversial for several decades but are we doing it correctly?
Women empowerment is fostering of woman’s sense of self-worth, decision-making power, access to resources and opportunities, power and control over her own life, and her ability to affect change. The business world has always been competitive. It’s full of fierce, determined, educated, and motivated people. Women’s role and position in business have improved dramatically. Society’s attitude towards women in business is changing and people have started to accept the leading role of women in the business world.
A woman in a business is a representation of strength. A woman has prepared themselves for the challenges, they are prepared to tackle whatever comes their way and they are geared up to have a strong influence in commerce and business.
List of the Most Influential Women in Business
1. Karen Lynch
Well-known around the world for taking CVS Health to new heights. Lynch is the President and Chief Executive Officer of CVS Health. Her key strategy has been delivering consumer-focused, high-value healthcare to nearly 45 million people that Aetna serves.
Initially, she began her career as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with Ernst & Young. She has about three decades of experience in the healthcare sector. Due to her strong and significant role in improving the dynamics of the healthcare industry, she has been named to Business Insider’s Top 100 People Transforming Business.
For four years (2016 – 2019), she has been named to Fortune’s list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business. She is the director of U.S. Bancorp and a trustee of the Bushnell Performing Arts Center. She has been acknowledged for her leadership by numerous organizations such as the National Association for Specialty Health Organizations, Business Insurance, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and Insurance Networking News. The smart working woman has left no stone unturned.
2. Julie Sweet
Julie Sweet is the Chief Executive Officer of Accenture and a member of the company’s board of directors. Sweet served as CEO of Accenture’s business in North America, the company’s largest geographic market before becoming the CEO of Accenture in 2019. Julie was a partner for 10 years in the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP before joining Accenture in 2010. On joining Accenture, she was Accenture’s general counsel, secretary, and chief compliance officer for five years.
The hardworking woman is the board chair of Catalyst and serves on the board of trustees for the Center for Strategic & International Studies and the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities – Bridges from School to Work. She has a dynamic role in the business world that has led her to become a member of the World Economic Forum Board of Trustees.
A woman like her has shaped the business world and she has also been recognised as has been recognized as one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business and Forbes’s 100 Most Powerful Women in the World.
3. Jane Fraser
The First female CEO of Citigroup has been a crucial figure in the world of business and banking. She got her education from Girton College, Cambridge and Harvard Business School. She beaconed Citi to new heights which were reflected in the robust first quarter 2022 earnings—returning $4 billion to shareholders. She is the leader in charge and commander of 200,000 employees globally and serves millions of consumers and businesses across 95 countries.
Before this, she was a partner at McKinseyCompany for 10 years before joining Citigroup in 2004. She was named president of Citigroup, and also CEO of Consumer Banking. She replaced Michael Corbat as CEO of Citigroup Inc. in February 2021. She has been relentless in positioning Citi to be the leading U.S. bank. She has managed the execution of Citi’s strategic business transformation which continues to drive higher returns.
She became the first woman to head a major U.S. bank and has become an example for women around the world. Her strategies and plans have made her way to one of the most influential businesswomen in the world. She was included on Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women in Business” list two times, in 2014 and 2015. American Banker named her the “Number 1 Woman to Watch” both in 2014 and 2015.
4. Mary Barra
The American businesswoman is one of the world’s most-watched executives. Mary Barra is the first female CEO of General Motors since 2014. She completed her Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering, at General Motors Institute (Kettering University) in 1985 and a Master’s in business administration in 1990. She was also elected as Chairman of the GM Board of Directors in January 2016.
Before becoming CEO of the company, she served as Senior Vice President, Global Product Development since February 2011 and Executive Vice President, Global Product Development, Purchasing, and Supply Chain since August 2013. She was named first on Fortune magazine’s list of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business.” In 2014, she was named to the Time 100, and Forbes magazine titled her one of the “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women”. With her outstanding leadership potential, Barra has become a pioneer in the male-dominated auto industry and one of the world’s most successful and influential CEO in the world.
5. Jessica Tan
Executive Director and Co-CEO of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China overseeing the Group’s technology and healthcare businesses. With her clear focus on technology plus finance, she has directed the Chinese company into one of the world’s largest healthcare facilitators.
She handles the Group’s Executive Committee and Investment Management Committee, supervises over 30 subsidiaries, and is in charge of seven of them. With her contribution in eight years, the Group grew from the world’s 30th largest financial conglomerate into the 5th, serving 634 million online consumers and 225 million financial customers.
A native Singaporean has made her way to one of the most successful women in the business world. Ms Tan was the Chief Information Officer of the Company from Jan 2013 to Nov 2019, a Senior Vice President of the Company from June 2015 to Dec 2015, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Company from Oct 2017 to Nov 2018, and the Chief Operating Officer of the Company from Dec 2013 to Feb 2021.
Before joining Ping An, Ms Tan served as a global partner at McKinsey & Company. She graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with two bachelor’s degrees in Electrical Engineering, Economics and with a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science.
She is the Insurance Leader of the Year 2022 in China. For her outstanding qualities, Fortune magazine named Tan the second most powerful woman outside of the United States.
6. Carol Tome
An American business executive who is currently the Chief Executive Officer of United Parcel Service (UPS). Before joining UPS, Carol served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the world’s largest retailer, The Home Depot, Inc. She served Home Depot as Vice President and Treasurer in 1995.
She has a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Wyoming and a master’s degree in finance from the University of Denver. She began her career with United Bank of Denver (now Wells Fargo) as a commercial lender and then spent several years serving Johns-Mansville Corporation as Director of Banking. Then she also worked as Vice President and Treasurer of River-wood International Corporation. Carol has been a member of The Committee of 200, The Buckhead Coalition, The Business Council and the International Business Council of The World Economic Forum.
7. Rosalind G. Brewer
Well known as Roz is the first African American woman to become CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, group president and Chief Operating Officer of Starbucks, and CEO of Sam’s Club. She serves as Director on WBA’s Board. She worked at Starbucks from October 2017 to January 2021. She has also held several leadership positions at Walmart and Kimberly-Clark. As CEO of Walgreens, Brewer is one of only two Black women to currently lead a Fortune 500 company.
She has formerly served on the board of directors for Starbucks, Amazon, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Molson Coors Brewing Company. Her dedication towards the business sector has ranked her 7th on Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business and one of the 25 most influential women by the Financial Times in 2021.
8. Emma Walmsley
The chief executive officer of GlaxoSmithKline since April. 2017 is the first woman to run a major pharmaceutical company. She also sits is the Board of Directors since 2017. A significant member of the GSK Leadership Team since 2011, as the President and then CEO of GSK Consumer Healthcare.
Before joining GSK in 2010, Emma worked with L’Oreal for 17 years in local and global marketing and general management roles in Paris, London, New York and Shanghai. She joined the Microsoft board in 2019 as an independent director.
Her skills have catapulted the position of women in the business world. Emma has been a business advisor to the prime Minister of the UK and a member of The Business Council Executive Committee in the United States.
In 2020, Walmsley was appointed dame commander of the British Empire for serving the pharmaceutical industry and business.
She serves as an example for young women around the globe. She ranked top in Fortune Magazine’s 2020 ‘Most Powerful International Women’s.
9. Gail Boudreaux
An American businesswoman and athlete were born in 1960. In 2017 she became the CEO of Anthem leading health benefits provider, serving more than 40 million consumers through its affiliated health plans. Previously she was the CEO of United Healthcare, the largest division within United Health Group, one of America’s largest health insurers.
Before becoming a part of United Healthcare, Boudreaux served as executive vice president of Health Care Services Corp. and earlier as president of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois. She was honored as one of Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women in American Business from 2008 to 2014. She was also named to the Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women in the World. Her tremendous efforts and leadership have highlighted her name in the world. She has also been named one of the Most Powerful People in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare.
10. Abigail Johnson
An American billionaire businesswoman is the president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of American investment firm Fidelity Investments (FMR) since 2014. She is also the chairwoman of FMR’s international former sister company Fidelity International (FIL).
Fidelity was founded by her grandfather Edward C. Johnson II. Abigail has completed her Bachelor’s from William Smith College and her master’s from Harvard University. Johnson’s wealth is approximated to be about 22.6 billion which also makes her one of the world’s wealthiest women. She was named “The Richest Person In America’s 50 Largest Cities” by Forbes in 2016. In the previous year, she was also named on the Forbes “Powerful Women” list.
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