Women’s Political Power Faced A Fractured Year In 2025 |
The story of women in power in 2025 reads like a political crosscurrent: new doors opened in places where none had opened before, even as other seemingly stable footholds gave way. These two realities restructured many of the ranks in Forbes’ 2025 edition of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list. Though the top two spots on the list are for the fourth straight year occupied by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde—and with present terms slated to end in 2029 and 2027, respectively, both leaders remain a steady presence on the world stage—much of the rest of the politics and policy category of the list was hit with institutional shocks, internal party battles, cultural shifts and cabinet reshuffles large enough to tip political scales around the world.
Consider, for instance, Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Last year, Shinawatra was Thailand’s youngest ever prime minister and appeared on the Power Women list at No. 29. This August, just over a year after she stepped into leadership, the constitutional court ousted Paetongtarn, citing an ethical breach linked to a leaked phone conversation with Cambodia’s former leader. Her removal triggered political chaos in Thailand and offered a reminder that attaining the top office offers no guarantee of enduring power.
In contrast to Paetongtarn’s swift ascent and decline, Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati—who appeared at No. 49 on last year’s list—was removed from power after a long tenure in leadership. Indrawati oversaw Southeast Asia’s largest economy for nearly 15 years across two terms: from 2005 to 2010 and again from 2016 to 2025 after leaving to become managing director at the World Bank. A long symbol of financial prudence, Indrawati first appeared on the Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list in 2008. In September 2025, nine years into her second term, she was ousted by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto with only an hour’s notice,