ladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine was a defining moment for Europe. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen rose to the challenge. A week after the war began, she announced three major economic sanctions against Russia—banning transactions with its central bank, closing airspace to Russian plane travel and barring Kremlin-owned news agencies.
“Protecting our liberty comes at a price,” von der Leyen said. “This is our principle: freedom is priceless.”
For her leadership during the Ukraine war, as well as her handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, von der Leyen sits atop the 19th annual Forbes list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Her influence is unique—no one else on the list formulates policy on behalf of 450 million people—but her commitment to a free and democratic society is not. Von der Leyen is just one face of the biggest storyline of 2022: women acting as stalwarts for democracy.
American women suffered the greatest reversal of rights in the two decades of the list when the Supreme Court limited the right to an abortion. In reaction, female voters energized U.S. midterm elections. In Iran, thousands of women marched in the streets in protest against theocratic laws that treat them as second-class citizens.
Representing the protesters on this year’s list is Jina “Mahsa” Amini, whose death in September sparked the unprecedented women-led revolution. The rest of the women are more traditional power players—39 CEOs; 10 heads of state; and 11 billionaires worth a combined $115 billion.
The list was determined by four main metrics: money, media, impact and spheres of influence. For political leaders, we weighed gross domestic products and populations; for corporate leaders, revenues and employee counts; and media mentions and reach of all. The result is a collection of women who are fighting the status quo.
“If you don’t react to the first violation of your rights,” says Roya Boroumand, an Iranian historian and human rights activist, “the second will come, and the third will come.”
--Maggie McGrath