Katy Perry and Carly Rae Jepsen joined the ranks of illustrious honorees at the Billboard’s Women in Music 2012 Luncheon.

“I am not a feminist, but I do believe in the strength of women,” stated Katy Perry during her “Woman of the Year” acceptance speech. “I don’t really like to call myself a role model for my fans. I hope that I am an inspiration for them, especially young women. My mantra, especially for the film was: If you believe in yourself, you can be anything.”

The luncheon was hosted at the Capitale which honored many rising stars such as Carly Rae Jepsen and Atlantic’s Julie Greenwald, Billboard’s reigning No. 1 female music executive for the past three years. However, the number of women in the business roles are dwindling. “As we all sit here today, over half of the college graduates are female but less thant one fifth of the executives in businesses of of the Fortune 500 and above are female,” stated Global Media’s CEO Dottie Mattison.

Perry and Jepsen join the ranks of the likes as Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, and Beyonce by being honored by Billboard. In accepting her rising star award, Jepsen thanked Brenda Romano, Intersopes’ president of promotion and Billboard’s No. 9 most powerful woman in music, as well as fellow Interscope execs. Jepsen stated that the most influential women in her life have been her mother and stepmother, to whom she dedicated the award.

Katy Perry, also thanked her mom and sister for being her inspirations in life.

Shankia Simmons

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