This year’s most powerful women in the world featured only, yes only three African women, from Malawi, Nigeria and Liberia. Here they are>>>
#47- Joyce Banda>>>Malawi
The 63 year-old mother of 5 is Malawi’s first female president (and second on the African continent) who spent her initial year in office pushing for rapprochement with the international donor community while grappling with spiraling inflation and an angry populace at home. With foreign aid accounting for nearly 40% of Malawi’s revenue, Banda urged global financial institutions to restore the dollars and Euros frozen during the autocratic regime of her predecessor. But her decision to devalue Malawi’s currency by 50% — to meet IMF conditions — has resulted in soaring costs for food and fuel and widespread protests. Her first 12 months were also marked by progress in decriminalizing homosexuality and major public health initiatives such as the $15 billion Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria. She was ranked #71 in 2012.
# 83- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala>>>Nigeria
The 58-year old mother of 4 is currently the Minister of Finance in her native Nigeria. One year in office after a failed bid to for the World Bank presidency, Nigeria’s Harvard-educated finance minister produced a 6.5% increase in GDP from 2011 to 2012 and engineered the removal of subsidy for petroleum products. Nigeria is the third largest economy in Africa with nearly $50 billion in foreign reserves. She was ranked #81 in 2012.
#87 – Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf>>>Liberia
Johnson-Sirleaf is an African icon. She is the continent’s first female head of state, a 2011 Nobel Prize winner for her work in promoting Liberian reconciliation, and a luminary on the global women’s empowerment circuit. Liberia’s enormous resource wealth has attracted a flood of interest from foreign investors, including a $1.5 billion deal with Anglo-Australian miner BHP as well as Chevron Petroleum and Exxon Mobil. Priorities in coming months are reconstruction of the nation’s weak infrastructure and electricity grid. She was ranked #82 in 2012.
We are so proud of these great women who bring such honour and recognition to the continent. Don’t you think that there should be more Africans on this list though?
Courtesy: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinehoward/2013/05/22/the-worlds-most-powerful-women-2013/
