Kamala Harris, Nirmala Sitharaman, Sheikh Hasina, Bela Bajaria, Among ‘World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’

Vice President Kamala Devi Harris is among ‘World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’ of 2023, a list that “spotlights a dynamic array of leaders from diverse spheres of influence, featuring both groundbreaking newcomers and established figures, all marking significant strides in women’s global impact.” Forbes says that this year’s list, “while highlighting women’s advancements, poses critical questions about the state of their power.”

While Harris is on the third spot, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is 32nd on the list; and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed is 46th.  Also included are Bela Bajaria, Chief Content Officer, Netflix; Roshni Nadar Malhotra, CEO of HCL Corporation & Chairperson, HCL Technologies; Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Founder, Chair and Managing Director, Biocon, and Soma Mondal, Chairperson, Steel Authority Of India. 

Kamala Devi Harris, 59, made history by becoming the first woman, the first Black person, and the first South Asian American U.S. vice president. No stranger to breaking the glass ceiling, she became the first Indian American woman to be elected to the United States Senate in 2016. Before that in 2010, she became the first African American and the first woman to serve as California’s attorney general. A California native, she was born in Oakland to immigrant parents from India and Jamaica.

Nirmala Sitharaman, 64, was appointed as India’s finance minister in May 2019 and is also the minister for corporate affairs. She is India’s first full-time female finance minister. Before her career in politics, she held roles at the U.K.-based Agricultural Engineers Association and BBC World Service. She has also served as a member of the National Commission for Women.

Sheikh Hasina Wajed, 76, is the longest-serving prime minister in the history of Bangladesh. She is currently serving her fourth term. She is also the world’s longest-serving female head of government. She won the fourth term, which is also her third consecutive term, after her party, Bangladesh Awami League, won 288 of the 300 parliamentary seats. She is running for a fifth term in January 2024 “despite rising calls from the opposition party for her to resign,” Forbes said. “She has been accused of authoritarianism and cracking down on free speech. She also stands accused of voter suppression. She denies the charges, but in September, the U.S. announced visa restrictions for any Bangladeshi individual responsible for undermining elections.”

Bela Bajaria, 52, was named Netflix’s chief content officer in January 2023, after serving as head of Global TV since 2020. She is in charge of all of the streamer’s scripted and unscripted series around the world. Before joining the streaming platform in 2016, she was president of Universal Television, where she made history as the first woman of color to oversee a studio. She was named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People list in 2022.

Roshni Nadar Malhotra, 42, is the chairperson for HCLTech, a multinational IT services and consulting firm based in India. According to Forbes, “She’s responsible for all strategic decisions for the $12 billion technology company.” 

See Also

Andrew Arulanandam Named Interim CEO and Executive Vice President of the Powerful National Rifle Association

HCL was founded in 1976 by her father Shiv Nadar, and became a central player in India’s rise as an IT hub.  She took over the chairperson role from her father in July 2020. She is a trustee of the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which is focused on education and has established some of India’s top colleges and schools.

Soma Mondal, 60, became the first woman to chair the state-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) in January 2021. She has led the steelmaker to record financial growth since taking over: the company’s profits surged threefold to 120 billion rupees in her first year at the helm. She first became a director for the company in 2017. She’s responsible for launching an 80,000-million-rupee effort to expand production capacity. She has more than three decades of experience in the metals industry. After graduating from college with a degree in electrical engineering, she joined the state-run National Aluminium Co.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, 70, one of India’s richest self-made women, founded the biopharmaceutical firm Biocon, in 1978. “The firm has successfully forayed into the lucrative U.S. market, and has Asia’s largest insulin factory in Malaysia’s Johor region,” Forbes says. In June 2022, the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested a Biocon Biologics executive and four others in an alleged bribery case. The company denied any wrongdoing.