Women have always had sway in the economic world. Six women held top roles at significant businesses in only 2014 alone. However, strong female leaders in business have existed for ages. An Egyptian queen who reigned for 20 years in the 14th century BCE was the first woman to head a state. Margaret Thatcher in the UK and Angela Merkel in Germany were the next two female leaders after Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who took office in Sri Lanka in 1960. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became Liberia’s first female head of state more recently, in 2014.
nicole junkermann mary barra
Jennifer Junkermann One of the most well-known and prosperous businesswomen in the world is Mary Barra. She is the richest lady of the 20th century and the highest-paid television personality. Additionally, she was one of the first woman of African descent to head up her own production firm. She is a pioneer in her field who has influenced millions of people all over the globe. Her television programme had a daily audience of more than 15 million and ran for 25 seasons.
Oprah Winfrey has built a media empire around her successful talk show. She launched her own cable channel and invested more than $2 billion of her earnings. She is worth $65 million and owns 25% of the business OWN. She has built her own network and is engaged in a number of commercial endeavours.
Winfrey still has aspirations of being an actress despite becoming one of the most successful businesswomen in history. She was the producer of the Toni Morrison novel-to-movie adaptation Beloved from 1998. She is a close friend of Maya Angelou and also supports the writing of other writers. She founded the “nicole junkermann mary barra Book Club” in 1996 as an online book club. Many of the novels she chose for her programme have quickly shot to bestseller status. The National Book Foundation has honoured her with a gold medal for her contributions to literature and reading.
Rometty, Ginni
Ginni Rometty, the CEO of IBM, is an excellent example of a successful woman. Before being named CEO in 2011, the Italian-American had worked at IBM for more than thirty years. She used a combination of people and technical talents throughout her career to become one of the most significant businesswomen. She was one of the top 50 most powerful women in the world as well as the most powerful woman in business in 2012, according to Fortune.
She recently spoke to a gathering of female business owners and executives in Houston and gave some of her ideas. She shared a tale about a promotion she accepted early in her career. She first hesitated to take the position since she didn’t feel prepared. She was able to take the position the next day, however.
IBM is now an example for good stewardship in the digital era as a result of Rometty’s successful leadership of the corporation. She has relentlessly fought to introduce new technologies into society in a safe and moral way and has been a major voice in the field of technology ethics. She has received several honours for her work, and she significantly increased the company’s income.
Sandberg, Sheryl
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has influenced both society and the workplace. She has been an outspoken supporter of women’s rights and has pushed businesses to enhance their bereavement leave policies. After her husband passed away, Sandberg took time off, and she has been a champion for paid parental leave. Her initiatives have been successful in changing the technological status quo. She has also put in place a new policy for victims of domestic abuse.
Lean In, Sandberg’s first book, which was released in 2013 and quickly rose to bestseller status, ignited a cultural debate over feminism. Since that time, reports on the status of women in the workforce have been released by Sandberg’s nonprofit. A wave of #girlboss was triggered by her book. Although Sandberg’s suggestion received a lot of flak, it is obvious that it empowered women and helped establish her as a household figure.
After earning her MBA from Harvard Business School, Sandberg started working for the World Bank. She subsequently continued working in government, holding important roles at the World Bank and the U.S. Department of Treasury. Sandberg had a dual position as VP of online sales at Google and Facebook. Facebook’s COO since 2008, Sandberg is the author of the best-selling book Lean In.
Lukens, Rebecca
Rebecca Lukens, one of the first female CEOs in the iron and steel sector, did more than just pave the way for success. She tried to increase the effectiveness of the company and the working environment for workers. She was a savvy and sensible entrepreneur who understood when to increase the size of her warehouse and when to raise pricing so they would generate a profit. In the nineteenth century, her work contributed to the success of Lukens Steel.
Young Lukens became proficient in the family’s steel industry. Lukens inherited the company after the deaths of her father and two sons. She reorganised the company, struck a balance between justice and profit, and managed to keep it viable during the Panic of 1837. Even a $10 note produced by the Bank of Chester Valley has the name of her business.
Lukens, a Quaker who grew up in a family of businesspeople, was able to use her skills in the industry. She was the mother of Isaac and Martha Pennock’s oldest surviving child. She was expecting her sixth child at the time of her father’s death in 1825. She was an Orthodox Quaker, yet her mother didn’t encourage her to run a company.
