Coming in second is Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s chief of staff, Peta Credlin, followed by Chairman of Telstra, Catherine Livingstone.
Selected by an independent panel of experts and published in the October issue of the magazine (on sale Thursday, September 25), The AWW Power List seeks to rank the 50 most powerful women in Australia.
The country’s female business elite, high-court judges plus influential actresses, journalists and politicians – and even a transgender Army officer – have all been recognised and ranked.
From Julie Bishop (1) to Jessica Mauboy (50), Google’s Maile Carnegie (13) to Jacqui Lambie (27), Melbourne’s Jeanne Pratt (24) to Cate Blanchett (12), from Sarah Murdoch (36) and Cate McGregor (48) to Ros and Gretel Packer (41), Leigh Sales (14) and Tracy Grimshaw (28) – the gamut of Australian female power has been identified.
“Women tend to have an uneasy relationship with power – not so much the wielding of it, which they do as well as any man, but the owning of it,” says Helen McCabe, The Australian Women’s Weekly Editor-in-Chief.
“Our definition of power when compiling this list was not how impressive a woman’s title is or how large her corner office might be, but her ability to get things done.”
“I’m confident we have come up with a list which is both authoritative and surprising.”
The 2014 AWW Power List was decided by a panel of judges comprising Lucy Turnbull (former Sydney Mayor), Kate Torney (Director of News, ABC), Ann Peacock (Crown Resorts), Sue Cato (Cato Counsel), Clive Mathieson (Editor, The Australian), Henry Tajer (IPG MediaBrands), Alex Malley (CPA Australia) and Helen McCabe (Editor-in-Chief, The Australian Women’s Weekly).
