For the longest time, whenever young people thought of the big dogs running the world's largest companies, they always pictured Wall Street looking guys in suits, however, as time pushes forward, more and more women are entering the business realm, taking over one pantsuit at a time. This list highlights these women, and the companies they work for (or have worked for).
Entries:
Small Business Affiliates:
- Ah Toy, Prostitute and Madam Who Wasn't Afraid to Take People to Court When They Owed Her
- Angela Hutchinson Hammer, Publisher who Founded a Company to Move all Her Printings Under One Company
- Anna Kingsley, From Princess to Slave to Plantation Overseer
- Anya Ayoung-Chee, Fashion Designer and Entrepreneur
- Biddy Mason, Former Slave Turned Real Estate Entrepreneur
- Caresse Crosby, Inventor, Publisher, and Businesswoman
- Carrie Crawford Smith, Ran an Employment Agency to Help Women & Minorities
- Charity Adams Earley, Commissioned Officer in World War II who Went on to Found and Work for Various Organizations
- Clara Brown, Used Her Resources to Help Other Former Slaves Settle in Colorado
- Madame DeCourcelle, The First Female Taxi Driver in Paris
- Dora DuFran, One of the Most Successful Madams and Saloon Owners in Deadwood
- Eleanore Dumont, Owner of Various Brothels and Gambling Dens
- Emily Howland, The First Woman to Charter a US National Bank
- Ethel Robertson Macia, Owner of the Rose Tree Inn, Where the World's Largest Rose Tree Blooms
- Fereshteh Forough, CEO & Founder of Code to Inspire
- Giulia Tofana, Crafted a Poison That Possibly Allowed Six Hundred Women to Kill Their Husbands
- Iris Burton, Owner/Operator of Her Own Talent Agency in Hollywood
- Jaya Varma Sinha, Manager of the South Eastern Railway System in India
- Jennie Bauters, Jerome, Arizona's Most Notorious Madam
- Josephine Hensley, Owner of Multiple Businesses in Montana's Wild West
- Josephine S Lowell, Philanthropist and Founder of The New York Charity Organization
- Leigh Searl, Founder & CEO of America's Career Force Which Helps Service Member's Spouses Find Jobs
- Libby Thompson,Rose from Prostitute to Madam of Her Own Brothel
- Lily Rose Lee, Kidnap Victim & Founder of Lily's Ray of Hope
- Lottie Deno, Professional Gambler
- Lulu White, Creator of the Famed Mahogany Hall Brothel in Storyville, New Orleans
- Mae C Jemison, Founder of the Jemison Group Inc
- Maggie Walker, The First Woman in the United States to Charter a Bank
- Margaret Brent, The First Woman in the American Colonies to Appear Before a Court of Common Law
- Margaret Heffernan Borland, One of the First Female Cattle Drivers in the United States
- Marie Dionne, Florist and One Fifth of the First Set of Quintuplets Known to Survive Infancy
- Mary Ann Conklin, Manager of Seattle's First Known Brothel
- Mary Donoho, Hotel Owner
- Mary Ellen Pleasant, Used Her Inheritance to Invest and Become a Multimillionaire
- Mary Horony Cummings, Hotel Owner
- Mary Katharine Goddard, Newspaper Publisher
- Mary McLeod Bethune, Life Insurance Salesperson, Hospital Founder, and So Much More
- Mary Peck Butterworth, The First Known Counterfeiter in What Would Become the United States
- Micaela Almonester, Real Estate Developer
- Nellie Neal Lawing, Ran Roadhouses on the Federal Government's Dime
- Oluwo Adedunmola, Ran Four Small Businesses While Attending Medical School
- Peseshet, Director of the Medical School at Sais, 4th Dynasty Ancient Egypt
- Rebecca Lukens, Owner/Operator of the Brandywine Ironworks
- Victoria Woodhull, One of the First Female Stockbrokers on Wall Street
Tied to Not Small, But Not Fortune 500 Either:
- Alexandra Scott, Founder of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, a Charity Organization That Raises Money for Childhood Cancer Research and Treatment
- Amelia Earhart, The First President and Co-Founder of the Ninety-Nines
- Andra Rush, Founder of Rush Group LLC (Rush Trucking Corp, Dakkota Integrated Systems, and Rush Supply Chain)
- Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt, Held the Majority Control of Colt Manufacturing For Many Years
- Mother Fidelia McMahon, Oversaw the Expansion and Innovation of Arizona's First Hospital for Twenty-Eight Years
- Folorunshu Alakija, Wealthiest Woman in Nigeria
- Gertrude Carraway, President General of the DAR Who Saved the Society From Debt Collapse
- Jillian Michaels, Fitness Trainer and So Much More
- Joan Whitney-Payson, The First Majority Shareholder of the New York Mets, Socialite, and Businesswoman
- Joy Mangano, Inventor and Former President of Ingenious Designs LLC
- Kara McCullough, Founder of SE4K
- Karen Horney, Co-Founder of the Association For the Advancement of Psychoanalysis
- Katharine Wright Haskell, Secretary of the Wright Glider Company
- Kellyanne Conway, Founder of inc./WomanTrend
- Kittie Wilkins, The Horse Queen of Idaho
- Madam CJ Walker, Founder of the Madam CJ Walker Manufacturing Company and the First Self-Made Female Millionaire in the US
- Margaret Floy Washburn, The Second Female President of the American Psychological Association
- Martha Matilda Harper, Created the First Known Franchise in the US
- Mary Whiton Calkins, The First Female President of the American Psychological Association
- Mildred H McAfee Horton,Director of the WAVES During World War II, Wellesley President, and Board Member of Several Institutions
- Nell Donnelly Reed, Fashion Designer & Founder of Donnelly Garment Co
- Olga Erteszek, Co-Founder of the Olga Company (Today Olga Intimates)
- Patricia Bath, Co-Founder of the American Institute For the Prevention of Blindness
- Priscilla Presley, Chairwoman and President of Elvis Presley Enterprises
- Roberta Cordano, President of Gallaudet University
- Sally Ride, Founder and Former President & CEO of Sally Ride Science
- Stephanie Garman Freed, Co-Founder and CEO of Rapha House International, Which Helps Rescue and Protect People in Thailand, Haiti, and Cambodia From Sex Trafficking and Slavery
- Sue Ellen Cooper, Founder of the Red Hat Society
- Sylvia Earle, Founder of Mission Blue, Whose Purpose is to Protect and Explore the Oceans
- Thea Christiansen Foss, Founder of Foss Maritime
- Trisha Prabhu, CEO and Inventor of ReThink Technology
Tied to Recognizable Companies:
- Abigail Johnson, CEO of Fidelity Inc
- Anne Wojcicki, CEO of 23andMe
- Barbara Corcoran, Founder of the Corcoran Group and Shark on ABC's Shark Tank
- Bertha Benz, An Early Investor in What Would Become Mercedes-Benz
- Bette Nesmith Graham, Invented Liquid Paper and Later Sold Her Company for $47.5 Million
- Betty Ford, Founder of the Betty Ford Center
- Bobbie Arnstein, Hugh Hefner's Personal Assistant
- Christie Hefner, Former CEO of Playboy Enterprises Inc
- Denise Morrison, Former CEO of Campbell Soup Co
- Donatella Versace, Vice-President of the Versace Group
- Eunice Shriver, Creator of the Special Olympics
- Gertrude Schulte-Tenderich Sears, Founder of Tampax
- Ginni Rometti, CEO, Chairman, and President of IBM
- Indra Nooyi, Former CEO of Pepsi Co
- Ivana Trump, Businesswoman, Author, and Former Model
- Ivanka Trump Kushner, Former Employee for the Trump Organization
- Jane Stanford, Co-Founder of Stanford University
- Jo Ann Jenkins, CEO of AARP
- Katharine Graham, Former CEO of The Washington Post
- Katrina Lake, CEO of Stitch Fix
- Laura J Alber, CEO of Williams-Sonoma
- Lori Greiner, Patent Queen and Shark on ABC's Shank Tank
- Lucille Ball, Co-Founder of Desilu Productions & the First Woman to Run a Major Television Production Studio
- Lydia Nsekere, Member of the International Olympics Committee & The FIFA Executive Council
- Lynne Patton, Former Vice-President of the Eric Trump Foundation
- Margaret Rudkin, Founder of Pepperidge Farm
- Marillyn Hewson, Former President, Chairman, and CEO of Lockheed Martin
- Marissa Mayer, Google's First Female Software Engineer and Former CEO of Yahoo!
- Mary T Barra, Chairman & CEO of General Motors
- Meg Whitman, Former CEO of Ebay
- Melissa Lora, Former President of Taco Bell International
- Mindy Grossman, Former CEO of HSN Inc
- Michele Roberts, Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association
- Monica Mitro, Executive Producer of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
- Oprah Winfrey, I Don't Have to Explain This One, Do I?
- Rosalind Brewer, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance
- Ruth Handler, Inventor of Barbie and Co-Founder of Mattel Toys
- Safra Catz, co-CEO of Oracle
- Sara Blakely, Founder of Spanx
- Sheri McCoy, Former CEO of Avon Beauty
- Sherry Lansing, Former Head of Paramount & 20th Century Fox Production Studios
- Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube
- Ursula Burns, Former CEO of Xerox