text: Ștefania Gheorghe

Recently, we’ve been talking about women’s employment, tangentially addressing the „politics” profession, which is dominated by men and is rarely accessed by women. To demonstrate that politics is for everyone, I wrote an article about women who have led, passed laws, and applied them effectively, demonstrating to everybody that it is possible.

I don’t have a particular order in mind; each of them made significant decisions and accomplished important things in the positions they occupied, so we’ll go through them in a completely random order. Many of these powerful women controlled their countries or people as queens, Prime Ministers or Chancellors, while others were activists.

1. Cleopatra 

Cleopatra was the Queen of Egypt’s Ptolemaic Kingdom and was one of the most famous female leaders in history. Cleopatra is primarily remembered for her love connection with Julius Caesar, as is the case with most women (a love story that makes them famous), but many people overlook the fact that Egypt was transformed into one of the world’s most powerful nations.

2. Joan of Arc

For her role during the Hundred Years’ War, Joan of Arc is regarded as a French heroine. She helped the French army in breaking the siege of Orleans and led them to numerous victories.

She maintained her status as a strong and brave lady while fulfilling the typically male function of a military leader. Joan has been regarded as embodying the finest traits of both genders: she listened to her intuition, spoke up for what she believed in, and inspired others to do the same.

3. Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks was an African-American civil rights activist. She became famous in December 1955 when she refused to give her bus seat to a white passenger. Rosa Parks was called the „First Lady of Civil Rights” for her act, which became a symbol for the civil rights movements against racial segregation.

Parks became involved in the civil rights movement in December 1943 and she was elected secretary. In 1944, she investigated the gang-rape of Recy Taylor, a black woman from Abbeville, Alabama. Parks and other activists formed „The Committee for Equal Justice for Mrs. Recy Taylor,” which launched „the strongest campaign for equal justice to be seen in a decade” according to the Chicago Defender.

4. Angela Merkel 

Angela Merkel became the first woman chancellor in the history of Germany and held this title until 2021. She was considered the strongest woman in the world during her political career, being one of the most important European leaders. She is loved not only by Germans, but also by European citizens for her environmental policies, but also for the diplomacy with which she has approached certain external situations.

Angela Merkel has received offers to run for various positions in the European institutions, but has decided to retire from politics.

5. Ursula von der Leyen

Ursula von der Leyen is the President of the European Commission and she is one of the most powerful figures in the European Union today. Ursula has not always been liked by people, being quite criticized in German politics and being considered a „closet feminist”. She became Germany’s first female defense minister in 2013, despite all of her male opponents dismissing her. It has introduced laws in Germany to improve children’s access to education, and as president of the European Commission is currently focusing on the war in Ukraine.

6. Christine Lagarde

Christine Lagarde is the President of the European Central Bank, holding various positions in French ministries over time. She became the first woman minister of a G8 economy (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States + Russia) and the first woman of the International Monetary Fund. She is considered the best finance minister in the eurozone.

These are only a few of the incredible women in the world, but if you want, we can go on and on. I hope they inspire and motivate you, because they are the ideal role model for all of us.