PM on powerful women list
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been named as one of the world’s most powerful women for 2018, according to Forbes.
The PM has been placed 29th on the list, below Microsoft chief financial officer Amy Hood and above Australia’s richest citizen, mining magnate Gina Rinehart. In its write-up on Ardern,
Forbes described the prime minister as having set new norms as a government leader, by giving birth and taking maternity leave while in office.
‘‘Rising to power on a tide of ‘Jacindamania’ at 38, she is the youngest female leader in the world and New Zealand’s youngest PM in 150 years,’’ Forbes wrote. ‘‘She said she is using her platform to ‘create a path for other women’ to follow in her footsteps.’’
Ardern’s actions in office were briefly detailed in the write-up, including her efforts to tackle climate change – she described it as this generation’s ‘‘nuclear-free moment’’ – as well as her work around welfare reforms and changes to paid parental leave.
Forbes’ list was headlined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the first female leader of Germany, who has been in power since 2005. ‘‘Her leadership is marked by her steely reserve, from standing up to Donald Trump to allowing more than a million Syrian refugees into Germany,’’ Forbes wrote in its profile of Merkel.
Britain’s prime minister was second on the list, with Theresa May’s ‘‘fight for a unified Britain’’ and ‘‘a Brexit that delivers on the result of the referendum’’ highlighted.
Other prominent women in the list included philanthropist Melinda Gates, of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Queen.