Margaret Thatcher is world’s most influential woman

It seems that women would rather follow in the footsteps of Margaret Thatcher than Angelina Jolie, as the former has topped the list of most influential women in the world, according to a survey.

It seems that women would rather follow in the footsteps of Margaret Thatcher than Angelina Jolie, as the former has topped the list of most influential women in the world, according to a survey.

Thatcher garnered 31 per cent of votes, while Kate Moss got just 1 per cent, in the women’s role model survey conducted by YouGov and AOL UK.

Florence Nightingale came in second, Anne Frank at eight and Michelle Obama came sixth while feminist writer Germaine Greer came in at the eleventh spot, reports The Guardian.

But even though Thatcher was at the top, only 2 per cent wanted to swap lives with her. When asked who they would most like to be, 26 per cent of women chose Harry Potter author JK Rowling.

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Influential women were described with words such as commitment, hard working, intelligence and prettiness.

"It's clear from the research that qualities such as intelligence and independence are highly regarded when it comes to women''s perceptions of wellbeing, while women promoted solely on the basis of appearance are largely disregarded by a nation who want to see their role models do something with their lives," said Beverley Skeggs, a sociologist at Goldsmiths College, London.

The top 10 women:

Margaret Thatcher (32 per cent)

Florence Nightingale (26 per cent)

Mother Teresa (25 per cent)

The Queen (24 per cent)

Oprah Winfrey (14 per cent)

Michelle Obama/JK Rowling (13 per cent)

Joanna Lumley (12 per cent)

Anne Frank (11 per cent)

Condoleezza Rice (9 per cent)

Anita Roddick/Germaine Greer (8 per cent)