FT Weekend Magazine announces Most Influential Women of 2023

FT Weekend says this year’s list includes singer and businesswoman Beyonce, actor Margot Robbie, Open AI chief technology officer Mira Mutaand and Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Hammadi. It was compiled by FT Weekend editors, who considered nominations from FT readers, industry experts and the FT’s global network of journalists.

Introducing this year’s list, FT editor Roula Khalaf said: “Influence – the power to persuade, advocate for change and imagine better ways of doing things – takes many forms. Nowhere is this more clear than in the magazine’s annual Women of the Year issue.”

The Most Influential Women of 2023 fall into three categories: Leaders, Heroes and Creators, and includes artists, athletes, chief executives, entrepreneurs, scientists and policymakers, across all continents and of every age. Tennis player Coco Gauf, European Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen and screenwriter and Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelensky also feature, added the publisher.

In celebration of these women, notable peers have written about the impact of their outstanding achievements. Emerald Fennell writes about the success of her friend Margot Robbie, Oprah Winfrey talks about the sheer power of Beyonce’s influence, and Janet Yellen writes about Ursula Von Der Leyen and her stewardship of the European Commission during a period of unprecedented challenges.

The full list will be published in a special edition of FT Weekend Magazine on Saturday 2 December.