SCOTTISH First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has topped a poll of Britain's most influential woman ever, with the Queen finishing in second place and SNP politician Mhairi Black in third.

The Sky News online poll was set up ahead of International Women's Day, and working with equality organisation Equality Now featured a list of 100 women who had impacted on Britain.

The story accompanying the poll originally said voters should check back on Wednesday to see who won, but now reads only that "the rankings are live".

Sturgeon came comfortably first with 43,300 votes – well ahead of the Queen, who received 23,600.

And SNP MP Mhairi Black also finished ahead of royalty, with her 22,700 votes placing her in third, beyond Princess Diana's fourth place with 9400 votes.

Margaret Thatcher came fifth in the vote, followed by Emmeline Pankhurst, Florence Nightingale, The Bletchley Park women, Emily Davison and Queen Victoria.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May was left trailing well behind, garnerning only 1900 votes to finish in 19th – one position behind Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas, who received 2100 votes.

In the blurb for Sturgeon, the poll said: "A Scottish politician who is the current First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party. She is the first woman to hold either position."

The description for Black read: "The SNP politician is currently the baby of the house at Westminster. When she was elected in 2015, she was aged 20, making her the youngest-ever MP elected to the House of Commons."