Meet Four Indians In Forbes' World's Most Powerful Women 2023 List

Forbes released its 20th annual list of the World's Most Powerful Women on December 5, and four Indian women leaders have been featured this year. India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, followed by Roshni Nadar Malhotra of HCL Technologies, Soma Mondal of Steel Authority of India and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of Biocon have made their way to the prestigious index. Some other women who were featured are musician Taylor Swift, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, US Vice President Kamala Harris, and Citigroup's Jane Fraser.

The list features women from all industries of the world including healthcare, business, entertainment and leadership. The most powerful woman in the list, ranked at the top, is European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, followed by European Central Bank boss Christine Lagarde in the second place. Kamala Harris is ranked third on the list. 

Indians Featured On The List

Nirmala Sitharaman

India's union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been ranked in the 32nd position in the World's Most Powerful Women 2023 list by Forbes, jumping four spots above last year's ranking. Sitharaman was ranked the most powerful woman in India by Fortune this year.

Sitharaman was appointed as the finance minister in 2019, before which she was India's 28th Defence Minister. She is the second woman to hold both ministries in India. Sitharaman was ranked above many prominent figures like Donna Langley of Universal Studios, and musicians Rihanna and Beyonce.

Roshni Nadar Malhotra

As the chairperson of HCL Technologies, Nadar Malhotra was placed 60th on the Forbes list. The 41-year-old billionaire took over as the chairperson of HCL in July 2020 after her father, Shiv Nadar stepped down. She is the first woman to lead a listed IT company in India and is known as the richest woman in the country.

In 2019, she was ranked 54th on the Forbes list. Within a year of joining HCL, she was elevated to executive director and CEO of HCL Corporation. Now, as the chairperson, she is in charge of all strategic decisions in the company.

Soma Mondal

The CEO of the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) was named the 70th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes. Soma Mondal is the first woman Chairman of SAIL and was the first woman Functional Director of the company. She is a graduate of the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, and has 35 years of experience in the metal industry.

Mondal joined SAIL in March 2017 as Director (Commercial). She commenced her career in the metal industry as a Graduate Engineer Trainee at the National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) and took the mantle of Director (Commercial) at NALCO in the year 2014. 

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, the founder of Biocon, was ranked 76th on the Forbes list. She serves as the executive chairperson of her firms, Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics Limited. In 2019, she was listed as the 68th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes, and the World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 by Ernst and Young. 

She started Biocon India in 1978 in the garage of her rented house in Bengaluru with a seed capital of Rs. 10,000. She broke the barriers of sexism and ageism to secure funding for her company at an early stage. Mazumdar Shaw is also lauded for her philanthropic ventures in the health, education, and infrastructural industries.