In World Politics women have had a stronger role than in the history of American Politics.  The evidence of women as leaders of governments and civilizations exists from ancient times when women like Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, Sammuramat and Cleopatra ruled the ancient civilizations.  The Age of Enlightenment found a plethora of leaders in European political structures such as Queen Isabella I of Castile (Spain), Catherine de Medici (France), Queen Elizabeth I (England), Catherine the Great, Mary Queen of Scots and a long list of other women rulers.  

World Leaders like Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher and Indira Gandhi provided strong role models for other women to emerge into a world leadership role and there have been many examples of women who rose to high-level political posts with long, successful legacies.  

Golda Meir was the first woman in the Labor Administration in the early days of Israel and became the first woman Prime Minister of Israel.  

Thatcher took on controversial topics like adding taxes, breaking unions and dealing with a time of economic challenge and high inflation. She was the longest running Prime Minister of the 20^th Century. 

Indira Gandhi broke ground for women in 1967 being elected as the first woman to lead a democracy.  She was re-elected in 1975, lost in 1977 and was re-elected in 1980.  She was known for improving relations with China and the Soviet Union, as well as laying the foundation for science and technology education in India. 

In the US, the role of women in politics has been emerging as a more powerful role in modern politics but there were some examples of women who served in a strong support role in early political history in America such as Dolly Madison in earlier times.  But women’s political future was blazed by the trails developed by Eleanor Roosevelt and later by Hillary Clinton. 

Eleanor Roosevelt was credited with being as strong a political force as Franklin Roosevelt was at the time.  She was supportive of her husband his New Deal policies but developed a reputation and legacy of supporting and blazing new strides in political advocacy in areas of women’s rights, civil rights and played a pivotal role in the development of the United Nations.  

While there were certainly other first ladies that had a strong voice in the political process such as Nancy Reagan, Rosalind Carter, and Jacqueline Kennedy, none had as strong a role as the one Hillary Clinton carved with her role in health care reform.  Hillary of course, went on to blaze other trails in Senate positions, Democratic contender for the presidential campaign and then Secretary of State.  

Each year Forbes announces the top 100 women leaders in the world, and the power list seems to be gaining momentum.  There has never been a time when the door was more open for women in politics and leadership.  Women are heads of state, governors, congress members, members of the House and hold similar offices all over the world.