Everyone is familiar with the Fortune 500, an annual list of the five hundred most profitable US industrial corporations. What is perhaps lesser known is that women only make up 4% of CEOs in the Fortune 500. Hardly a number worth boasting about. To emphasize just how male-dominated this world is, a study from 2015 found that there are more men named John, Robert, William or James than there are women among chief executives in S&P 1500 firms. *Sigh*

While it seems it is going to take a lot longer until we see anything close to gender equality at this level of business, it certainly doesn’t mean that there aren’t numerous female CEOs globally who are pushing boundaries that are worth talking about. The H&M Foundation has launched their own list as a way to present a female-focused counter-balance to the Fortune 500.

Called the Foundation 500, the list highlights not just 500 female entrepreneurs from around the world who deserve more recognition, but specifically women of color who come from rural or developing areas. The idea stems from the Foundation’s continuing work to empower female business owners globally. In 2014, they donated $8.4 million to CARE, an NGO focused on promoting social justice and fighting poverty.

This money was able to provide job skills training and business capital to more than 100,000 female entrepreneurs in 20 countries. By the end of 2016, after seeing how far the money went, they pledged a further $5.6 million for 3 more years. The Foundation 500 is a way of highlighting the work of some of these women who have become role models to their communities. Reintje van Haeringen, CARE Netherland’s program manager for women empowerment and business development says the list is “a representative mix of the women who’ve been role models during our program.”

H&M Foundation and CARE´s message is that empowering women is one of the most effective ways to break the cycle of poverty and create economic growth. Entire economies lose out when a substantial part of the population can´t realize its full potential.

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