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Forbes
The world's most powerful women
Forbes' power list includes activists, queens, businesswomen and Oprah. No. 1 for the second straight year is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
By Forbes.com
Our second ranking of the World's Most Powerful Women illustrates how fleeting power is. Megawati Sukarnoputri, the former president of Indonesia who lost her re-election bid, dropped off the rankings. Gone, too, is Carleton (Carly) Fiorina, booted from Hewlett-Packard. The scandal-plagued president of the Philippines, Gloria Arroyo (No. 4), could soon be off as well. Among the newcomers: Yulia Tymoshenko (No. 3), prime minister of Ukraine.
Power requires influence in the global marketplace, as well as economic and cultural clout. To rank these leaders, each of the women received a "power scorecard" based on her rsum, the size of the economic sphere in which she wields power and global media exposure.
More specifically, our power rankings are based on a composite of numerous factors, including global visibility (measured by press citations) and economic impact. The latter, in turn, reflects three things: rsum (a prime minister is more powerful than a senator); the size of the economic sphere over which a leader holds sway; and a multiplier that aims to make different economic yardsticks comparable. For example, a politician is assigned a GDP number but gets a low multiplier, while a foundation executive is assigned the foundation's assets but gets a high multiplier.
Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of state U.S.
She is the first African-American woman to become the U.S. secretary of state. She advises the leader of the world's largest superpower and has an unparalleled level of trust with and access to the president. And she has served two other U.S. presidents, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. For all of these reasons, and more, Rice, 50, is the most powerful woman in the world.
After a four-year role as national security adviser, Rice assumed the mantle of secretary of state in January. Rice has played a key, behind-the-scenes role in all of President George W. Bush's major decisions. "During the last four years, I've relied on her counsel, benefited from her great experience and appreciated her sound and steady judgment," the president said when announcing Rice's promotion. Bush needs her now more than ever, as his approval ratings and credibility sag, his domestic agenda is stalled, and the country grows more bitterly divided over the war in Iraq.
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With her steely nerve and delicate manners (she has been called the "Warrior Princess"), Rice lately has reinvigorated her position with diplomatic activism, whether it's promoting Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip to ease the Palestinian conflict, or encouraging six-party talks to get North Korea to stop its pursuit of nuclear weapons, or trying to stop Sudan's genocide -- to the point where her diplomatic party was recently roughed up by Sudan's strongmen. Rice also has close relationships with world leaders, having accompanied the president on numerous trips to Europe and Iraq. Rice has visited 31 countries and logged in over 119,000 miles by midyear. An unofficial Web site proclaims, "Condoleezza Rice for President 2008," which might be a long-shot idea. But a run by Rice for the presidency would make history in the U.S.
Wu Yi
Vice Premier, minister of health -- China
 Having risen up the ranks of China's Communist Party leadership since 1962, Wu Yi, 66, became a member of the Central Committee in 2002, adding the post of minister of health in 2003. Wu Yi has been busy this year as she helps China battle disgruntled textile manufacturers, due to the lifting of World Trade Organization quotas. In a bold June speech in Hong Kong, Wu Yi called for an end to politicizing economic issues.
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