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World’s most powerful women representing science and health sectors

19 Jun 2015 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

What would the world’s most powerful women have in common when it comes to their rise to the top? What marks their rise to the top? It could be many things – from politics to excellence in management or business but as noted in the Forbes 12th list of 100 Most Powerful Women, it is brainpower that all of them possess. That sets them apart in a class of their own.

Angela Merkel occupies No 01 slot on the Forbes List, followed by Hillary Clinton at No 02 slot. Michelle Obama comes in at No 10; Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook who recently lost her husband Dave, holds position No 08. Among the Top Ten are Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors who holds Position No 05 while Janet Yellen who heads the Federal Reserve System comes in at No 04.

Seven of the most outstanding from the Forbes power list have their roots in science and health, although they are engaged in various different sectors ranging from research to medical devices. Their roots in science and health matter because as Forbes notes, these women are heading endeavours that focus on key areas of importance. The fact that the majority of them are running major research labs, redefining medical procedures and getting healthcare to those who most need it defines their roles as change makers.

Melinda Gates, who holds position no 03 on the list is the wife of Bill Gates and holds the position of Co-Chairperson of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – in 2014 alone, they gave US $ 3.9 billion worth of donations. Since it started in 2000, the Gates have contributed more than US $ 33 billion through the Foundation.

While supporting many causes, it is believed that global-health efforts have emerged the most important area for the foundation. One of the key areas of importance is seen as the effort to get family planning resources to women in developing countries.

Fabiola Gianotti holds position no 83 and has spent a lifetime engaged in many endeavours before being appointed head at CERN, the world’s biggest physics lab and home of the Large Hadron Collide. She joined the organisation in 1987 and eventually ended up overlooking the more than 30,000 scientists in the lab’s ATLAS programme, the group that found the Higgs boson, also known as the God particle. She will take over as Director-General in 2016.

The first woman to be elected to head the WHO back in 2006, Margaret Chan holds position no 62 on the list and led the WHO for almost a decade during which she saw many a health crisis unfold. Yet, as Ebola swept over Africa recently, critics have pointed out that her teams were not prepared to handle the crisis although WHO believes that it set the stage to manage future health disasters.

The founder of a small enzyme company in 1978, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw comes in at position no 85 and her small company is today the largest public pharmaceutical company in India. Biocon distributes products in 85 countries and generates US $ 460 billion in revenue. Wanting to give something back, she launched the Biocon Foundation for philanthropic pursuits, which among other big time health projects, has opened a 1,400-bed cancer centre in Bangalore.

Elizabeth Holmes, a relatively newcomer to the power list holds position no 72 and is considered the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world. A Stanford dropout, she founded Theranos in 2003, a company that produces cheap and easy-to-use blood tests for the masses; now valued at US $ 9 billion.
Judy Faulkner, who holds position no 88, wrote some code at the suggestion of a professor while doing her Master’s in computer science back in the 80s. Known as Epic, that code became the privately owned electronic health records company. In 2014, the company earned US $ 1.8 billion and claims that 6.3 million of its patient records went through its systems in just one month in 2014.

At position 92, Risa Lavizzo-Mourey has held the post of President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the biggest philanthropic organisation in the U.S. committed to healthcare, since 2003. In 2014, the foundation issued grants for 719 different topics and during the last decade, has donated US $ 1 billion to fighting childhood obesity.

The Forbes Power List includes a great many more women who wear many hats but it seems science and health remain powerful sectors from which some of the planet’s smartest women have emerged.

(Nayomini Weerasooriya, a senior journalist, writer and a PR professional, can be contacted at [email protected])

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World’s most powerful women representing science and health sectors

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