Forbes has recently released a list of the 100 most powerful women in the world. Many of these women are wealthy (money-wise), are involved with charity or philanthropy, and are involved in politics. In this article, I will discuss the list of powerful women and their influence on society.

We live in a society with mixed expectations of women. In fact, many women have trouble balancing family, home, and career. Women are expected to be thin, look beautiful, get good jobs, and to be good wives and mothers. I haven't had to balance motherhood. Even without motherhood, those responsibilities can be difficult to balance on a day to day basis. For instance, when my husband got sick, I had to decide whether to take time off or whether to work all day and then see him after work. Maintaining a home can also be difficult. Women who work full-time during the day find it difficult to take time off to wait for a repair person or to wait for furniture delivery.

Many so-called ordinary women are heroes. They work, take care of their children (and sometimes grandchildren), take their children to Little League, and yet they manage to work out and stay beautiful. Many women who work and take care of their homes get very little sleep during the week. The powerful women listed by Forbes probably had other people run errands for them and to take care of their children and their homes.

Having a list of the most powerful women in the world is still inspiring. They are considered to be successful. Many of them manage to work out and stay beautiful even with working long hours. Some of them host parties in their homes (with lots of help). Women who want to have influential careers can look up to them and learn from them about persistence, education, and altruism.

Women who are struggling with day-to-day jobs may think the highly influential women are successful in life. However, they may be lacking some things. They may not have time for family, friends, and for leisure activities. They may have days they go to work with smiles painted on their faces when they have problems at home or don't feel well. People who don't get very much leisure time or sleep can expect a detrimental effect on their health.

On the other hand, I think it is wonderful to have role models for women who want to become engineers, doctors, famous celebrities, or executives. The influence of mass media increases awareness of the capabilities of these women.

Just remember not to let your achievements or lackof achievements ruin your self esteem. The mass media makes it look like these women can do it all. It perpetuates the superwoman myth. We don't get the whole picture because we don't know what's happening behind the scenes. The influence of mass media helps them to become famous and helps their business to grow. However, they may have less privacy than most of the people who have regular jobs.

Many women feel overwhelmed by trying to balance their home and work lives. Maintaining a beauty regimen takes a lot of discipline. Discipline is good as long as people are flexible enough to realize they may occasionally have to change their routine. I applaud these powerful women. Women can be effective leaders in society, and they can help underprivileged people and protect the environment. Mass media increases awareness of these women's accomplishments. Not all people can pursue a post-secondary education. Not all people have the resources to build big businesses.

Underprivileged people such as people who are homeless or need expensive medical treatments may need help before they can support themselves. Sometimes greed can cause people to try to build lots of houses on small lots to sell them, pollute the air and water to save time and money for manufacturing, or to buy gas guzzlers and contribute to air pollution.

When people think about success, they may have to decide what things are the most important things in their lives. Some people place a high value on leisure time. Other people want to make decisions that affect thousands and millions of people. Leaders like those generally have very little leisure time. Even with giving parties, the parties may or may not be considered to be leisure time. They may use parties for political or economic reasons rather than just enjoying the company of someone who is friendly and helps you carry your groceries to the door for you.

The picture of Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts played her role in a popular movie) submitted with this article came from Eva Rinaldi photographer.