Gisèle Pelicot has been named as The Independent’s most influential woman of 2025 – topping the Influence List to mark International Women’s Day.
To coincide with the 8 March celebration, the list has been released for a third year running, shining a spotlight on 50 exceptional women from campaigners to politicians, businesswomen to television stars, sports champions to artists and influencers.
All are united by the extraordinary impact they have had on society over the past 12 months, as they push boundaries and break down barriers to shape the world around them.
Leading the list is Ms Pelicot, the remarkable French grandmother and now global icon who has changed the world, especially for sexual violence survivors. Embodying her powerful message that it is the perpetrators, not the victims, who should feel shame for sexual crimes, the 72-year-old bravely chose to waive her anonymity in the horrific mass rape trial of her ex-husband and 50 other men, in which all were convicted of sexually abusing her over the course of a decade after her ex had drugged her.
Ms Pelicot’s lawyer Stéphane Babonneau told The Independent she is “honoured” to have been chosen as the most influential woman of the year.
She is joined in the top 10 by the UK’s first woman chancellor Rachel Reeves, 800m Olympic champion runner Keely Hodgkinson, the Princess of Wales as she returns to royal duties following her cancer battle, and Charli XCX, the pioneering pop artist who dominated this year’s Brit Awards with five wins.
Also featured in this year’s list is Lionesses captain Leah Williamson, Chioma Nnadi after she became the first Black woman to edit Vogue, Alex Consani, the world’s first transgender woman to be named Model of the Year, and TV star Nicola Coughlan.
The list compiled by The Independent’s staff deliberately does not exclude women whom readers may disagree with or disapprove of, with some of the most influential figures of history being seen as difficult, divisive or controversial.
The Influence List aims to champion the IWD 2025 theme of “Accelerate Action” in calling for more urgency in the fight to end gender inequality in light of the shocking reality that gender equality will not be reached until 2158 at the current rate of progress.
Its release is of even greater importance at a time when women’s rights are under threat around the globe, from the “gender apartheid” the UN describes being seen in Afghanistan to the attack on reproductive rights happening in the US.
The Independent has spoken to many of the women who feature on this year’s list.
From her work at domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid to her role as safeguarding minister in parliament, Jess Phillips has spent most of her career defending women, earning her a place on the list again this year. As she does to mark every IWD, she will stand up in the House of Commons and name every woman killed by a man in the past 12 months to raise awareness of the epidemic of violence against women and girls.
She told The Independent: “When we stop having to do all that micro work about when we’re going to get home, what we’re going to wear – that’s what gender equality looks like to me, ease for women just to be who they are and feel free.”
The MP also opened up about the discrimination she has faced as a woman, and especially as a female politician in the public eye – and revealed she had previously been told to not apply for a job because she was pregnant.
Also featuring on the list is Lionesses captain Leah Williamson who, after a serious knee injury, has stepped back into the leadership role for England and Arsenal that has helped both teams stand at the forefront of the growth of women’s football. Williamson’s ability to clearly communicate the message behind the Lionesses’ journey and aims, as they look to inspire and create societal change for women and girls, will be key again as the team seek to win a second consecutive Euros title in Switzerland this summer.
In a call for action on tackling gender inequality in football, Williamson told The Independent: “I think right now we’re at a dangerous point because people want to be perceived as promoting the game, but actually what they’re doing isn’t matching up to that. So I think actions aren’t matching words at the minute…
“What you hope is that the people in power are the ones who do what’s right in those circumstances and push in the direction that we think we’ve been travelling in, because any progress, regardless of how slow it is, is a win. We cannot go backwards.”
London-born journalist Chioma Nnadi has a spot on the list after she took over at the helm of British Vogue in 2023.
She told The Independent: “We think about fashion as being essentially a women’s industry, but yet when you look at all the heads of these creative houses, often they’re men who are the creative directors – so I think it’s important that we champion women’s voices in the industry and push for change.”
Tasha Ghouri also features on this year’s list after she won fans as the first ever deaf contestant to appear on ITV’s Love Island before her memorable performance on Strictly Come Dancing last autumn.
Speaking to The Independent for IWD, Ghouri called for education on gender equality to begin at a young age. “I think it should start in schools, that’s a pivotal time,” she said, adding that both girls and boys should be a part of the conversation.
Kemi Badenoch smashed another glass ceiling in British politics last year when she became the first Black leader of a major UK political party, earning her fourth place on the list. She told The Independent: “Gender equality to me is about equality of opportunity – it’s making sure that every woman can fulfil her potential.”
International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate women, but also to focus on the action that must be taken as women and people of marginalised genders continue to face inequalities and injustice worldwide – especially as misogynist and far-right views gain increased attention, while populist politicians put the erosion of women’s rights on the ballot paper.
Women and girls in Afghanistan are enduring what the UN has called a “gender apartheid” at the hands of the Taliban, while in Iran they are facing the death penalty for peaceful activism against its discriminatory compulsory veiling laws, and those in Gaza suffered under heavy bombardment for 15 months. A US president who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women and bragged about “killing” Roe v Wade, Donald Trump, also took office in January.
Meanwhile, in the UK, police have warned that violence against women and girls is a “national emergency” after related crime increased by 37 per cent between 2018 and 2023. As our charity partner Refuge continues to highlight, more than one in four women in England and Wales experiences domestic abuse at some point in their lifetime, and a woman is killed by a current or former partner every five days on average.
This International Women’s Day, The Independent is calling for urgent and transformative change that makes a tangible difference to the lives of women now.
