Forbes announces 100 Most Powerful Women of 2013
(CBS News) Forbes released its annual list of "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women" on Wednesday. This year, Forbes selected eight heads of state, 24 CEOs, along with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and actress-turned-philanthropist Angelina Jolie. The list boasts seven categories: technology, business, media, entertainment, non-profits, billionaires and politics, and its members represent 26 countries.
The top five women on the 2013 Forbes list of "The World's Most Powerful Women" --
- Angela Merkel, German chancellor
- Dilma Rousseff, president of Brazil
- Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Michelle Obama, U.S. first lady
- Hillary Clinton, former secretary of state
High-powered women in the tech world have a significant presence on the 2013 Forbes list, which includes Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, IBM CEO Virginia Rometty, Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, and Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer.
And newcomers to the power ranking range from South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson, and Spanx Sara Blakely.
Moira Forbes, the president and publisher of "Forbes Woman" joined "CBS This Morning" on Wednesday and said that in 2013, "political influence reigned supreme," among women in leadership across industries. Forbes also praised Melinda Gates for her role in "disrupting how traditional philanthropy is done" and described her as "one of the most influential changemakers."
Forbes also detailed the selection process behind the list. "We looked at women across seven different categories," she said, adding that the women were also ranked "on money -- how much they influence, make, or control, and on media momentum, including social media influence and how often they ... are driving news."
Browse the full Forbes "100 Most Powerful Women" at Forbes.com and compare it to the 2012 list here.