# Who is the most powerful woman in the world? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 7, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386 "2010-10-07T17:37:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/21 "2010-10-07T22:49:10Z")
Isn’t the current governor-general of Australia a woman? (checking) yes, it’s Quentin Bryce. Being the head of the Australian government must be a pretty powerful position. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/22 "2010-10-07T22:57:12Z")
My guess would be Hillary Clinton . . . not because of any monumental policy change she’ll enact, but because of the thousands of little ways that she’ll make a difference. A Secretary of State has enormous power to influence policies on a global scale . . . usually behind-the-scene changes that the public knows little about, and often as an intermediary between rival factions. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/23 "2010-10-07T23:02:52Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > Isn’t the current governor-general of Australia a woman? (checking) yes, it’s Quentin Bryce. Being the head of the Australian government must be a pretty powerful position. The Governor-General is ceremonial figurehead (& representative of another ceremonial figurehead). In practice she doesn’t have any power she can exercise except on the “advice” of the Prime Minister (Julia Gillard, who is also a woman). A Governor-General did dismiss the PM, once (in the 1970s), but that was a highly unusual situtation unlikely to be repeated. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/24 "2010-10-07T23:48:28Z")
Madonna may be the most powerful woman in music, and a candidate for most famous woman in the world, but I wouldn’t say the most powerful overall. I would, however, take the notion that it could be Oprah very seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/25 "2010-10-08T00:07:52Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > > [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > > > Isn’t the current governor-general of Australia a woman? (checking) yes, it’s Quentin Bryce. Being the head of the Australian government must be a pretty powerful position. > > The Governor-General is ceremonial figurehead (& representative of another ceremonial figurehead). Whoops! :o ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/26 "2010-10-08T00:11:17Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > In a local news report Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Kraft Foods was called ‘the second most powerful woman in the world’. > > Who is the most powerful? God ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/27 "2010-10-08T02:06:28Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > > [@NineToTheSky](#): > > > > In a local news report Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Kraft Foods was called ‘the second most powerful woman in the world’. > > > > Who is the most powerful? > > God Alanis Morisette? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/28 "2010-10-08T02:42:55Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > > [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > > > Isn’t the current governor-general of Australia a woman? (checking) yes, it’s Quentin Bryce. Being the head of the Australian government must be a pretty powerful position. > > The Governor-General is ceremonial figurehead (& representative of another ceremonial figurehead). In practice she doesn’t have any power she can exercise except on the “advice” of the Prime Minister (Julia Gillard, who is also a woman). A Governor-General did dismiss the PM, once (in the 1970s), but that was a highly unusual situtation unlikely to be repeated. The PM, Julia Gillard, made the Top 100 list, at 58. She was well and truly beaten in the Australian stakes by Gail Kelly, CEO of one of the major Australian banks, who was ranked 8th. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/29 "2010-10-08T03:15:23Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > > [@Markxxx](#): > > > > God > > Alanis Morisette? I can’t tell if this is ironic or not. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/30 "2010-10-08T04:10:09Z")
Oprah was #6 on that Fortune list, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/31 "2010-10-08T04:31:48Z")
If we’re talking about the entire world and not just North America, Europe and Australia, which is what many people mean when they say “the entire world” (as I always like to point out), then Oprah probably comes up a wash. I doubt anyone in Thailand or the neighboring countries has even heard of her. The only times I ever seem to hear anything about her myself is reading this Board. My money’s on Hillary Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/32 "2010-10-08T04:42:06Z")
This topic is actually pretty darn sad. There are a large number of men out there who could drop nuclear bombs, and a handful that could destroy the world. There are hundreds that can start wars that affect millions. There are countless men who, with nothing more than an email, could move billions of dollars. They can buy and sell corporations that employ countless people, and that fill our world with huge amounts of complex stuff. There are the men at the top of the IMF and World Bank who decide the course of nations. Men with the power to affect people and move money on a grand, measurable scale are a dime a dozen. The world is lousy with powerful men. And here we are, justifying to ourselves that “a thousand little differences” is anywhere near the same thing. Women still have a ways to go. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/33 "2010-10-08T04:48:11Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I can think of a few candidates: > Oprah > Madonna > Sonia Sotomayor > Nancy Pelosi > Michelle Obama > Hillary Clinton > Angela Merkel > Nancy Grace Nancy Freaking Grace?? Do you mean by _smell_? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/34 "2010-10-08T04:51:27Z")
I don’t think I’ve even heard of Sonia Sotomayor or Nancy Grace. They certainly don’t ring a bell if I have. EDIT: Just looked them up. Of course, now I remember Sonia Sotomayor, but I doubt she’s the most powerful woman in the world. I saw her on BBC at the time she was nominated, then she’s dropped out of the world news completely since then. The other one is definitely new to me. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/35 "2010-10-08T04:59:22Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > This topic is actually pretty darn sad. > > There are a large number of men out there who could drop nuclear bombs, and a handful that could destroy the world. There are hundreds that can start wars that affect millions. There are countless men who, with nothing more than an email, could move billions of dollars. They can buy and sell corporations that employ countless people, and that fill our world with huge amounts of complex stuff. There are the men at the top of the IMF and World Bank who decide the course of nations. > > Men with the power to affect people and move money on a grand, measurable scale are a dime a dozen. The world is lousy with powerful men. > > And here we are, justifying to ourselves that “a thousand little differences” is anywhere near the same thing. > > Women still have a ways to go. If it makes you feel any better, Hilary Clinton could probably get some nuclear bombs dropped if she really wanted to. Maybe Nancy Pelosi or Michelle Obama. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/36 "2010-10-08T05:55:36Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > If it makes you feel any better, Hilary Clinton could probably get some nuclear bombs dropped if she really wanted to. Maybe Nancy Pelosi or Michelle Obama. I don’t think she could do it on her own. If Obama decided that nuking Iraq was the way to go, unless a really ballsy person in the command chain refuses orders, that is what is going to happen. All Clinton could do would be to hope that someone who has the power to make the decision will listen to her. Technically, all of us have that kind of power. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/37 "2010-10-08T07:06:20Z")
Queen Elizabeth II doesn’t have any direct power that I’m aware of (I think she can dissolve the Cabinet and order new elections, but it’s one of those things that either has never been done or is done only very rarely). That said, I get the impression that if the Queen says that something should be done, the folks in the government will at least listen and seriously consider it (IIRC, her official role in the government is that of a permanent advisor to the various administrations that come to power over the years, someone who has the experience and perpsective to be able to let even the most inexperienced Prime Minister know how the UK has handled relations with whatever random country in the past 50 years.) ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/38 "2010-10-08T07:46:13Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > This topic is actually pretty darn sad. > > … > > Women still have a ways to go. This is what I was thinking. Historically, there have been a very small number of influential women - Margaret Thatcher, Indira Ghandi, Queen Elizabeth I, for example - but I don’t think anyone mentioned in this thread has anything like the power that most men have. A singer? A secretary of state? A TV presenter? And, as has been said, their spheres of influence are mainly very US-centric. Agreed: sad. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/39 "2010-10-08T07:48:28Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I don’t think I’ve even heard of Sonia Sotomayor or Nancy Grace. They certainly don’t ring a bell if I have. > > EDIT: Just looked them up. Of course, now I remember Sonia Sotomayor, but I doubt she’s the most powerful woman in the world. I saw her on BBC at the time she was nominated, then she’s dropped out of the world news completely since then. The other one is definitely new to me. Nancy Grace is probably best known for berating the mother of a missing toddler and possibly triggering the woman’s suicide shortly thereafter. My first thoughts were Clinton and Wonderwoman, so I need to think harder. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386/40 "2010-10-08T10:05:23Z")
> [@Arnold\_Winkelried](#): > > Isn’t the current governor-general of Australia a woman? (checking) yes, it’s Quentin Bryce. Being the head of the Australian government must be a pretty powerful position. Not really - Australia is a small country with a smaller economy than California. Also the governor general doesn’t set any of the government policy. My guess is Hilary Clinton. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world/556386.md?page=3)