Forbes names Harris, Abrams, Ardern to ‘world’s most powerful women’ list

Forbes has released its 2020 list of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women,” with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris coming in at No. 3.

“The women on the 17th annual power list hail from 30 countries and were born across four generations. There are 10 heads of state, 38 CEOs and five entertainers among them,” the outlet wrote Tuesday. “But where they differ in age, nationality and job description, they are united in the ways they have been using their platforms to address the unique challenges of 2020.”

Included in the list are German Chancellor Angela Merkel at No. 1, President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde at No. 2, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at No. 32 and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams, whom Forbes ranked 100th. 

“In a year marked by mass protests and political unrest around the world, few people deftly used their power quite like Fair Fight founder and voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams,” Forbes said. “By working to help register some 800,000 people to vote in Georgia, the former state representative helped a Democratic presidential nominee win her state for the first time in 28 years.”

The outlet mentioned Harris’s clash with Vice President Pence during this year’s vice presidential debate as a galvanizing moment for women. At one point during the debate, when Pence attempted to interrupt Harris, she shot back: “I’m speaking.”

“The comeback launched a thousand memes (and even a handful of T-shirts), but it also became a rallying cry for women across America,” Forbes wrote. “One month after the debate, Senator Harris became the first woman, first Black American and first Asian American to be elected vice president — an unprecedented trifecta of firsts.”

Other women honored on the list were Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Melinda Gates. 

Newcomers to Forbes’s annual list included Abrams, MacKenzie Scott and German engineer and business executive Martina Merz.