Time Magazine's 'Person of the Year' awarded to woman for first time in 29 years

Time Magazine’s prestigious ‘Person of the Year’ title has previously been given to both men like Barack Obama and general groups like the medics fighting the Ebola outbreak in western Africa. But this year, the title has been given to a woman for the first time since 1986.

Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, is the fourth woman to be bestowed the award outright, and the first to win since it was changed from ‘Man of the Year’ in 1999.

The news is welcomed after a year where the spotlight has been on women in leadership positions. Lord Davies’ report announced that his 25% target for female representation on FTSE 100 Boards had been reached, but gender equality gap still seems insurmountable; the pay gap won’t level out for 118 years – or until 2133, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The same research by the WEF also uncovered that the biggest gender progress had been made politically; half of all heads of state are female, as are 19% of parliamentarians and 18% of ministers.