New Delhi: Four Indian business leaders have made their way into the 2016 edition of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list, brought out by Forbes.
According to the latest survey by Catalyst, a nonprofit that tracks gender parity in the workplace, women occupy a measly 4% of corner offices at S&P 500 companies. And they hold only 25% of executive or senior-level jobs in those same firms.
This election-year “2016 Global Leaders” list honors these women, who join seasoned pros such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, number-one Power Woman for six years running.
As with every year, four metrics were used: money (either net worth, company revenues, or GDP); media presence; spheres of influence; and impact, analyzed both within the context of each woman’s field (media, technology, business, philanthropy, politics, and finance) and outside of it.
The Indian businesswomen on the 13th edition of the annual rankings include State Bank of India Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya (ranked 25); Chanda Kochhar (40), MD and CEO, ICICI Bank; Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (77), Chairman and MD of Biocon; and Shobhana Bhartia (93), Chairperson and Editorial Director, HT Media Ltd.
Bhattacharya is at the helm of the nation’s largest lender, while Kochhar leads the country’s largest private sector bank. Mazumdar-Shaw’s Biocon is a pioneer in the field of biopharmaceuticals and clinical research and Bhartia’s HT Media is a media house with interests ranging from newspapers and radio stations to online job portals and education.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel topped this year’s list, for the sixth consecutive year, and 11 times in total. She is followed by presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in the second and third spots respectively.