Women on Top

chillibreeze writer — Sasha

Knocking on the glass ceiling has become passé for these achievers. Storming into the male bastion is a thing of the past as well. Comfortable in the driving seat of the their chosen fields, these women have reached the pinnacle of success. Topping the Forbes and the Times Magazine lists of most influential and powerful people, they make all talk about their gender inconsequential. If Oprah were a man who would she be? There are no male equivalents or superiors to some of these women. This article is a tribute to the women rock and rule the world.

She is a woman who believed that even though she may not be able to buy a hamburger at Woolworths’ coffee shop, she was capable of being the president of the Unites States of America. Condeleezza Rice came very close to her dream when she became the first woman to occupy the position of the National Security Advisor for the first term of the Bush administration and moving up the ranks to make the transition to Secretary of State. To make the move is by no means an easy task. At 50, this Political Science student is on the board of Chevron Corporation, the Charles Schwab Corporation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the University of Notre Dame and the International Advisory Council of J.P. Morgan to name a few. In addition, her past board service has encompassed such organizations as Transamerica Corporation, Hewlett Packard, the Carnegie Corporation, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Rand Corporation etc. This should leave no one in doubt about who actually makes all the tough decisions at the White House, making Ms. Rice one of the most powerful women in the world.

Although Mrs. Clinton comes lower down in the rung of the power politics, nonetheless she is a force to reckon with. Instead of being arm candy for the President, as most of her predecessors, this feisty lady had an active career that prepared her for the Senatorial race. In 1993, she was asked by President Clinton to chair the task force on National Health Care Reform for which she received a lot of flak. Even though as the first lady, some of her actions came under severe criticism, she has been always known for her staunch support to the cause of women empowerment and children’s issues. A pioneer, who became the first woman to become a Senator after being the First Lady, she was also the first woman senator from New York. Touted as a probable candidate for presidency in 2008, this lawyer from Arkansas is also famous for her faux pas that demonstrates the ferociousness of her ambition, ‘'I'm having a great time being the Pres-, I mean Senator from New York.' To give her due credit, if anyone has the potential to be the first woman President of the United States, it is Hillary Rodham Clinton.

It was in the middle of an interview with a woman named Trudy Chase, who has multiple personalities and was severely abused as a child, Oprah realised that she wasn’t to blame for the abuse she herself had received as a child. This revelation, she says, finally set her free. She finally acknowledged the fact that her teenage promiscuousness was her inability to recognise the fact that the child is never to blame. All this at the age of 36, on the show made famous by her inimitable style and panache – the Oprah Winfrey show. Self-realization, battling inner demons and still having the courage to face life with the same flair is what makes Oprah so popular with her audience the world over. The self made billionaire, entrepreneur, actress and entertainment executive whose dedication to child reform is incomparable, says that her compassion for the downtrodden comes from her own childhood experiences. A staunch child activist, she helped president Clinton sign the National Child protection Law, which helped create a database of child abusers and made it mandatory for all agencies hiring child care providers to be able to do background checks on the applicants, the law was informally known as the ‘Oprah bill’. She got America reading again with her book club transforming books into overnight best sellers. She's the first black American woman billionaire, and reportedly makes about half a million dollars a day from her TV show alone. She owns or co-owns the Oxygen Network, O Magazine, her own Harpo Studio, Harpo Productions, Harpo Films, Harpo Print, and Harpo Video. Harpo, of course, is Oprah spelled backwards. She is a role model for millions and her philanthropy is legendary. When this little girl from Mississippi talks, the world sits up and takes notice.

Capturing the imaginations of millions, introducing the world to a host of new odd sounding words, Muggle Joanne K Rowling would have done well at Hogwarts. Such is the magic her pen wields. Enthralling the world with the adventures (or misadventures) of an orphan named Harry Potter who discovers his magical powers and roots, made Ms. Rowling the richest woman in the United Kingdom and the only person who became a millionaire through her writings. A teacher of the English language at Porto, Portugal, Rowling began Harry’s journey while on a train journey herself. This divorced and single mom on welfare actually skipped meals to save enough money for her four-month-old daughter. She then wrote the first Harry potter novel and met literary agent Christopher Little and the rest as we know is ‘HIS-story’. Such as been the impact of Rowling’s words that ‘Muggle’, a term she coined for non magical people is going to appear in the revised version of the Oxford English Dictionary, because of the popularity of its usage. A classical story of triumph of the human spirit in times of adversity.

If anyone knows how to turn everyday things into a successful multi million-dollar empire it is Martha Stewart, a name synonymous with good living. In spite of being convicted of insider trading Martha’s appeal has never gone down with the public, which explains why she is richer today than the day she got convicted. Learning the basics of cooking, decorating and entertaining from her mother and gardening from her father at the age of three, this entrepreneur realised her potential when she was decorating her own house. It was then she started her small catering business and there has been no looking back for Martha Stewart. Voted as one of the 25 most influential and richest women in the world. Martha makes even the most mundane and boring of things look good. With her award-winning magazine Martha Stewart Living, an Emmy Award-winning television show, a Web site, syndicated newspaper columns, national radio show, mail-order catalogue and product lines, Martha shares the creative principles and practical ideas that have made her America's most trusted guide to stylish living.

A rather unusual entry in this article would be that of Sharon Osbourne. Even someone who is not a heavy metal aficionado would recognise the name. But she enters this list not for being the better half of the ex Black Sabbath member Ozzy Osbourne but because of her strong business acumen. Her father Don Arden was the manager of Black Sabbath. After Ozzy was fired from the band, Sharon took over as his manager and life partner. Over the years the decline in Ozzy fortunes and personal life was evident. The drugs and alcohol problems plagued Ozzy hit a new plateau when he tried to strangle Sharon. The incident probably lead to Sharon taking over the reins of their lives and careers. She resurrected Ozzy’s fading career and went on to be the manager for some of the best rock acts in the business today like Marilyn Manson, Limp Bizkit and Slipknot. This colon cancer survivor along with her husband also snagged a rank in the Forbes list with a 40 million pounds fortune. In, what is typically a very male dominated industry, Sharon Osbourne has made her name and reputation as an ace businesswoman and a tough nut to crack.

Another person who is bound to raise eyebrows is also one of the youngest woman to receive a Damehood. This 28-year-old yachtswoman was the fastest person to circumnavigate the world as of 17th February 2005. Inspired by a sailing trip she took with her aunt when she was just 8 years old, she saved up her school dinner money for three years to buy her first boat. The sailing world began to sit up and take notice of this whirlwind when she won the mono hull division of the solo transatlantic race and later a second place in Vendee Globe solo around the world race. Experience and brawn are two things that are of paramount importance in the sport of solo sailing, both of which Ellen does not possess and still at 28, she is at the pinnacle of the sport. Her success reinforces our belief in the power of dreams.

Until a decade or so ago, the words nuclear power and woman were used together only in sexist jokes. And then Anne Lauvergeon took over the reins of Avera, the worldwide leader in energy (nuclear power and electricity transmission & distribution). This super achieving scientist virtually created the nuclear power company ‘Avera’ in 2001. In an industry that is extremely controversial, Anne manages to break the barrier and gain more and more acceptance for the usage of this alternative form of energy production. Starting her professional career in the mining industry in France she moved on to become the Secretary General and “Sherpa” to the G7 summits in Francois Mitterand’s administration. She followed that up with being the Chairman and Managing Director of Cogema, the French nuclear power and then the CEO seat at Avera. She is the only woman to be a director of one of the CAC 40 companies. Anne achievements send us a strong message: doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, as long as you have the skills and the perseverance, the goal is never very far.

“I try to steer people away from the approach of saying I care more about the environment and less about animal rights or something of that nature, but to look at the whole picture and take the whole picture into account”, with these words the founder and CEO of Domini Social Equity mutual fund, Amy Domini tries to explain why she founded her company. The author of ‘Ethical Investing’ points out that investing after investigating will raise the standards of accountability for most companies and will in turn help make the world a better place. No idle dreamer this woman. Amy has managed to double the assets of her social investing funds (to $36 million) in just three years. Most high profile successful companies like Ford, Intel, and Gap etc have been spurred to see the impact that they are having on the environment and human rights. If children working in small claustrophobic sweatshops, pregnant women working long hours and hundreds crammed into a small room making expensive shoes that cost hundreds dollars for a few cents an hour are things that upset you maybe you should look at the Domini 400 social index before you invest in the company. The index not only stays clear of companies involved in betting, boozing, tobacco, and nuclear power but also sees how the company’s gauges its employees. Trying to make a small change, Amy stands all and proud as one of the only women who quite literally put her money where her mouth is.

CEO of Olayan Financing Company, a consortium of some 40 odd companies and a member of the Saudi Hollandi bank’s board, Lubna Olayan was the first woman in Saudi Arabia to be appointed to such a position in a Saudi public company. She made history addressing the Jeddah economic forum as the keynote speaker in 2004 and co chairing the world economic forum 2005 in Switzerland. Lubna’s achievements remind us that it only takes one person to turn the tide. Even today she continues to break barriers and perceptions. She has shown that Saudi women (or for that matter most Arab women) can manage more than just households. Since the day, Lubna’s veil slipped off during her address at the Jeddah economic forum last year, it seemed to have also removed the veil from the general public eyes, showcasing the power of a liberated woman’s mind.

Some other noteworthy women are Meg Whitman, CEO, Ebay who has taken her company from success to more success with her vision; Sonia Gandhi, the Italian born Indian, who controls the Prime Minister’s office in India as the president of the working committee of the ruling Party, Congress (I); and the highest paid actress Julia Roberts, the trailblazing superstar also one of the first woman to break the Hollywood norm and get paid as much as her male counterparts.

The list of trend setting women in various fields is endless. It just goes to show that even though women have a long way to go as far as erasing the gender gap, it just seems that the horizon keeps coming closer.

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.

Do not miss:

Meet the Chillibreeze team, an energetic group that consists mostly of women.

Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...

—About our writer:

Sasha says about herself, "A bundle of contradictions who lives to love and loves to live ... life Queensize"

Women on Top

>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers: