Female entrepreneurs, activists and politicians are making strides in overcoming global inequalities. These four influential women are presidents, CEOs and founders, garnering support for female empowerment around the world.

1. Michelle Bachelet was the first female president of Chile. After leaving the presidency, she became the first executive director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). In 2013, she was re-elected as president of Chile, winning by a landslide. During her terms, she targeted trade relations between South American nations and the Asia-Pacific.

2. Sonia Gandhi is the president of the Indian National Congress and the leader of the United Progressive Alliance, the ruling party in the lower house of India’s Parliament. Her high-ranking position wields great political influence. Gandhi’s humanitarian work has led her to be awarded The Lions Humanitarian Award in 2010.

3. Wendy Kopp is the CEO and co-founder of Teach For All. She founded Teach For America in 1989 “to build the movement to eliminate educational inequality by enlisting our nation’s most promising future leaders in the effort.” Thanks to Kopp, more than 10,000 Teach For America corps members are teaching worldwide for two-year commitments.

4. Helene Gayle is the president and CEO of CARE USA, one of the nation’s leading international humanitarian organizations. CARE’s efforts reached 122 million in the past year in more than 80 countries. Gayle works to empower women and young girls through policy and advocacy efforts. Further, Gayle works with the Centers for Disease Control on HIV/AIDS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on HIV/AIDS and other global health issues, and currently serves on the boards for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Rockefeller Foundation, Colgate-Palmolive Company, ONE, and the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board. Among this and a more extensive work history, Gayle’s work is enormous in addressing global inequalities.

– Lin Sabones

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Lions Club International, Teach For All, Forbes
Photo: Princeton Social