WOMEN+POWER 2025

The WOMEN+POWER cover can be a hotly contested – even contentious – topic at our office leading up to publication. The logistics of having multiple cover possibilities organized and working with different PR companies, promising nothing and asking for patience six times day, can be daunting.

And, of course, there’s the endless news cycle. This year, the news cycle was the determining factor when selecting The ladies of "The View" for the cover.

Whoopi Goldberg, specifically, needs only one name to be recognized since her Sister Act days, and may be the most controversial woman in the world. She is most definitely the most inflammatory woman in the United States.

I probably don’t need to tell you that she’s in hot water at the moment for comments she made on-air comparing the plight of Iranians and African-Americans. But look, it’s her job to be opinionated and controversial. We watch "The View" because we want – no, we need – to hear what the ladies are going to say about X, Y and Z. It gives critics the fodder they need to survive another ratings showdown and it gives their supporters something to talk about around the water cooler or over cocktails after work (you can guess my preference).

So, yes, this year’s most-powerful place goes to the ladies of "The View," led by Whoopi Goldberg, an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony superfecta) winner, a larger-than-life personality and, yes, perhaps most surprisingly, a first-time finalist of WOMEN+POWER. Congratulations, dear Whoopi, and congratulations to our other 72 finalists as well as all the nominees. May 2025 end on a better note for women than it started on.