On Monday, November 8, 2004, The Wall Street Journal's senior editor, Carol Humowitz and a team of journalists reported on 50 women who are making their mark as leaders of corporations around the world.

"The time has come when we can look around the world and across industries and see women who are rising to the top of their chosen fields," said Karen Elliott House, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, and senior vice president of Dow Jones & Company.

"This ranking represents those women who are making a mark," Elliott said. "The Wall Street Journal is honored to highlight their accomplishments to its readers as a way of showing its support and endorsement of these remarkable women."

The survey results were published in all three print editions of The Wall Street Journal (Europe, Asia and U.S.) on Monday, as well as online at www.wsj.com .

The Journal asked dozens of editors and reporters in bureaus around the world to nominate potential candidates, while also seeking nominations from outside.

In all, over 550 nominations were received.

The Journal ranked the women based on their potential to make a significant impact on business in the years ahead.

The Journal considered a variety of factors, such as their influence in business and their recent accomplishments.

Moreover, The Journal considered the challenges these women face in business, how they're responding to those challenges, and what their decisions may mean for their companies and industries in the years ahead.

Many of these women are already CEOs or top executives and will continue to be influential in their industries or in the wider business world.

Others are women who are on their way up and bear watching, The Journal said in their press release about The Special Report.

After much discussion and several rounds of voting among Journal editors and reporters, the list was narrowed down to the 50 finalists in the report.

The World's 50 Most Notable Female Entrepreneurs

The Report is called Through The Glass Ceiling.

It is designed to recognize women who have achieved noteworthy successes in business in the past year, as well as those who are poised to play important roles in business in the years to come.

The women are profiled in six separate categories:

1) Women running the show;
2) Women in line to lead;
3) The Inheritors;
4) The Owners;
5) The Grant Giver;
6) The Watchdog.

The watchdogs represent women in regulatory roles.

1.) Elizabeth Grossman profile by Joann S. Lublin

Elizabeth Grossman (37) is second-in-command of the New York district office of The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In 1993, she joined the U.S. agency. Some day she may run a non-profit group that champions women's legal rights.

2.) Amy Butte profile by Kate Kelly

Amy Butte (36) is the chief financial officer of the New York Stock Exchange. She is one of the youngest top executives in a field where women account for only 37% of the total work force.

3.) Linda Chatman Thomsen profile by Deborah Solomon

Linda Chatman Thomsen (50) is the deputy director of enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission. After serving as trial lawyer, she joined the SEC in 1995 where she has been ever since. "I don't find anything more satisfying than public-service jobs," she told The Wall Street Journal.

Patty Stonesifer profile by Marilyn Chase

The one-and-only grant giver in the group of fifty women is Patty Stonesifer. The forty-seven year-old is the president & co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Previously Microsoft's head of its interactive-media group, today she manages assets of $27 billion. Additional pledges from its founder will soon raise this amount to $30 billion.

1.) Oprah Winfrey profile by Brook Barnes

Oprah Winfrey (50) is one of the world's most prominent and inspirational business women.

Oprah runs Harpo Inc., a company that generates $270 million a year in revenue thanks, in part, to the success she has had airing "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 110 countries. In addition, O, The Oprah Magazine with 2.7 million in circulation (1/1/04 - 6/30/04) and Oxygen, the women's cable network which she helped launch in 1999 are also part of her multi-million-dollar media company.

2.) Kim Sung Joo profile by Seah Park

South Korea's Kim Sung Joo is interested in creating the Louis Vuitton of Asia.

Based in South Korea, Kim heads Sungjoo International Ltd. and Sungjoo Design Tech & Distribution Inc., the country's largest luxury-goods retailers. She manages 350 employees. Sales last year were $54 million (60 billion won).

Sung-joo is one of two women from South Korea who made the Top Fifty WSJ list.

3.) Fredy Bush profile by Mei Fong

Fredy Bush (46) runs Xinhua Financial Network, China's current financial news production and distribution house.

XFN serves more than 1,000 business clients globally, including Goldman Sachs, HSBC Holdings and J.P. Morgan.

The company, in which Bush owns a 5% stake, competes with financial information powerhouses such as Reuters, Bloomberg and Dow Jones & Co.

4.) Dolly Parton profile by Brook Barnes

Dolly Parton (58) is the reigning queen of Dollywood Co., a rapidly expanding entertainment empire.

Dollywood's annual revenue is estimated at $22 million which includes a library of 3,000 original songs created by Ms. Parton.

In addition, she has a significant stake in theme parks throughout the country including one in Tennessee called Dollywood which attracts nearly three million people a year.

1.) Abigail P. Johnson profile by John Hechinger

Abigail Johnson is the 42 year-old president of Fidelity Management & Research Co. (Fidelity's Chairman & CEO, Edward C. Johnson III, 74, is her father.)

2.) Ana Patricia Botin profile by Carlta Vitzthum

Ana Botin is the 44 year-old chairwoman of Banco Espanol de Credito, one of Spain's oldest banking dynasties (Emilio Botin's daughter)

3.) Shari Redstone profile by Joe Flint

Shari Redstone is the 50 year-old president of National Amusements. She is also Viacom Inc. chairman and ceo, Sumner Redstone's daughter.

4.) Maria Asuncion Aramburuzabala profile by David Luhnow

María Asuncion Aramburuzabala is the 41 year-old vice chairwoman of Grupo Modelo in Mexico. (She is also the granddaughter of a penniless immigrant from Spain who founded Mexico's leading beer company, Grupo Modelo SA, in the wake of the 1910-1917 Mexican Revolution.)

5.) Elisabeth Murdoch profile by Martin Peers

Elisabeth Murdoch is the 36 year-old chairman and chief executive of Shine, a UK-based television production company which she created "in her own image" rather than her father's. (Murdoch is Rupert's daughter. Rupert is the head of News Corp.)

1.) Karen Katen profile by Scott Hensley

Karen Katen is the president of Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals.

2.) Marjorie Magner profile by Mitchell Pacelle

Marjorie Magner is the chairman and chief executive of the global consumer group at Citigroup Inc.

3.) Indra K. Nooyi profile by Chad Terhune

Indra K. Nooyi is the president and chief financial officer of PepsiCo Inc.

4.) Zoe Cruz profile by Ann Davis

Zoe Cruz is the global head of fixed income at Morgan Stanley.

5.) Brenda Barnes profile by Janet Adamy

Brenda Barnes is the president and chief operating officer of Sara Lee Corp.

6.) Sharon Allen profile by Diya Gullapalli

Sharon Allen is the chairman of Deloitte & Touche USA LLP.

7.) Susan Arnold profile by Sarah Ellison

Susan Arnold is the vice chairman of Procter & Gamble Co.

8.) Safra Catz profile by David Bank

Safra Catz is the co-president of Oracle Corp.

9.) Linda Cook profile by Chip Cummins

Linda Cook is the executive director of gas and power at Royal Dutch/Shell Group.

10.) Gina Centrello profile by Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg

Gina Centrello is the president and publisher of Random House Publishing Group.

11.) Susan Desmond-Hellmann profile by Ron Winslow

Susan Desmond-Hellmann is the president of product development at Genentech Inc.

12.) Linda Dillman profile by Ann Zimmerman

Linda Dillman is the executive vice president of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

13.) Fumiko Hayashi profile by Ichiko Fuyuno

Fumiko Hayashi is the president of BMW Tokyo.

14.) Ann Moore profile by James Bandler

Ann Moore is the chairman and chief executive of Time Inc.

15.) Sallie Krawcheck profile by Robin Sidel

Sallie Krawcheck is the chief financial officer of Citigroup Inc.

16.) Jenny Ming profile by Amy Merrick

Jenny Ming is the president of Old Navy.

17.) Vanessa Castagna profile by Ellen Byron

Vanessa Castagna is the chief executive of stores, catalog and the Internet at J.C. Penney Co.

18.) Wu Xiaoling profile by Cui Rong

Wu Xiaoling is the deputy governor of the People's Bank of China.

19.) Yang Mianmian profile by Qiu Haixu

Yang Mianmian is the president of Haier Group, China's leading home-appliances maker.

20.) Mellody Hobson profile by Steven Gray

Mellody Hobson (35) is the president of Ariel Capital Management LLC in Chicago, Illinois. Her firm has $18 billion under management for institutional and individual investors.

21.) Naina Lal Kidwai profile by Eric Bellman

Naina Lal Kidwai (47) is the deputy chief executive officer of India's HSBC PLC. The first Indian woman to graduate from Harvard Business School in 1982, she has helped Indian companies raise billions at home and abroad.

22.) Myrtle Potter profile by David Hamilton

Myrtle Potter (46) is the president of commercial operations at Genentech Inc., the world's first biotechnology company.

23.) Doreen Toben profile by Almar Latour

Doreen Toben (54) is the chief financial officer of Verizon Communications Inc., America's largest phone company.

24.) Yoon Song Yee profile by Seah Park

Yoon Song Yee (28) is the vice president of SK Telecom Co. in South Korea. A graduate of M.I.T., she is the highest-ranking woman executive at SK Telekom, South Korea's largest telecom service provider.

1.) Carly Fiorina profile by Pui-Wing Tam

Carly Fiorina (50) has been the chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co. since 1999.

2.) Margaret C. Whitman profile by Nick Wingfield

Meg Whitman (48) has been the chief executive of the Internet auction site, eBay Inc. since 1998.

3.) Andrea Jung profile by Sally Beatty

Andrea Jung (46), the chairman of Avon Products Inc. today became the beauty products' chief executive in 1999.

4.) Michelle Peluso profile by Melanie Trottman

Michelle Peluso (33) is the founder of Site59.com and the current president and chief executive of Travelocity. She became the ceo of the Internet travel business after serving as its vp of hotels and then coo.

She said, "I always think successful leaders have the ability to wield different tools. As a woman, you can comfortably display a broader array of styles."

She also ascribes to hiring people smarter than herself.

Smart woman!

5.) Anne Mulcahy profile by William M. Bulkeley

Anne Mulcahy (52) is the president and chief executive officer of Xerox Corp. She has held this post since July 2001.

6.) Rose Marie Bravo profile by Cecile Rohwedder

Rose Marie Bravo (53) is the chief executive of Burberry Group PLC which today has 85 stores in 24 countries.

7.) Ann Fudge profile by Brian Steinberg

Ann Fudge (53) is the chairman and chief executive of the global advertising agency, Young & Rubicam. She is the only African-American woman who is running a major traditional global operation of this kind.

8.) Patricia Russo profile by Christopher Rhoads

Patricia Russo (52) became chairman and chief executive of Lucent Technologies Inc., the telecom-equipment maker after serving Eastman Kodak as its president and coo.

9.) Xie Qihua profile by Peter Wonacott

Xie Qihua (61) is the chairwoman of China's largest iron and steel producer, Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp.

10.) Debra A. Cafaro profile by Ray A. Smith

Debbie Cafaro (46) is the president and chief executive of Ventas Inc., an owner of nursing homes and other health-care facilities.

11.) Anne Lauvergeon profile by John Carreyrou

Anne Lauvergeon (45) is the chief executive of Paris-based Areva SA, the world's largest maker of nuclear reactors and recycler of nuclear waste.

12.) Ho Ching profile by Barry Wain

Ho Ching (51) is the executive director and chief executive of Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. in Singapore. Temasek is the country's state investment company.

13.) Marjorie Scardino profile by Charles Goldsmith

Marjorie Scardino (57) has been the chief executive officer of the London-based media company Pearson PLC since 1997. Pearson owns a 50% stake in the Economist Group which owns the Economist magazine, the Financial Times newspaper and business publications in France and Spain.

Wall St. Journal Senior Editor, Carol Humowitz wrote:

Whatever they do or don't say publicly, women business leaders privately acknowledge that they relish the chance to build as well as run things, and to motivate others.

They are committed to making it regardless of the personal sacrifice.

For many, that means a willingness to globe-trot, accept 24/7 job duty -- and fit their family lives around their work lives.

Finding Common Interests

Hymowitz went on to say:

Whether it is learning to play golf or immersing themselves in the minutiae of football, having common interests with male colleagues and bosses is a plus.

...

So is finding a male mentor.

...

As women gain more critical mass in the executive suite, they are becoming mentors themselves and bringing other women along.

Thanks to Karen Elliott, Carol Hymowitz, Janet Adamy, James Bandler, David Bank, Brook Barnes, Sally Beatty, Eric Bellman, William M. Bulkeley, Ellen Byron, John Carreyrou, Marilyn Chase, Chip Cummins, Ann Davis, Joe Flint, Mei Fong, Ichiko Fuyuno, Charles Goldsmith, Steven Gray, Diya Gullapalli, Qiu Haixu, David Hamilton, John Hechinger, Scott Hensley, David Luhnow, Almar Latour, Joann S. Lublin, Amy Merrick, Mitchell Pacelle, Seah Park, Martin Peers, Christopher Rhoads, Cecile Rohwedder, Cui Rong, Robin Sidel, Ray A. Smith, Brian Steinberg, Pui-Wing Tam, Chad Terhune, Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, Melanie Trottman, Carlta Vitzthum, Barry Wain, Nick Wingfield, Ron Winslow, Peter Wonacott and Ann Zimmerman for profiling these fifty inspirational women.

For public access to The Wall Street Journal's in-depth report, go to: