Costa Rica has many talented women that work hard to stand out in their respective fields.

Petra Magazine consulted 75 people, among them professionals in media communication , agencies and press offices, business men and women, to come up with the list of the most influential women in Costa Rica in 2016; each person interviewed could nominate two candidates that had to meet the following criteria:

• Leadership: a leader in their fields, (company, government, NGO, productive sector, organized civil group, etc.)
• Influential: capable of influencing over a particular position, topic or action due to her position
• Respected: personally and professionally

Among the candidates, six names appeared for a second time: Ana Helena Chacón (Vice-President of Costa Rica), Christiana Figueres (Anthropologist and Economist), Amelia Rueda (Journalist), Elizabeth Odio (Attorney), Nuria Marín (Political Expert) and Laura Chinchilla (Former President of Costa Rica).

Here is the list of the 10 most influential Costa Rican women:

1. Chistiana Figueres Olsen – Anthropologist and Economist : She has been the Executive Secretary at United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) sine 2010; she was one of the promoters of the historic Climate Change Paris Agreement.

2. Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría – International Relations – Current Vice-President of Costa Rica, she has worked in favor of the disabled population, she is also known for her fight to defend the rights of same sex couples and she faced alongside President Solis the emergency caused by Hurricane Otto.

3. Nuria Marín Raventós – Political Expert, Business woman and Speaker: She is the media’s official source and consultant on all international political topics. She has worked as an analyst and national and international political speaker since 1992. She is also a lawyer and has several personal businesses that employee over 1500 workers.

4. Yolanda Fernández Ochoa – Public Relations and International Relations: She took over the Presidency of the Costa Rica Commerce Chamber, she is the first woman elected to take this positon by vote. She has been the Manager of Corporate Affairs for Walmart Mexico and Central America for nine years and is also the Vice-President of the Costa Rica food bank and as of 2015 the President of the Costa Rica-Mexico Chamber of Industry and Commerce .

5. Sandra Cauffman – Electrical Engineer and Physicist: (Sandra Alba Rojas), Costa Rican living in the United States where she leaded the project MAVEN that sent a probe to Mars. Cauffman was nominated because she brakes preconceptions

6. Elizabeth Odio – Attorney: Judge at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , she has a long career in the Costa Rican political scene

7. Laura Bonilla Coto – Business Administrator– president of the Export Chamber of Costa Rica (CADEXCO). Her company, B&C Exports, is the main exporter of chayotes in the world and she has an 85% female work force.

8. Adriana Durán Rodríguez – Journalist : First woman in Costa Rica to ever work as a sportscaster. She is currently part of the sports journalists of national Channel 7

9. Amelia Rueda – journalist – Current director of radio show Nuestra Voz (Our Voice) as well as her own news site.

10. Laura Chinchilla Miranda – Political expert – First woman president of Costa Rica (2010-2014). She currently teaches in two foreign universities

In total 25 women were nominated.