Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has been ranked 99th on the 2025 Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list, extending her run of appearances on the influential global ranking and reinforcing her standing as one of the Caribbean’s most visible international leaders.
The 2025 listing marks Mottley’s third consecutive appearance, following inclusions in 2023 and 2024, a rare feat for leaders from the Caribbean.
Forbes evaluates candidates across politics, business, philanthropy, and media, measuring influence through authority, impact, financial reach, and global visibility.
Climate Leadership and Global Advocacy
Forbes highlighted Mottley’s continued influence in global climate policy debates, international financial reform discussions, and regional leadership within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Since taking office in 2018 as Barbados’ first female prime minister, Mottley has emerged as a leading voice for climate-vulnerable nations, consistently pressing wealthier countries to reform international financing systems that disadvantage small island states.
Her 2021 address to the United Nations General Assembly, which called for urgent climate action and debt relief for developing nations, elevated her profile well beyond the Caribbean. The United Nations Environment Programme later named her a Champion of the Earth for Policy Leadership, citing her ability to link climate justice with economic reform.
Reshaping Barbados’ Political Future
Under Mottley’s leadership, Barbados made a historic constitutional shift in November 2021, becoming a parliamentary republic and removing the British monarch as head of state. The move was widely seen as a symbolic and practical assertion of full political independence, strengthening her reputation as a decisive reformer.
Regionally, Mottley has taken firm positions in defense of Caribbean sovereignty, including publicly stating she was prepared to risk her U.S. visa over Barbados’ health cooperation with Cuba. Her administration has also been among the first to implement a new CARICOM free movement regime with Belize and other partner states, aimed at boosting regional integration and labor mobility.
A Global List of Influence
Forbes noted that the women featured on the 2025 list collectively command an estimated US$37 trillion in economic power and influence more than one billion people worldwide, describing them as leaders “steering the systems that will define the next decade.”
Mottley appears alongside an eclectic group of global figures, including Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, music icons Taylor Swift and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, entrepreneur Kim Kardashian, and the creators behind the animated hit KPOP Demon Hunters, now Netflix’s most-watched film of all time.
Mottley’s continued presence on the Forbes list signals not only personal recognition, but also the growing visibility of Caribbean leadership in global decision-making spaces.
