Last week, as the US celebrated Women’s Equality Day, we were inspired to look into what female mayors are accomplishing around the world. What we found impressed us, so we thought we should share more about these influential women who are moving their cities forward in innovative and groundbreaking ways.

These five mayors are not only championing diversity and equality, but are making their cities more sustainable, healthier, and educated places to live.

Annise Parker, Houston, Texas
The accolades keep coming for Annise Parker. Named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2010, she also recently won 7th place in the annual World Mayor Prize – the first American to rank in the top 10. Parker has served as mayor of Houston, the fourth-largest city in the U.S., since 2010.

Widely recognized for her commitment to keeping Houston sustainable, Parker established the Houston Office of Sustainability in 2011 and has played a critical role in enabling the city to consistently be named in the top 10 in the nation for energy-efficient buildings. A member of President Obama’s Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, Parker helped launch a greenways project that adds greenspace to the sprawling metropolis by extending the transportation networks. She also persuaded voters to approve a bond to help create a $410 million budget that will ensure roads are shared by bikes and automobiles.

Parker is committed to equality – she created the Office of Business Opportunity, which helps minorities and women-owned businesses compete for city contracts.

Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, Warsaw, Poland
The people of Warsaw love their mayor. This past November, they elected her to an unprecedented third term.

It’s easy to see why. Gronkiewicz-Waltz has long been a proponent of diversity, having initiated programs like Diverse Warsaw, which helps foreign children and their parents integrate into their new environments, and Study in Warsaw, which helps recruit foreign students to Warsaw. She is also known for her boldness in taking a strong stance on environmental issues. Last summer, she dubbed the Poland government “environmental cowards” for opposing European clean-energy goals.

Gronkiewicz-Waltz is also doing her part to improve the city’s economy. She launched Innovation in Warsaw 2020, a program that encourages entrepreneurship and R&D. The program has already brought Google to Warsaw.

Celia Wade-Brown, Wellington, New Zealand
Sustainability is Wade-Brown’s guiding principle. One of the most prominent and influential progressive politicians in the country, she has led sustainability efforts in Wellington for the past nine years. Called New Zealand’s poster girl for cycling, Wade-Brown has tripled the city’s cycling budget and is working to help upgrade streetlights to make the city safer for cyclists and pedestrians, all in an effort to make the city more walkable and environmentally friendly.

She has also spearheaded efforts to make Wellington one of the most-prepared cities in the world for natural disasters, with water bottles stamped with the message You may be alone for three days. Wade-Brown is also leading economic development efforts – future projects include creating a high-tech precinct and a runway extension for the international airport that would help link the city with important commercial cities in Asia and North America. And she’s committed to making Wellington a smart city.

Giusy Nicolini, Lampedusa, Italy
This rising star has been making a name for herself since she was 23, when she became deputy mayor of the small island of Lampedusa. Elected as mayor in 2012, Nicolini is known as a committed human rights advocate. In fact, her leadership has helped Lampedusa become one of the Mediterranean’s most efficient migrant ports, processing and sheltering up to 700 migrants at any given time. That’s no small task, given that the island has been on the front line of Europe’s war on migration in recent years.

Nicolini has also been praised for her work as an environmentalist, recognized by human rights organizations and even the pope.

Tri Rismaharini, Surabaya, Indonesia
Named one of the 10 most inspiring women in 2013 by Forbes Indonesia, Rismaharini is striving to make this city of 2.7 million people more educated. To do that, she introduced free education for poor areas of the community. And under her leadership, 35 percent of the city’s budget goes to education.

Rismaharini has also given her city an economic boost, attracting prominent foreign companies including Yakult (Japan), Cargill (US) and Unilever (Netherlands/UK). And since her election in 2010, the city’s economy has grown by 7.5 percent.

Like the other mayors listed here, Rismaharini is doing her part to make her city more sustainable. She has worked to turn 22 percent of the city’s land into open green spaces. Since she became mayor, the city has won the ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City Award 2012 and the Adipura Kencana, the highest environmental awards in Indonesia. Her devotion to the environment was apparent when she stopped a government plan to construct a toll road, instead launching a new plan for a monorail and tram system.

Microsoft CityNext applauds these outstanding mayors for empowering their cities and citizens.

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