For the first time in its history, has drawn up a list of the most women of the moment. The result is an eclectic, all-star line up for 2023, bringing together women from a vast range of orbits who all share one thing in common: their influence on the world that surrounds them. In an explicit attempt to move away from those influence lists which only focus on the women who “empower” and “inspire”, has deliberately taken a different approach to the notion of power and influence, not excluding characters who have ruffled feathers and stirred controversy.
After all, influence is a concept which dodges neat and tidy descriptions; meaning many things to many people. To put it simply, you do not need to agree with someone’s worldview to recognise their clout. From charting the meteoric rises of up-and-coming new stars to celebrating the legacy of industrious , intoxicating stars in the arts and culture to rousing , sportspeople, politicians, legal professionals, broadcasters and scientists, this is a list of women who exert unequivocal, unshakeable influence in their own distinctive ways.
With a coronation in just two months time which will be watched around the globe, the Queen Consort will take her place next to King Charles as the head of the royal family. It has been quite a journey from the much critiqued “other woman” to top dog status. Camilla has withstood criticism, mockery and pointed attacks to remain by Charles’ side and shape the monarchy, while using soft power to push the causes she believes in.
Chief among them are the rights of women, sexual violence, literacy, healthcare research, animal welfare, and the desire to support others to achieve. Euros winner, Queen of the Jungle, viral swearing sensation – 2022 was Jill Scott’s year. The rangy midfielder brought the curtain down on her England career in the perfect fashion, stepping out of the international game with a trophy in tow after making her 161st and final appearance in the Wembley triumph.
For so long a pillar of consistency for England, Scott was similarly unflustered on culminating in coronation as the first sporting female winner. Her early coaching forays at Manchester City suggest Scott’s managerial future may be bright, too. is on course to make history as the UK’s first ever female chancellor.
She is winning over business leaders in boardrooms across the country, convincing them that not only would a Labour government be good for business, Labour is now the party of business. As former CBI boss Paul Drechsler put it in recently, the change she is leading is “seismic”. Political opponents should heed the earthquake warning.
When officer David Carrick was jailed as one of Britain’s worst ever serial sex offenders, the country was able to watch. The high-profile hearing was broadcast to millions as part of a new drive allowing judges to be filmed in crown courts for the first time. And the judge presiding was Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb - the first Asian woman to serve as a High Court judge.
“The malign influence of men like you in positions of power stands in the way of a revolution of women’s dignity,” she told Carrick during her powerful sentencing remarks. Having been made a QC in 2013, it was far from Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb’s first high-profile case; with the judge previously jailing notorious terrorists and recently passing sentence on the American woman who killed teenager Harry Dunn. Music is admittedly still far from an equal playing field – but it would be significantly less so without Emily Eavis.
The chief was only 21 when she began helping her father organise the event following her mother’s death. Since then, Eavis has implemented her vision for a more diverse and environmentally conscious festival. She made waves in 2008 when she booked the festival’s first hip-hop headliner, , and is personally to thank for persuading Adele to headline the Pyramid Stage in 2016.
It was also Eavis’ decision to ban the sale of single-use plastic bottles at Glastonbury from 2019 onwards. Home secretary is pressing ahead with some of the government’s most controversial policies. From x-ray tests for child migrants to check their age to the Rwanda policy, her impact on administration cannot be underestimated.
An extraordinary interview at the Tory party conference, in which she infamously claimed: “I would love to have a front page of with a plane taking off to Rwanda, that’s my dream, it’s my obsession”, has made her the darling of parts of the Tory right and a hate figure for many on the left. She is the best-selling female artist of the 21st century. She is the singer who has brought us some of the most heart-wrenching ballads from the depths of her West Norwood soul.
She is the woman who rose above the obsession with her weight loss. And who carries ketchup sachets in her handbag, everywhere she goes. Last autumn, the 34-year-old kicked off her five-month Las Vegas residency, which sold out within minutes, and she also released , her first album in six years.
The record reached No 1 in 20 countries and spent five weeks at the top spot in the UK’s Official Albums Chart. Adele has won 16 Grammys, 12 Brits, an Oscar, a Golden Globe and an Emmy. To describe Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s trajectory as an emotional rollercoaster would be an understatement of immense proportions.
The 44-year-old British-Iranian dual national was imprisoned in Iran for six years until she was finally released in March last year. While the world looked on in horror and consternation, her husband Richard Ratcliffe campaigned tirelessly for her release, staging hunger strikes and even going a startling 21 days without food. Since her release from prison, Zaghari-Ratcliffe has joined the movement of women cutting off their hair in solidarity with the women’s rights protests which exploded in Iran in the wake of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, dying in police custody last September.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe has told of how the demonstrations conjure up “memories” of “how helpless you are when you are in custody”. While was initially fearful going public with her menopause journey was potentially “the biggest mistake“ of her ”life”, it turned out to be a very different story. On the contrary, the TV personality was inundated with effusive, positive responses.
The down to earth presenter, who has become so famous many now know her by first name only, has fronted two Channel 4 documentaries about the menopause. In being so bravely open about her hot flushes, depression, and memory loss, the former presenter has helped eradicate the deeply-engrained stigma and taboo, which has long impeded progress on tackling an issue currently affecting the majority of the 3. 4 million women aged between 50 and 64 in the UK.
An icon on the pitch and proven talent in her second career off it, has spent years breaking down barriers and constantly showing she is among the finest in her current role as a broadcaster and presenter. A fierce advocate for women and always willing to speak out on social issues ranging from to supporting communities, Scott has earned the respect of colleagues and sports fans alike thanks to her thoroughly-researched knowledge which she is able to communicate in a relatable way. As a woman spearheading coverage of a still-male-dominated sport, Scott is showing how ability, confidence and fearlessness remain key to progress.
is proving politics can be done differently, even at the heart of inner circle. The outspoken deputy leader, who refuses to let Hansard correct her working-class grammar, is one of Westminster’s most effective communicators. She has deftly balanced her own left-leaning instincts with the push for greater professionalism under Starmer, leading Labour’s efforts on anti-corruption reform and workers’ rights.
Tipped as future leader, she revealed last year she’s “doing the groundwork” to ensure that the next Labour boss is a woman. In Meghan Markle’s first-ever TV appearance, she challenged stereotypes about women in domestic advertising, appearing on Nick News with Linda Ellerbee in 1993. “I don’t think it’s right for kids to grow up thinking… that mum does everything,” she said at the time, aged just 11.
Long before she met Prince Harry, Meghan has championed women’s rights. In 2015, the actor told UN Women on International Women’s Day that she was “proud” to call herself a feminist, remarking that women have to “create their own table” when they are not given a seat at it. One of the biggest breakout comedy stars of the last year has been the multi-talented .
Nominated for best show at the 2022 Dave’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards for her tour , Gray went on to give her now iconic performance on Channel 4’s , where, at the culmination of an exhilarating and powerful performance, she stripped naked on live TV in a celebration of trans joy. A week after the broadcast (and more than 1500 complaints to Ofcom, later dismissed), Gray made history as the first trans person to have their own solo show at the London Palladium. Her sitcom, , is in development with ITV to be released later this year, starring herself and Nick Frost.
When it comes to breaking boundaries around women in business, Karen Blackett OBE is a force to be reckoned with. With over 25 years of experience in the marketing communications industry, her role as UK country manager for global advertising agency WPP sees her helming their second largest market and overseeing 14,000 people working across its operating brands. She is also Chairwoman of WPP’s MediaCom, the largest media agency in the UK.
A campaigner for change, Karen is one of four external advisors helping to diversify the civil service, and has also worked with No 10 as a business ambassador and race equality business champion. She puts getting her first break in the industry down to being “gobby”. In 2022, reaffirmed her status as one of the leading artists of her generation with a powerful new exhibition held in Edinburgh, just two years after being diagnosed with bladder cancer.
The artworks, including her unsettling yet alluring piece , demonstrated Emin’s willingness to push herself into new disciplines, from painting to film to sculpture. The famously forthright Emin has also become an essential voice in cancer awareness, sharing regular thoughts and updates. She has been widely praised for drawing attention to her stoma, which she had fitted after her bladder was removed in 2020.
Her musings on life with a stoma are both poetic and profound, at the same time creating an essential conversation around a topic that many still consider to be taboo. Her smooth handling of the Partygate investigation made Whitehall’s most famous civil servant. Despite her controversial exit from government, Gray is now set to become one of the powerful people in Westminster, having agreed to take up a job as Starmer’s chief of staff.
Tory anger over the appointment only highlights her talents as a formidable organiser. The enigmatic figure – nicknamed “deputy God” when she was second in command at the Cabinet Office – could soon be running the party of government (so long as Labour wins the 2024 general election). The Princess of Wales has become a beloved figure within the royal family and outside of it.
Ever since her wedding to the Prince of Wales in 2011, has had the eyes of the world on her. She sits between two majorly important generations of the royal family – as the wife of the future King, therefore making her the future Queen Consort, and as mother to the second in line to the throne. But Kate has also proven herself as an avid campaigner for early childhood development, as well as a fervent believer in eco-conscious clothing with her affinity to re-wearing outfits for all occasions.
This was the year the UK’s space ambitions were supposed to blast off, with the first rocket to leave British soil in the form of a Virgin launch. In the end it failed – but it still highlighted the work the UK’s space scientists have done and are doing, and how important that will be. has been a leader, both as a researcher and as an educator through work such as the BBC’s , in a field that is still largely dominated by white men.
Just this week, it was announced the space scientist would be celebrated with a Barbie doll to recognise and celebrate her efforts to champion science for girls. Love her or hate her, there is no doubting the influence of one of the world’s most successful authors and champions of women’s rights. Once known simply as the creator of and the thriller series under the name Robert Galbraith, her very public stance on trans issues – and her defence of safe spaces for women – has made her one of the most argued about – some would say divisive - women of her time.
Her tweets are defiant, unapologetic and sometimes combative, resulting in open hostility, with some accusing her of transphobia, as well fervent admiration from her supporters. Whatever your view, she is impossible to ignore. Few people in the world bring as much pure joy to the screen as .
The presenter first entered the public consciousness on . She has since had us in fits of laughter with her chaotic Harrison Ford interview and that time she knocked a sailor into the Mersey on live TV, but she has also gone viral with her powerful words on the Black Lives Matter movement and her condemnation of the Rwanda asylum plan. This year, she brought warmth and light to the ceremony alongside co-host Richard E Grant, and made headlines for being the only Black person in the winners’ picture after all 49 victors on the night were white.
For over three decades, Deborah Coles has been at the helm of Inquest. While this is a charity many will not have heard of, they will be all too familiar with the names of the deceased people’s families they fight for justice for: Mark Dugan, Ian Tomlinson, Jean Charles de Menezes. Inquest is the UK’s only organisation helping families whose loved one has died after police contact, in prison, or in the care of mental health services.
Coles has a long track record of championing social justice and equality issues, being a leading international voice in the fight to prevent death and ill-treatment in all forms of detention and for more effective learning after state-related deaths. She has been an independent expert advisor to numerous committees, inquiries and organisations, including the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody, Dame Elish Angiolini’s Independent Review of Deaths and Serious Incidents in Police Custody and Women in Prison. A national treasure and one of Britain’s finest actors, has delighted fans of film, television and the stage for decades.
In the past 12 months alone, she has received Bafta and Golden Globe nominations for her performance in the groundbreaking 2022 comedy-drama . She thrilled children and adults alike as the terrifying and tyrannical Ms Trunchbull in the musical film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s and is the highlight in Jemima Khan’s 2023 romcom A longtime campaigner against poverty, homelessness and the climate crisis, Thompson was a leading voice for , amid the cost of living crisis. She is also a s
