Women worldwide are remodeling the very definition of leadership by challenging the status quo in ways that are both bold and transformative. From business and technology to politics and social impact, the influence of women leaders is growing at an unprecedented rate.
This shift isn't just about more women taking active leadership positions, but about changing how leadership works, focusing on collaboration, empathy, and purpose. Not only are they making a difference today, but they are also laying the foundation for a better tomorrow.
For those looking for resilient powerhouses of today, these Top 10 Inspiring Women Leaders in 2026 are the ones to watch for.
Jaclynn Morgan
Jaclynn Morgan has set a new standard for personalized, convenient, and affordable healthy eating. In 2023, she co-founded Healthvice Inc and created the brand WellFed, an all-in-one app that consolidates grocery ordering, recipe discovery and instructions, dietary restriction management, couponing, event planning, and community social features—eliminating the need for multiple apps. Backed by a talented team responsible for product development and proprietary AI training, WellFed offers a distinct competitive edge in the culinary market. Jaclynn has been featured in Who’s Who in American Top Professionals, Fortune National, Apple News, Business Insider, and The Enterprise World. An award-winning entrepreneur and Global Icon of Impact, she was also recognized as Top Culinary CEO of Health and Fitness in 2026 by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP). Her work is driven by a passion to make healthy food accessible for people with dietary restrictions and to bring families back to the kitchen table.
Diane Gilman
Fashion designer and entrepreneur Diane Gilman is a trailblazing leader whose career proves that innovation, relevance, and authority only deepen with age. Best known for building DG2 by Diane Gilman into a global fashion powerhouse, Diane didn’t follow industry rules; she rewrote them. At a time when midlife women were invisible in fashion, she identified an unmet need and transformed it into a brand that generated over $100 million annually and sold nearly 24 million pairs of jeans worldwide. Beyond fashion, Diane’s leadership is rooted in instinct, resilience, and an unwavering belief in self. These qualities define truly inspiring women leaders. Today, she continues to mentor, teach, and empower women to trust their inner knowing, build with purpose, and lead without apology. Diane Gilman’s legacy isn’t just what she built; it’s how she teaches others to build their own.
Lori Lynn Smith
Lori Lynn Smith is a Strategic Leadership Director who helps leaders stay clear, grounded, and effective in complex environments. With more than twenty years of experience leading large-scale technology programs, she brings a practical, steady approach to decision-making and sustainable performance. Her work blends operational leadership with insight gained through her own personal transformation, giving her a unique ability to support leaders navigating pressure and change. Lori teaches frameworks that strengthen presence, energy management, and clarity, helping leaders deliver results without burning out. She recently released her ALIGN Framework on LinkedIn and will present her work at the 2026 Paris International Conference on Empowerment. Her message is simple: in a fast-changing world, the leaders who stay human, present, and grounded will have the greatest impact.
Kelli Aspland and Laura Waters
Kelli Aspland and Laura Waters, the Welsh duo behind Solar Buddies, are redefining innovation through real-life solutions. Frustrated by school “no touch” policies that left children sunburnt, they invented the world’s first patented, refillable, mess-free sunscreen applicator for little hands. What began at a kitchen table in Wales has grown into a global phenomenon, now sold in 19 countries and stocked in thousands of stores, including Target. Their Dragons’ Den pitch secured backing from Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones, and their success has been celebrated by Forbes, The New York Times, and countless parenting and gift publications. In 2025, Solar Buddies ranked 20th on the Sunday Times Top Track 100 and 18th on the Growth 100. Beyond building a multimillion-pound business with new products arriving year on year, Kelli and Laura mentor and inspire founders worldwide, proving that everyday frustration can spark world-changing solutions.
Charlotte Osler
Charlotte Osler is a Nurse Practitioner whose work bridges primary care, women’s health, and the art of medical aesthetics. After years of serving remote communities in Canada’s Arctic - an experience that shaped her resilience, compassion, and deep respect for human stories- she brings a uniquely grounded perspective to her Toronto-based practice. Charlotte is known for her romantic, human-centered approach to aesthetics. She creates community events that invite people to “romance” their own lives and beauty through education, warmth, and connection. This year, she refined clinical protocols used across multiple practices, deepened her training with global leaders, and continued working toward her vision of a flagship clinic where medicine and artistry meet. Her rising influence comes from blending clinical excellence with genuine care, helping patients feel safe, supported, and beautifully seen.
Debi Lynn
Debi Lynn is redefining what it means to lead and succeed after life’s greatest disruptions. After the devastating loss of her infant son, followed by the collapse of her career and stability, Debi was forced to rebuild from the ground up. Rather than allowing grief to silence her, she transformed it into purpose. Today, she is a Business Resilience Strategist and Certified Grief Educator who helps high-achieving women entrepreneurs and leaders heal emotionally while reclaiming clarity, confidence, and profitability. Through her heart-led frameworks and resilience-based strategies, Debi guides women to turn pain into power and disruption into direction. Her work bridges the often-ignored gap between emotional wellness and business performance, creating sustainable success that honors both humanity and ambition.
Catherine H Garrow
Modern mental health has spent years searching for cleaner answers to messy human experiences. Catherine Garrow has chosen a different path—one that respects complexity rather than trying to erase it. As the founder of Unbound Minds, her work reframes trauma not as a problem to eliminate, but as information the mind and body carry with purpose. Catherine is highly trained and experienced in medical, educational, and community settings, specializing in supporting people with disabilities and neurodivergent individuals. Her approach rejects one-size-fits-all care, instead honoring sensory differences, cognitive variation, and adaptive ways of being in the world. Blending evidence-based therapy with neuroscience and holistic practice, she offers care that is both intellectually rigorous and deeply human. Shaped by lived experience and professional leadership, Catherine’s work carries a quiet confidence: healing doesn’t come from correction, but from understanding, accommodation, and the freedom to grow without needing to be “fixed.”
Julie Reby Waas
Julie Waas is a Certified High Performance Coach, attorney, author, and speaker who empowers midlife women to step into their second half with confidence, clarity, and purpose. After more than three decades as an attorney, Julie experienced her own midlife turning point—one that led her to reinvent her life and redefine success in this season. She became a professional abstract artist with international exhibitions, and that bold act of reinvention now informs everything she teaches. What sets Julie apart is her rare blend of structure and creativity. She combines the precision of her legal background with high-performance coaching principles and lived reinvention experience to help women create meaningful, sustainable change. Recent milestones include launching her YouTube channel Midlife Unleashed, being selected as a speaker for the Top Women in Power Live Experience in Hollywood, and preparing for her upcoming talk at the Women Thrive Summit in March 2026. She is also the author of the Unstoppable Mornings Journal and the forthcoming book The Midlife Reboot. Midlife isn’t a crisis—it’s a launchpad.
Samantha Buckley Hugessen
Samantha Buckley Hugessen is an internationally recognized life coach and bestselling author of Unstuck Yourself "The Guide to Designing a Life You Love," known for helping people break out of lives that look good on paper but feel misaligned on the inside. For decades, she has guided thousands of clients worldwide, especially women, through moments of reinvention, burnout, and quiet dissatisfaction into clarity, confidence, and momentum. Samantha has a rare ability to name what others avoid, cutting through noise and self-deception with honesty, intuition, humor, and deep compassion. Her work blends insight with action, challenging clients to stop settling and start choosing themselves without burning their lives down. Clients don’t come to Samantha for motivation. They come for truth, direction, and change that actually lasts.
Charis Michelsen
Charis Michelsen is Hollywood royalty whose influence spans beauty, fashion, technology, and entertainment. Forbes praises her “commendable contributions to the beauty and fashion industry,” while L.A. Weekly hails her as an award-winning beauty expert, author, inventor, actress, and TV host. Huffmag calls her “the Thomas Edison of fashion and beauty,” and Vogue notes she doesn’t just influence culture—she shapes it. Harper’s Bazaar dubs her an “architect of transformation.” In 2025, Charis was named among MSN’s Top 10 Women Disruptors to Watch, one of the Top Ten Self-Made Women, and a Top Ten Trailblazing Entrepreneur—honors reflecting her visionary leadership. She created the Universal Beauty Standard System™, powering the world’s first AI personal stylist, and authored and self-illustrated the most comprehensive beauty books to date, essential for influencers and professionals. Beyond tech and literature, she hosts an innovative fashion and beauty TV series. Charis Michelsen isn’t just a name—she’s a visionary, cultural architect, and legacy-defining force.
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