The 2020 Athena40 List

(in alphabetical order)

The Athena40 Global List 2020 is the first-ever merit-based selection of some of the world's most forward-thinking women. The women below create positive change in their industries or countries. We aspire to draw international attention also to those role models who are less known.
Any woman can be nominated by the public. The 120 shortlisted powerhouses below have been voted by a panel of 58 independent, international judges.
The 40 most influential ones, as decided by our judges, have been announced on April 23 2021.

Her Majesty Queen Rania Athena40 Innovative Leadership	Ola Abu Al Ghaib Athena40 Positive Impact	Dr Menna Abukhadra Athena40 Collaborative Leadership	Bisi Adeleye Fayemi Athena40 Women-led Philanthropy	Aya Aghabi Athena40 Positive Impact	Ahlam Akram Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality
Folorunso Alakiya Athena40 Innovative Leadership	Basma Alawee Athena40 Collaborative Leadership	Mais Aljunaidy Athena40 Women-led Solutions	Ghada Amer Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Anousheh Ansari Athena40 Ethics in Business	Jacinda Ardern Athena40 Collaborative Leadership
Susan Aref Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Hanan Ashrawi Athena40 Collaborative Leadership	Manal Ataya Athena40 Positive Impact	Cecilia Attias Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Judi Aubel Athena40 Empowering Young Girls	Michelle Bachelet Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Athena40 Original Thinking	Laura Jordan Bambach Athena40 Innovative Leadership	Abisola Barber Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Barbie - The Doll Athena40 Empowering Young Girls	Sadiqa Basiri Saleem Athena40 Empowering Young Girls	Baroness Karren Brady Athena40 Women-led Philanthropy
Francesca Bria Athena40 Tech for Good	Tory Burch Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Kesha Cash Athena40 Ethics in Business	Sunitha Chandrasekhar Srinivas Athena40 Women-led Solutions	Jung Chang Athena40 Original Thinking	Jazmin Chi Aguillon Athena40 Positive Impact
Amal Clooney Athena40 Women-led Philanthropy	Mercedes Colwin Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Duchess of Cornwall Athena40 Women-led Philanthropy	Geena Davis Athena40 Original Thinking	Tessy de Nassau Athena40 Empowering Young Girls	Wendy Diamond Athena40 Women-led Solutions
Paola Diana Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Simay Dinc Athena40 Innovative Leadership	Bineta Diop Athena40 Collaborative Leadership	Dame Linda Dobbs Athena40 Positive Impact	Jennifer Doudna Athena40 Women-led Solutions	Qabale Duba Athena40 Empowering Young Girls
Erika Ender Athena40 Positive Impact	Audette Exel Athena40 Ethics in Business	Lucy Findlay MBE Athena40 Innovative Leadership	Senait Fisseha Athena40 Empowering Young Girls	Jane Fonda Athena40 Positive Impact	Rocio Fonseca Athena40 Innovative Leadership
Melinda Gates Athena40 Women-led Philanthropy	Julia GIllard Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Tatiana Goncharova Athena40 Positive Impact	Emma Gonzalez Athena40 Collaborative Leadership	Miriam Gonzalez Durantez Athena40 Empowering Young Girls	Lennie Goodings Athena40 Empowering Young Girls
Hildur Guðnadóttir Athena40 Original Thinking	Rebeca Gyumi Athena40 Empowering Young Girls	Dr Jo Handelsman Athena40 Original Thinking	Rocky Hehakaija Athena40 Positive Impact	Katrin Jakobsdottir Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Mae C. Jemison Athena40 Women-led Solutions
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Athena40 Collaborative Leadership	Angelina Jolie Athena40 Positive Impact	Memory Kachambwa Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Dr Gada Kadoda Athena40 Women-led Solutions	Roula Khalaf Athena40 Original Thinking	Shainoor Khoja Athena40 Positive Impact
Silvana Koch-Mehrin Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Dilan Mizrakli Landgraff Athena40 Innovative Leadership	Zahra Langhi Athena40 Collaborative Leadership	Dr Patricia Lewis Athena40 Collaborative Leadership	Sophie Lohde Athena40 Tech for Good	Rebecca Lolosoli Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality
Yasmin Mahmood Athena40 Tech for Good	Sara Al Madani Athena40 Ethics in Business	Mena Mangal Athena40 Empowering Young Girls	Nermine Mansour Athena40 Collaborative Leadership	Sanna Marin Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Joanna Maycock Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality
Phumzile Mblamo Ngcuka Athena40 Women-led Solutions	Maria Isabel Mejia Jaramillo Athena40 Ethics in Business	Jilian Mercado Athena40 Women-led Solutions	Dana Mortenson Athena40 Positive Impact	Donna Morton Athena40 Women-led Solutions	Princess Mabel van Oranje Athena40 Empowering Young Girls
Cindy Nava Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Mary Nazzal-Batayneh Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Lin Nien-Tzu Athena40 Women-led Solutions	Jacqueline Novogratz Athena40 Women-led Philanthropy	Nnenna Nwakanma Athena40 Tech for Good	Michelle Obama Athena40 Empowering Young Girls
Amanda Obidike Athena40 Positive Impact	Ivana I. Osagie Athena40 Positive Impact	Alexandra Papadopoulou Athena40 Collaborative Leadership	Mariane Pearl Athena40 Positive Impact	Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi Athena40 Positive Impact	Cornelia Robinson Athena40 Ethics in Business
Claudia Romo Edelman Athena40 Positive Impact	Cindy Rose Athena40 Tech for Good	Maria Teresa Ruiz Athena40 Women-led Solutions	Basma Al Said Athena40 Women-led Solutions	Shamim Sarif Athena40 Original Thinking	Sahana Sasikumar Athena40 Empowering Young Girls
Sara Seager Athena40 Women-led Solutions	Elif Safak Athena40 Original Thinking	Durreen Shahnaz Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Dame Steve Shirley Athena40 Women-led Philanthropy	Chetna Sinha Athena40 Innovative Leadership	MC Sofia Athena40 Original Thinking
Duchess of Sussex Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality	Audrey Tang Athena40 Tech for Good	Sabriye Tenberken Athena40 Positive Impact	Greta Thunberg Athena40 Women-led Solutions	Nurdeniz Tuncer Athena40 Women-led Solutions	Mpho Tutu Van Furth Athena40 Gender Diversity & Equality
Karen Walker Athena40 Ethics in Business	Elizabeth Warren Athena40 Positive Impact	Emma Watson Athena40 Empowering Young Girls	Oprah Winfrey Athena40 Women-led Philanthropy	Malala Yousafzai Athena40 Empowering Young Girls	Shoshana Zuboff Athena40 Original Thinking