Who rule the world? 50 KICK ASS WOMEN WE LOVE!

Life took on a rollercoasterride quality for Jacinda Ardern two and a half years ago. The passionate politician became Labour leader, then Prime Minister in the space of three short months and the following year she made headlines around the globe when she announced she would be the second world leader ever to give birth while in office.

As it turned out that was just the start of Jacinda’s trailblazing trajectory because while she had always been admired for her open heart and down-to-earth frankness here in Aotearoa, she was soon being admired by leaders all over the world.

In March last year, New Zealand was rocked by the Christchurch mosque attacks, which claimed 51 lives, and our Prime Minister’s empathetic response and immediate work on gun reform made the international community sit up and take notice.

Her face was projected onto Dubai’s towering Burj Khalifa skyscraper and Oprah Winfrey told the Women in the World Summit that all women should “channel their inner Jacinda”.

She was also included in British Vogue’s September issue last year – guest edited by the Duchess of Sussex – for her “driving impact and raising the bar for equality, kindness, justice and open mindedness”. This month, Jacinda graces the cover of Time magazine for her progressive leadership following the mosque attacks.

From her office in the Beehive, Jacinda has pushed through laws on everything from extended paid parental leave to the Families Package that has provided financial aid to more than 380,000 Kiwi households.

On the home front, meanwhile, she’s been raising daughter Neve, now 21 months, with her partner Clarke Gayford, 42.

The mum of one, who turns 40 in July, shared recently that she tries to get home to put Neve to bed before carrying on working into the night, and she occasionally gives Kiwis a sneak peek behind the scenes into her life as Prime Minister and first-time mum.

On Neve’s first birthday she took to social media to show off the birthday cake she’d made for her daughter. “I may be smiling but about an hour earlier I was not enjoying the first birthday cake-making experience (like just about every parent I know!), she captioned the photo. “I recommend cakes that you can legitimately cover in coconut – it hides almost everything.”

Aware of the impact on other women of thinking she somehow manages the impossible – raising a young child while also running a country – Jacinda has taken great pains to point out she gets a lot of help with childcare and maintains she is “no superwoman”.

She says, “No-one needs to see anyone pretending it’s easy because it’s not and so I’m not going to go around pretending I do everything. I don’t. It’s hard and women who are both working and raising children deserve to have help and support, and so we shouldn’t pretend it can be done alone.”

Philippa Howden-Chapman, advocate

When Philippa Howden-Chapman grew up in Auckland, home ownership was pretty standard. It wasn’t until she worked as a clinical psychologist years later, at an alcohol and drug unit, that she witnessed how hard it had become for people to find good-quality housing.

Horrified by the decline in warm, dry homes for Kiwis, she became an advocate. Twenty years on, she’s the director of He Kainga Oranga – the Housing and Health Research Programme – helping to reduce inequalities in living standards.

“We shouldn’t have to accept shivering in our houses and getting sick,” exclaims the Wellington-based mum. The public health professor created research that caused major government changes, like new housing standard rules to protect tenants, and electricity vouchers for older people with respiratory problems.

Philippa’s proud the government has noticed the significance of her team’s work, saying, “An equal world is an enabled world.”

Helen Winkelmann, chief justice

The Right Honourable Helen Winkelmann’s rise through the ranks to Chief Justice almost didn’t happen. The youngest of four children, Helen was brought up in a family that relied for many years on social welfare payments.

Her father, a Korean War veteran, had multiple sclerosis, and died when Helen was 18. She studied sciences at school and intended to be a doctor, but at the end of sixth form decided to study law.

After graduating, she worked in a big Auckland law firm and at 25 became its first-ever female partner and one of the youngest-ever in the firm’s 117-year history.

In 2004, she was appointed as a High Court Judge, followed by Chief High Court Judge in 2010 and was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 2015.

Helen, 58, has been vocal in her advocacy for better treatment of the most vulnerable. In her swearing-in speech last year she said it was her duty to highlight inequalities in the judicial system, which saw only the wealthy able to afford a lawyer to represent them in court.

Dame Valerie Adams, athlete

From humble beginnings in Rotorua to achieving unparalleled success in the athletics world – and a damehood to boot – shot-putter Dame Valerie Adams is simply one of our greatest athletes of all time.

With two Olympic gold medals and one silver, four golds at the World Championships, three at the Commonwealth Games and four at the World Indoor Championships, as well as three Halberg Supreme Awards, Val’s trophy cabinet is heaving – and she plans to add to it at this year’s Olympic Games.

Dame Valerie, 35, won the hearts of the nation at the 2012 Olympics, where she was elevated to a gold medal following her opponent’s positive test for doping. The humble athlete handled the furore surrounding the scandal with grace, and was awarded the medal in a special ceremony in Auckland later in the year in front of thousands of fans.

She’s also used her mana to speak up for other athletes, joining the World Athletics Council and is the deputy chairperson of the Athletes’ Commission.

The mum of two – she and husband Gabriel Price have two-year-old daughter Kimoana and son Kepaleli, who is about to turn one – is also a role model for many as she juggles professional sport with motherhood.

“You’re so exhausted and you’ve had so much taken out of you, but if you put your mind to it, you can do anything,” she told Woman’s