Eco-warrior Greta Thunberg and athletics hero Dina Asher-Smith lead the BBC's list of 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2019 - but Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle both fail to make the cut

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The BBC has revealed its list of the 100 most inspiring and influential women around the world in 2019, with Duchesses Kate and Meghan both failing to make the cut. 

The list features women from several fields, including climate change activist Greta Thunberg, British athletics star Dina Asher-Smith and US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 

This year's list was compiled with a focus on the question: 'What would the future look like if it were driven by women?' 

Explaining how the list was drawn up, the BBC said it was looking for women who had made headlines and influenced important stories over the past 12 months. 

However, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex failed to make the cut, despite a year where they dominated the headlines.  

The BBC said it was looking for women who had made headlines and influenced important stories over the past 12 months, but both Kate and Meghan failed to make the cut

Meghan Markle launched a charity cookbook for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire in London and spoke about being a woman of colour in a stirring speech on a visit to Cape Town. 

Kate meanwhile appeared on Blue Peter as part of her ongoing mission to encourage children and families to get back to nature. She has also highlighted the issue of children's mental health throughout the year.

Both women, together with their respective husbands Prince Harry and Prince William, also voiced an advert for a new mental health campaign called 'Every Mind Matters'.

Commenting on their list, the BBC said: 'Many on the list are driving change on behalf of women everywhere. 

'They give us their vision of what life could look like in 2030.

Greta Thunberg made the list after a headline-grabbing year where she became a poster child for the fight against climate change. 

She sailed the Atlantic and made highly publicized appearance at the UN, where she berated world leaders in a powerful speech.

Swedish environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg, addressing politicians, media and guests with the Houses of Parliament on April 23, made the list

Dina Asher-Smith won gold in the final of the women's 200m at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, and made the BBC's list

Firebrand US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also made the BBC's annual list

Dina Asher-Smith's inclusion in the list caps a remarkable year for the 23-year-old, where she became the fastest woman in British history and the first British woman to win a major global sprint title.

She won gold in the final of the women's 200m at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, after she had already taken silver in the 100m.

Asher-Smith also became the first Brit to win three medals at a major global athletics championships after the women's 4x100m relay team won world silver. 

US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 30, became the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States Congress. 

Beloved by her supporters, she has made headlines throughout the year after several clashes with President Donald Trump. 

Other women to make this year include anti-upskirting campaigner Gina Martin, Oscar nominee Yalitza Aparicio and trans woman Nisha Ayub. who was put into a male prison aged 21.

The BBC's 100 Women team drew up a shortlist based on names gathered by them and suggested by its World Service languages teams. 

The corporation said: 'We were looking for candidates who had made the headlines or influenced important stories over the past 12 months, as well as those who have inspiring stories to tell, achieved something significant or influenced their societies in ways that wouldn't necessarily make the news. 

'The pool of names was then assessed against this year's theme - the Female Future - and measured for regional representation and due impartiality, before the final 100 were chosen.'