The 35 Most Powerful Women Under 35
Management Today has released their 2009 list of the ‘35 Most Powerful Women under 35’ (UK). Although the average age remains the same as last year – 31 – the youngest-ever to appear on this year’s list is 19. The 2009 leaders have succeeded in every kind of business with representatives from advertising, management consultancy, cosmetics, the law, banking, retail, engineering, property, PR, IT, broadcasting, the arts and the public sector. For example, Kate Hampton has just been made director of climate-change policy at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, before which she worked at Climate Change Capital and Friends of the Earth. She was also named World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2008. Being female and under 50 made her stick out from her older male policy peers. “In my twenties, the real problem was getting people to take me seriously – especially older men. And I think the key to everything is to maintain your confidence.”
The cut-off age for the women on the list is not random. Thirty-five is a landmark birthday: a time when, for many, career lift-off coincides with having children. According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (UK), an estimated 30,000 women every year illegally lose their jobs as a result of pregnancy, and that figure is expected to rise during the recession. For a full copy of the report, click here.
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