FORTUNE's annual ranking of America's leading businesswomen



And the winners are...
Boardroom battles and power plays shaped this year's U.S. list, which boasts eight new faces and -- surprise! -- a new No. 1. More
  1. Irene Rosenfeld
  2. Indra Nooyi
  3. Patricia Woertz
  4. Ellen Kullman
  5. Angela Braly
  1. Andrea Jung
  2. Ginni Rometty
  3. Ursula Burns
  4. Meg Whitman
  5. Sherilyn McCoy

10 most powerful women entrepreneurs
Meet 10 female founders -- and one mentor -- who are passionate, ambitious, and on a quest to create the next great company. More

25 highest-paid women
Oracle's Safra Catz raked in a whopping $42 million in total compensation last year. See how much the other top earners took home. More

The D.C. power list
Meet the women calling the shots in Washington and beyond. More

Global power brokers
The rise of corporate executives and entrepreneurs in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa shows that women make the world go 'round. More

The many lives of Susan Lyne
She's worked with Rupert Murdoch, Martha Stewart, Jane Fonda, and Michael Eisner. She helped put Patty Hearst in jail and Desperate Housewives on the air. Now she's at Gilt Groupe, the hot luxury website, and she's making herself over once again. More

25 and under: Next-gen female entrepreneurs
From a budding domestic doyenne to a Banh Mi food trucker, these eight young women are setting the stage for the next wave of entrepreneurial ventures. More

Which of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women do you admire most?
  • Sheryl Sandberg
  • Anne Sweeney
  • Oprah Winfrey
  • Marissa Mayer
Laguna Niguel, Calif. Oct. 3-5, 2011MPW Summit 2011 #FortuneMPW
Meredith Whitney: We already are Europe Meredith Whitney is not backing down from her position on state and municipal finances. They'll lead to further cuts in social services, which will fuel more social unrest. More
The latest Pepsi Challenge: Purpose PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi sounded as much like one of the NGOs that have protested against some of the food giant's past decisions as she did its chief executive at Fortune's Most Powerful Women summit. More
IBM exec: Growth and comfort do not coexist IBM's Ginni Rometty dodged questions about her next career move but eagerly offered tips she has used to get to where she is today. More
Sex, sleep, and power: A conversation with Chelsea Handler and Arianna Huffington Talk show host and comedian Chelsea Handler interviewed AOL Huffington Post Media Group's president and editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit. More
Sheryl Sandberg on what makes women succeed The Facebook COO sat down with Fortune editor-at-large Pattie Sellers to discuss why women aren't making progress at the highest levels of corporate America, Facebook's latest strategy, and her political aspirations. More
HP's Meg Whitman: We're still in the hardware business! The new CEO of the embattled tech giant talks about her failed run as California governor, why she took her new job, and Mitt Romney's advice for her. More
DuPont CEO: We need more U.S. scientists Ellen Kullman, the CEO of DuPont, describes how she turned the chemical giant into a stock market turnaround story. More
Former Xerox CEO Anne Mulcahy shares insights on what makes a good -- and bad -- board of directors. More
GE: Partnering with China is better than being left out GE's Charlene Begley admits that the tangled relationship between U.S. businesses and China remains frustrating. More
Warren Buffett on taxes, Europe, and women The Berkshire Hathaway CEO shared his insights -- and a respectable number of laughs -- with an audience of businesswomen. More
When to say no to a board position Archer Daniel Midland CEO Pat Woertz and BET CEO Debra Lee dish on turning down board requests -- and landing spots on successful boards. More
Google's Mayer: Don't be afraid of us Marissa Mayer, Google's VP for local, says users can easily find out and control what Google knows about them. More
Mayer: I thought Google had a 2% chance of success What makes a company innovative? Start with empowering your employees. More
Pepsi's plan to conquer the world Here's what the recession looks like from Wal-Mart's view: Scrambling to cater to the Neiman Marcus customer and figuring out how to train lawyers as cashiers. More

Laguna Niguel, Calif. Oct. 3-5, 2011MPW Summit 2011 #FortuneMPW
Video
Fortune's Most Powerful Women
Fortune's Most Powerful Women For the latest on the most influential women in business, philanthropy, government, and the arts, like us on Facebook.
Follow our conversations on Twitter: #FortuneMPW
{ "numtweets": 7, "tweets": { "tweet0": { "userid": "thevalueinvesta", "image": "http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000617072715/cb210d58de3c3209ed6fbbf155d17cd1_normal.jpeg", "msg": "RT @PoppyHarlowCNN: .@melindagates tells me about the important lesson she learned from Susan Buffett: //t.co/5K75LelEmi#CNNMoney #F… ", "time": "about 10 hours ago" }, "tweet1": { "userid": "chmatiya", "image": "http://abs.twimg.com/sticky/default_profile_images/default_profile_4_normal.png", "msg": "RT @VitalVoices: \"I believe that this program is the future of the #women in the region.\" #FortuneMPW #MENA //t.co/75NNJYUFCh http://t…", "time": "about 16 hours ago" }, "tweet2": { "userid": "cathcoste", "image": "http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/444523629766651905/ABC5t4us_normal.jpeg", "msg": "RT @FortuneMPW: .@theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes talks about her company, which is valued at $9 billion, now at #FortuneMPW //t.co/…", "time": "about 20 hours ago" }, "tweet3": { "userid": "lorenc_etain", "image": "http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/521819461460836352/qCcq3x2n_normal.jpeg", "msg": "Loved my first #FortuneMPW #luckytobehere ", "time": "1 day ago" }, "tweet4": { "userid": "alex_uriarte88", "image": "http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/3409451001/ac3da687baa5ae6d1f3074a2f7d2be25_normal.jpeg", "msg": "RT @VitalVoices: \"I believe that this program is the future of the #women in the region.\" #FortuneMPW #MENA //t.co/75NNJYUFCh http://t…", "time": "2 days ago" }, "tweet5": { "userid": "jamesprior29", "image": "http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/416308259713064960/4wGE_n-g_normal.jpeg", "msg": "RT @intelnews: Congrats @IntelReneeJames for making @FortuneMagazine's Most Powerful Women list! #FortuneMPW //t.co/oUbL8AwwOZ http://…", "time": "2 days ago" }, "tweet6": { "userid": "FlorenceOzor", "image": "http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/3199347958/b15b5557e4f67e2d7a1a079b7e9a90a8_normal.jpeg", "msg": "RT @VitalVoices: \"I believe that this program is the future of the #women in the region.\" #FortuneMPW #MENA //t.co/75NNJYUFCh http://t…", "time": "2 days ago" } } }

How we pick the Power 50
The list is compiled by FORTUNE editors, who consider four criteria: the size and importance of the woman’s business in the global economy, the health and direction of the business, the arc of the woman’s career (resume and runway ahead), and societal and cultural influence.

Name 2010 total compensation
Safra A. Catz $42 million
Wellington J. Denahan-Norris $23.6 million
Carol Meyrowitz $19.2 million
Name Rank
Cynthia Carroll 1
Gail Kelly 2
Marjorie Scardino 3
Current Issue
  • Give the gift of Fortune
  • Get the Fortune app
  • Subscribe

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.