Yingluck climbs in Forbes ranking
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After just one year in politics, albeit a turbulent one in a deeply divided nation, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been included in Forbes magazine's list of the world's most powerful women for a second time.
Forbes mentions how most of Thailand held its breath when Yingluck’s political party faced dissolution over the charter reform controversy. Yingluck, who was ranked the 59th most powerful woman in 2011 thanks to her dramatically successful political debut, has risen to the 30th rank this year.
According to Forbes, the 45-year-old leader was included because she “oversees a country of 67 million and the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia.”
It said: “One year into her term, Shinawatra’s ruling party has had a tumultuous summer.
In July the Constitutional Court dismissed a complaint that her party’s attempt to amend the Constitution amounted to plotting to overthrow” Thailand’s political system. There was no immediate reaction to this from Government House. Forbes also noted that Yingluck embraced social media and has tens of thousands of followers on Twitter.
Leading the 9th annual ranking of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was also Forbes’ most powerful woman last year. She plays a crucial role as far as the future of the euro zone economic system is concerned.
Following her are US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
This year’s list also includes women in technology (a new category), politics, business, media, entertainment, non-profit organisations, as well as billionaires – all ranked by money, media presence and impact.
The 25 CEOs included alone oversee companies with US$984 billion (Bt30.68 trillion) in revenue. The women, at an average age of 55, represent 28 countries and have a |combined 90 million followers on Twitter.
“This year’s Power Women exert influence in very different ways, and to very different ends, and all with very different impacts on the global community,” said Moira Forbes, president and publisher of ForbesWoman. “Whether leading multibillion-dollar companies, governing countries, shaping the cultural fabric of our lives, or spearheading humanitarian initiatives, collectively these women are changing the planet in profoundly powerful and dynamic ways.”
Sixteen women join the list for the first time, including Brazilian CEO Maria das Gracas Silva Foster of Petrobras (No 20); entertainer Jennifer Lopez (No 38); billionaire philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs (No 49); and WikiMedia Foundation executive director Sue Gardner (No 70). Twenty-one women dropped off the list this year, including Sallie Krawcheck, Carol Bartz and Michele Bachmann.
There are 15 women in the technology category, including Sheryl Sandberg (No 10) of Facebook; Virginia Rometty (No 15) of IBM; Ursula Burns (No 17) of Xerox; Meg Whitman (No 18) of HP; and Marissa Mayer (No 21) of Yahoo.
