(Fortune) -- Meg Whitman, CEO and President of eBay (Charts), ranks No. 3 on Fortune's 2006 list of 50 Most Powerful Women.

Whitman's task is to figure out how to put the shine back in one of the brightest stars of the Internet age. Last year's acquisitions have failed to bring in big revenue, and U.S. traffic growth has slowed. That has translated into a slumping stock, down about 40% in the past year; market cap is now $37 billion. The Internet phone provider Skype won't bring in profits anytime soon, the service remains free until the end of the year. In July the company announced a $2 billion stock buyback, eBay's first.

By the key criteria Fortune uses in assembling its annual list - the size, importance, and health of each business in the global economy, and the momentum of each woman's career (along with her social and cultural influence) - there's no question that the power of women in the corporate sphere is rising.

Indeed, it could be called the year of the Most Powerful Woman CEO. The top seven positions on Fortune's 2006 Most Powerful Women list are held by CEOs. They include: Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo (Charts); Anne Mulcahy, Xerox (Charts): Pat Woertz, ADM (Charts); Irene Rosenfeld, Kraft Foods (Charts); Brenda Barnes, Sara Lee (Charts); and Andrea Jung, Avon (Charts).

Next: Full list: 50 Most Powerful Women at http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/fortune/mostpowerfulwomen/1.html

Plus: Most Powerful Women: 10 Highest-Paid at http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/fortune/womenpay/index.html