The world’s leading economic structures are headed by women
On International Women’s Day, the media in many countries draw public attention to the role of women in the global economy. At the present stage, women not only make an active contribution to the development of the economy, but also sometimes set the course for processes in this area.
Such influential structures as the US Treasury, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are headed by women, thereby indicating the main trends in the world economy.
Janet Yellen
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen became the first woman in the country’s history to hold this post. Every statement made by an experienced economist who previously headed the US Federal Reserve System (FRS) has a significant impact on the markets.
Ms. Yellen is also known as the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve (2014-2018), and went down in history as one of the most successful heads of the service. Economists believe that during the 4-year presidency of the FRS, Yellen has done an excellent job, especially in the field of employment. They agree that the first female Fed President left a successful legacy.
After the election of Joe Biden as president of the United States this year, Ms. Yellen actually led the world’s largest economy. Ms. Yellen’s statements and the steps she has taken are being closely monitored by both the global financial community and the US.
Christine Lagarde
The first female ECB president, Christine Lagarde, sets monetary policy pursued in the Eurozone and is also in the spotlight of market participants.
In 2011-2019, she headed the IMF. Since taking office, Ms. Lagarde has made no major changes to the monetary policy of her predecessor, the Italian Mr. Draghi. Ms. Lagarde’s policy changed after the medical and economic crisis caused by the new type of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
While Ms. Lagarde previously dealt with current issues, such as geopolitical uncertainty, the growing threat of protectionism, the instability of global markets and slowing economic growth, with the pandemic onset, she had to focus on addressing the negative consequences of the spread of coronavirus infection.
A large economy like the Eurozone economy is held together by one pillar, and that is the ECB. Therefore, one wrong decision made by Ms. Lagarde as ECB president could lead to the collapse of the entire European project. On the other hand, the head of the ECB has every chance to turn the project into a sustainable and effective one.
Kristalina Georgieva
The current head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, became the second female president in the history of the fund after Ms. Lagarde and the first representative of a developing country (Bulgaria) in this post. It is particularly well-established due to its active position during the COVID-19 crisis.
For her work in the European Commission in 2010, Kristalina Georgieva received the prestigious title of “Commissioner of the Year”, awarded annually by the influential European Newspaper European Voice.
Ms. Georgieva pursues a policy of stabilizing the international monetary system and preventing crises. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, the IMF, under Ms. Georgieva’s leadership, has lodged $ 1 trillion credit opportunities and provided urgent financing to 80 countries.
Mr. Georgieva, who is working hard to mitigate the impact of the crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, is making efforts to provide liquidity, especially in poor countries.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Nigerian Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the new Director General of the WTO, the only international organization that regulates world trade.
Ms. Okonjo-Iweala took over the WTO last month, becoming the organization’s first female president, and will hold the post for the next 5 years. She is also the first Director-General of the WTO of African descent.
It is expected that the arrival of Ms. Okonjo-Iweala in the leadership of the structure will mark the beginning of a new era in the activities of the world organization.
Ms. Okonjo-Iweala worked for the World Bank for many years as a development economist, rising to the position of Managing Director of Operations. She also served two terms as Nigeria’s Finance minister.
