New York: Indian American Indra Nooyi, the Chairman and CEO of Pepsico, U.S. and Sonia Gandhi, President, Indian National Congress Party have made into the list of 100 powerful women in the world compiled by Forbes magazine.

While Indra was listed as the third powerful woman in the world, Sonia stood at 21st position on the list. According to the magazine, Indra is the highest-ranked woman in business as she successfully expanded the food and beverage giant internationally to counter a decline in Americans' preference for soda and chips.

Among the list of 100 most powerful women, first and second slot were occupied by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the U.S.-based Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila C Blair.

Notably, the women ranked on the list control an altogether 26 trillion dollars worldwide. However, women who hovered for a decade around 46 percent of the American labor force, hold only 15 percent of top corporate jobs in that country. Less than three percent of the country's biggest companies have female chief executives, according to a research by nonprofit firm Catalyst.

The list comprises 54 businesswomen and 23 politicians, with the rest being media executives and personalities and non-profit leaders. A third are newcomers to the rankings.

Just under half the women ranked this year are based outside of the U.S. Top countries represented include the U.K. (five women), China (four), France, India and the Netherlands (three apiece).

Forbes, however, makes an interesting conclusion saying that while individual female leaders continue to climb higher, women as a group are making only modest gains.