Women on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list turn ambition into impact

Women make up 41% of Forbes’ 2026 30 Under 30 list, or 252 women. One percent are non-binary. That’s a slight drop from 2025 but still represents a consistent upward trend in female representation starting in 2022. Honorees on the annual list hail from 20 different categories. The average age is 27 and combined the 600 honorees have more than 200 million social media followers. Meet three: Katie Fang, a social media influencer who has amassed millions of followers through her style videos; Xiye Bastida, co-founder of youth-led climate advocacy organization Re-Earth Initiative; and Nyamekye Wilson, founder of Black Sisters in STEM. You can find all the honorees here. They’re chosen from more than 10,000 applications.