The 100 Most Powerful Women in Business

Foreword

Earlier this week, I visited Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the first time. What drew me there was an event that would have seemed impossible even a few years ago: a Fortune conference celebrating the world’s Most Powerful Women in Business.

Since the inception in 2016 of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan to modernize and diversify its economy, the country has progressed on a number of fronts, including on rights for women. A decade ago, women and men could not sit together in restaurants or mingle in the workplace. Women weren’t allowed behind the wheel of a car. And they certainly weren’t encouraged or able to contribute meaningfully to the economy.

Fast-forward to today, and while there is still significant progress that needs to be made, it’s important to recognize how far the kingdom has come in such a short amount of time. (For more details, see this closer look from Fortune’s Alicia Adamczyk.) The Saudi government seems to be fulfilling its Vision 2030 plan at a rapid pace, with aggressive KPIs and capable business minds in positions of power to execute it.

Those people in power, by the way, include a number of women. I interviewed Jomana Al-Rashid, who, at 37, runs SRMG, the kingdom’s largest media company. She is the first-ever female CEO of a media company in the MENA (Middle East North Africa) region. Al-Rashid’s family left Saudi Arabia from the time she was three until her early 30s, to ensure that she and her siblings could have opportunities. When she returned, she began working with the government on how to execute a soft power transformation under Vision 2030, to bring culture, entertainment, and even fashion into the region.

Women still hold relatively few positions of power in the kingdom, but Al-Rashid is far from alone; several prominent Saudi businesswomen and government figures spoke at our conference.

U.S.-based CEOs are noticing the progress, too. Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, who ranks No. 2 on the 2025 Fortune Most Powerful Women list, told the audience she’s so bullish on Saudi Arabia that she has been trying to persuade her daughters to learn Arabic and explore job opportunities there. She also said that through AI, the region has the opportunity to “leapfrog” others, and that women can play a big role in making that happen.

While I was pleased to hear stories of impact and change from women on the ground there, I did leave with a concern. Here in the U.S., we are now experiencing backlash to the significant progress women have made over the past 50 years. Saudi women at our conference commented that they were proud they now had more rights than their mothers had. Many women in the U.S. fear they’ll lose the rights their mothers gained.

I worry what backlash such rapid progress will bring down the road. But perhaps Saudi Arabia can leapfrog there, too, and show others how to better embrace societal transformations that move economies forward, without leaving anyone behind.

To meet 100 female business leaders who are already helping move economies forward, read the 2025 edition of our Most Powerful Women list.

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