Top 25 most inspirational and influential women in the world

There have been so many incredible women who have contributed to the betterment of the world, be it through politics, entertainment, medicine, pop culture, philosophy, science, or sports. Though the list could go on and on, here are top 25 women who have proved to have a great influence on new world. From politics to humanitarianism to culture, each of the following women plays a pivotal role in the world in which we live.

Some are famous, some you may never have heard of. But their influence shapes ALL our lives.This isn't an all-inclusive list and I'd love for you to join in the conversation by including your favorite in the comments.

1) Angela Dorothea Merkel- Chancellor of Germany, The daughter of a Lutheran pastor and teacher, Merkel grew up in a rural area north of Berlin in the then German Democratic Republic. She studied physics at the University of Leipzig, earning a doctorate in 1978, and later worked as a chemist at the Central Institute for Physical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences (1978–1990).

2) Hillary Rodham Clinton- United States Secretary of State

3) Sonia Gandhi- Italian-born President of the Indian National Congress and the widow of former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi, Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance

4) Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama- First Lady of the United States, wife of the President of the United States Barack Obama

5) Sheila Colleen Bair- Chairwoman of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

6) Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi- Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PepsiCo [[PEP]]

7) Cristina Elizabet Fernández de Kirchner- President of Argentina, acted as First Lady during President Néstor Kirchner.

8) Chanda Kochhar- Managing Director (MD) of ICICI Bank [[IBN]] and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

9) Christine Lagarde- Minister of Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment of France.

10) Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom- Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, Queen of 16 sovereign countries, Head of the Commonwealth, and Supreme Governor of the Church of England

11) Dame Marjorie Morris Scardino- CEO of Pearson PLC [[PSO]], first female Chief Executive of a FTSE 100 company.

12) Gail Kelly- CEO at Westpac (Westpac Banking Corporation),first woman CEO of a major Australian bank.

13) Safra A. Catz- Chief Financial Officer of Oracle Corporation [[ORCL]].

14) Anne M. Mulcahy- chairman and former chief executive officer of Xerox Corporation [[XRX]].

15) Ursula M. Burns- chief executive officer of Xerox [[XRX]], first African-American woman CEO to head a S&P 100 company.

16) Carol Ann Bartz- President  and CEO of Yahoo! Inc. [[YHOO]].

17) Serena Jameka Williams- American tennis player and the current World Number 1 ranked female player.

18) Anne Lauvergeon- chief executive officer of AREVA, French multinational conglomerate that is mainly known for nuclear power.

19) Angela F. Braly- Chief executive officer for WellPoint, Inc.[[WLP]]

20)Ellen J. Kullman- President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (“DuPont”) [[DD]] [[DDPRB]] in Wilmington and a former director of General Motors.

21) Irene B. Rosenfeld- Chief Executive Officer of Kraft Foods Inc. [[KFT]]

22) Cynthia Carroll- Chief executive officer of Anglo American PLC

23) Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria- was President of Chile, the first woman to hold this position in the country's history.

24) Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko- Ukraine's first female prime minister

25) Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan- Queen consort of Jordan as the wife of King Abdullah II of Jordan.

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