Forbes ranked President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) as the 40th-most powerful woman in the world in its annual World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list published on Tuesday.
It was the first time in three years that Tsai fell out of the top 20, after ranking 17th in 2016, when she took office, and 15th last year.
Taiwan’s “first female leader” and “first unmarried president” has only 14 months left to win back voters before 2020 presidential elections, after her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) suffered heavy losses against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in last month’s local elections, the US magazine said.
“She has vowed to make Taiwan an indispensable member of the world by stimulating the economy with initiatives in biotech, defense and green energy,” the magazine added in Tsai’s profile.
Other Asian women on the list include Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥), ranked 32nd, Chinese first lady Peng Liyuan (彭麗媛), ranked 65th, and Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati, ranked 78th.
For the eighth consecutive year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel topped the list, followed this year by British Prime Minister Theresa May, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde and General Motors CEO Mary Barra.
The list, first published in 2004, ranks women by “money, media momentum, spheres of influence and impact.”
The announcement came as Taipei prepares to host a two-day workshop on women’s leadership and empowerment in the Indo-Pacific region tomorrow and on Tuesday, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said on Friday.
The event, themed “Achieving 50-50: Empowering Women Leaders in the Indo-Pacific Region,” is to feature presentations and wide-ranging discussions, and would explore essential measures to be taken to achieve increased participation and representation of women in private and public organizations, the AIT said.
The workshop is to bring together 15 participants from various countries, who are to share their experiences with female leaders in Taiwan, it said, adding that Pat Schroeder, a former US representative for Colorado, would deliver a keynote speech on women’s empowerment.
The workshop is being organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Taipei-based Foundation for Women’s Rights Promotion and Development.
The workshop is an initiative under the US-Taiwan Global Cooperation and Training Framework.
Since the establishment of the organization in 2015, Taiwan and the US have brought together experts, government officials and civic leaders from more than two dozen countries for 14 workshops on public health, women’s empowerment, media literacy, law enforcement and the digital economy, among other topics, the AIT said.
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