August 31, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
With Forbes magazine announcing its list of the world’s 100 most-powerful women today, several charity blogs argue that the rankings show that women still have a distance to travel before they are truly influential.
“What does [the list] say about women’s power? For starters, there still isn’t very much of it,” writes an anonymous blogger for the Women’s Initiative, a San Francisco nonprofit group that assists female entrepreneurs. It says that very few listed people can truly be said to affect global affairs.
It also noted that 62 of the 100 are from corporations, while 28 are politicians, a sign that “business is a surer path to power for women than politics.”
The list also includes a few from the nonprofit world, including Melinda Gates (No.24), co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Margaret Chan (No. 37), director general of the World Food Program; Drew Gilpin Faust (No. 47), president of Harvard University; and Sima Samar (No. 92), who works with the Shuhada Organization, a women’s-rights group in Afghanistan.
In addition, Forbes included Patty Stonsifer, executive director of the Gates Foundation, in a secondary group of women who play important roles helping the 100 most powerful.
What do you think? Should Forbes have included more nonprofit women on its list? If so, who would you add? Suggest your nominees by clicking on the comments link below.
