GM’s Barra nears to top of Forbes’ most powerful list

Oprah Winfrey, Nancy Pelosi and Melinda French Gates pale in power compared with General Motors CEO Mary Barra, according to The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women of 2022 list.

The list showcases innovators who lead on the world stage to “redefine traditional power structures and forge lasting impact in every sphere of influence,” according to an article by Moira Forbes about the list, released earlier this month. These are female leaders who use their political and economic power to transform industries and solve society’s problems, Forbes said.

“Since the inception of this list, we’ve seen women’s ability to create influence and power evolve — and that is especially true this year,” Forbes wrote.

So where did Barra land on this list? At power position No. 4 right behind the first woman to serve as vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris.

No. 1 on the list was Ursula von der Leyen. She was appointed president of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, in July 2019. She is the first woman to serve in the role. No. 2 is Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, again the first woman to have the role, which she got in 2019.

Also on the list were Winfrey (No. 24), Pelosi (No. 25) and Gates (No. 6) and pop stars Taylor Swift (No. 79), Rihanna (No. 73) and Beyonce (No. 80). Reese Witherspoon came in at No. 86 and Dolly Parton at No. 96.

Forbes said Barra was selected because of her aggressive push to make an all-zero emissions vehicle lineup by 2035. Also noted is Barra’s target to sell more electric vehicles in the United States than current global EV leader Tesla by 2025.

Barra, 61, has been GM’s CEO since 2014. She is the first woman — and remains the only woman — to lead an automaker. She sat down with the Free Press earlier this year to talk about her job, her personal life, how she handles pressure and even being considered somewhat of a style icon who created the power leather jacket, which Fortune wrote about in 2019.

Forbes said under Barra that GM has consistently scored high in gender equity reports. In 2018, GM was one of only two global businesses that have no gender pay gap, Forbes said.

At No. 100 on the list is a posthumous honor to Jina Mahsa Amini. Amini died Sept. 16 after being taken into custody by Iran’s morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly. Family and media reports said she was severely beaten while in custody, fell into a coma and died. Forbes said she is a representative of the thousands of Iranian women who are protesting for their rights.