From Forbes
By Elizabeth MacDonald and Chana R. Schoenberger 08.30.07, 6:00 PM ET
For the second year in a row Angela Merkel (in photo),
the first woman to become chancellor of Germany, ranks No. 1 on our list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women. She continued to impress the world with her cool leadership at two back-to-back summits, and stuck to her principles, getting G-8 leaders to agree to significant cuts in carbon emissions, among other things. She later corralled European Union countries into an agreement on a treaty to replace the E.U. constitution. More...
In second place is China's vice premier, Wu Yi.
Ho Ching,Chief executive, Temasek Holdings of Singapore is third.
Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State of U.S., is ranked fourth.
Indra K. Nooyi Chairman, chief executive, Pepsi in the U.S. is ranked fifth.
Many of the women listed are political leaders, but even more are business leaders and approximately half are from the U.S.A.
According to the Forbes article it may be easier for a women in the US to rise in the business ranks than in politics.
However statistics indicate that women in the USA still earn 25% less than men. MS Magazine points out that “Despite comprising about 50 percent of students at law schools, women make up only 16 percent of top-level law partners today. Corporate America is similar, with women holding just 16 percent of top-officer slots, and it's even worse at the very top, where women hold a paltry 2 percent of CEO positions in the Fortune 500.”
The Forbes article continues to state “U.S. Sen. and former first lady Hillary Clinton (No. 25) may make history by winning the Democratic presidential nomination. But will she make history again by winning the presidency? Clinton might have had a better shot at it if she were born in England, Germany, India, Pakistan or Israel. Women who operate in these parliamentary systems of government have had an easier time getting to the top because they are handpicked by their colleagues in their countries' ruling party, not by an entire country of voters in national elections.”
Albeit, there are several countries with female heads of state that have come to power by democratic elections. For example Cristina Fernández de Kirchner the president of Argentina; Michelle Bachelet (No. 27) president of Chile; Tarja Halonen (No. 50) president of Finland; Mary McAleese (No. 58) president of Ireland; Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (No. 100) president of Liberia; and Micheline Calmy-Rey president of the Swiss Confederation just to name those currently in office. This list does not include prime ministers.
For full list of 100 most powerful women and their profiles visit: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/11/biz-07women_The-100-Most-Powerful-Women_Rank.html
The World's 100 Most Powerful Women
01 Janauary 2008...
Happy New Year and Happy Birthday to the first appointed/elected female head of state in the world!
Khertek Anchimaa-Toka was born 1 January 1912 to a poor family in what is now Bay-Tayginsky Kozhuun of Tuva. Anchimaa-Toka became Chairperson of the Presidium of the Parliament of the Republic of Tunna Tuva in 1940, making her the first woman in the world to be appointed or elected as head of state. She held the position until 1944. After that, she remained politically active as a vice-chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, and then a vice-chairman of Tuvan Council of Ministers. She retired in 1972.
The New Year 2008, sixty plus years after Anchimaa-Toka's term, rang in with only 12 countries having female prime ministers and/or presidents.
Eight countries have female Presidents:
Argentina, Chile, Finland, India, Ireland, Liberia, The Philippines, and Switzerland.
Four countries have woman Prime Ministers:
Germany, New Zealand, Mozambique, and Ukraine
Also three counties have reigning queens: Denmark, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom (the Queen of the UK is represented by female Governor Generals in Antigua and Barbuda, Canada and Saint Lucia, who function as their countries' de-facto Heads of State and The Netherlands Antilles has a female prime minister).
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_elected_or_appointed_female_heads_of_state
http://www.guide2womenleaders.com/
MADAME PRESIDENT DOCUMENTARY FILM coming spring 2009
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“This very important project tells the story of women Heads of State is one which has rarely been told. The film's goal is to reveal who these women leaders are and heighten their visibility as we bring their stories forth in a compelling and inspiring documentary and series." states Kim Mance, Director of External Relations at the Council of Women World Leaders.
The documentary features eleven female heads of state: Michelle Bachelet from Chile; Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf from Liberia; Angela Merkel from Germany; Tarja Halonen from Finland; Helen Clark from New Zealand; Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from Philippines; Han Myung-Sook from South Korea; Mary McAleese from Ireland; Luisa Diogo from Mozambique,
Aung San Suu Kyi from Burma and Pratibha Patil from India.
(Photos L to R: Helen Clark, Angela Merkel, Han Myung-Sook, and Luisa Diogo)