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50 women who broke barriers in the business world

Shannon F. Brehmer June 5, 2021 9 min read

50 women who broke barriers in the business world

The term “glass ceiling,” defined by researchers Susan Vinnicombe and Ronald Burke as “an invisible but impermeable barrier that limits the career advancement of women,” was coined in the mid-1980s by management consultant Marilyn Loden. But long before the term existed, women faced all kinds of barriers to achieving occupational success outside the home.

Many women were denied access to higher education in the English-speaking world until the 18th and 19th centuries. Census Bureau data shows women have consistently been paid less than men for decades or longer. Some women also feel that they’ve missed out on promotions or job opportunities because of their gender, according to Gallup. Career success for women has been a struggle throughout history.

However, the challenges haven’t stopped women from making incredible achievements: National Center for Education Statistics data shows women have earned more bachelor’s degrees than male students every year for four decades. Women have become executives of companies in male-dominated spaces, including finance, entertainment, and information technology. Every year, they come closer to closing the gender pay gap, according to the National Committee on Pay Equity—perhaps the most ubiquitous barrier for all women in the workplace, from the factory floor to the executive suite.

Women are a force to be reckoned with in the business world, and to honor advancements in gender equality in the workplace, Stacker compiled a list of 50 women who have broken barriers in the business world. The methodology involved reviewing a variety of sources, including museums’ digital archives, news media, awards given to women, and books on women in business. The list includes women from a variety of industries and a range of ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. It features both historical figures and modern-day legends.

Read on to learn about 50 women who’ve smashed through the glass ceiling and paved the way for other business-savvy women to rise in the ranks. As you’re reading, know that there are still countless other success stories of women in business just waiting to be told.

You may also like: 25 Black businesspeople who helped shape America




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Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Eliza Lucas Pinckney

South Carolina didn’t add the first woman into its Business Hall of Fame until 1989—some 250 years after the inductee, Eliza Lucas Pinckney, made some major business accomplishments. According to Entrepreneur writer Kristin Chessman, the Antigua-born agriculturalist is best-known for “introducing blue indigo dye into continental North America” and helping to turn the pigment into the second-biggest export crop in South Carolina in the mid-18th century.




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Madam C.J. Walker

Born in 1867 to former slaves-turned-sharecroppers, Madam C.J. Walker launched a collection of hair products for African American women at age 38. The company became a rapid success, eventually turning Walker into one of the richest African American women of the time. In 1917, she established the National Negro Cosmetics Manufacturers Association and used her wealth and power to advocate for Black women’s economic independence.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Maggie L. Walker

Born to enslaved parents, Maggie L. Walker paved the way for women in finance when she became the first woman to establish a bank in the United States in 1903. Walker’s St. Luke Penny Savings Bank became an important symbol of self-help for African Americans in the segregated South.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Emily Howell Warner

Long-relegated to the role of flight attendants, women had their path to becoming captains paved when Emily Howell Warner became the first permanent female pilot for a passenger airline in the U.S. in 1973. A year later, she entered the Air Line Pilots Association as its first female member. She would eventually become a Federal Aviation Administration examiner.

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Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Mary Katherine Goddard

Mary Katherine Goddard was a business pioneer in early America. She became the nation’s first woman publisher in 1766, and the first woman postmaster in 1775. She also printed the Declaration of Independence’s first copy, perhaps the most famous of Goddard’s many accomplishments.

[Photo: Copy of the Declaration of Independence printed by Mary Katherine Goddard.]




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Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin

Sisters Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin founded the nation’s first women-run brokerage firm, Woodhull, Claflin & Company, in 1870. They would use some of their profits to found a newspaper that covered women’s issues, such as suffrage, labor reform, and prostitution.

[Photo: Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin.]




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Brownie Wise

Brownie Wise developed the secret sauce behind Tupperware’s sales when she developed its “party plan” marketing system—proving that some products can be sold more effectively when presented at home parties than at a traditional retail store. Her tactic influenced the sales method used at a variety of other companies, including Mary Kay Cosmetics.

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Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Margaret Bourke-White

War photography was no longer only a man’s job after Margaret Bourke-White grabbed her camera and started covering World War II battles and refugee camps. The first female war photographer, Bourke-White, shot images for Life Magazine and even survived a torpedo attack.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Heather Bresch

The first woman to lead a major pharmaceutical company is Heather Bresch, chief executive of Mylan since 2012. She started working at Mylan 20 years prior when she was hired to type prescription labels in the basement of a factory. Bresch will be retiring in mid-2020 from Mylan, which is set to merge this year with Upjohn (Pfizer, Inc. unit) to form a new company offering Viagra, EpiPens, Lipitor, and other products. Mylan and Bresch received intense scrutiny over the years for inflating EpiPen costs, federal investigations of the company, and executive pay. Bresch—who will receive $30.8 million when she steps down—helped to steer Mylan from a 300-employee company making $100 million in revenue in one country to a 45,000-employee business bringing in $20 billion across 165 countries. 




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Lilly Ledbetter

Lilly Ledbetter sued her employer, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, after she discovered she was paid less than her male co-workers for doing the same work. She was initially awarded $3.3 million, but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling in 2007. Despite the setback, Ledbetter continued to work on equal pay issues for women. In 2009, President Barack Obama signed a law named after Ledbetter that would allow workers to report their employers to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for wage discrimination.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Indra Nooyi

During her time as chief executive officer of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi became an “invaluable role model for women in business,” according to Forbes. She pushed for more diversity and public dialogue about the difficult choices women are forced to make in pursuit of their careers. She has since joined the board of directors at Amazon.




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Mary Barra

When Mary Barra took over General Motors in 2014, she was the first woman to become a chief executive of a major automaker. She helped the company recover from bankruptcy, a massive recall, and sales of certain divisions. Business Insider once called her “the best CEO the company has ever had.”




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Radia Perlman

Radia Perlman is a prominent inventor who holds over 100 U.S. patents. Her work played an important role in making the internet what it is today. She is also a part of the National Academy of Engineering.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Barbara Corcoran

As a waitress, Barbara Corcoran borrowed $1,000 and launched what would become New York City’s first real estate firm owned by women—the Corcoran Group. She sold the business for $66 million nearly two decades ago and now invests in other businesses on “Shark Tank.”




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Elizabeth Timothy

The first woman to edit and publish a newspaper in the United States was Elizabeth Timothy, who brought the South Carolina Gazette back from hiatus in the 1730s. At the time, only men could hold that position, so the paper listed her son, Peter, on its masthead.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Martha Stewart

Martha Stewart turned the art of homemaking into a series of impressive businesses that allowed her to become the nation’s first self-made woman billionaire. Her businesses include a magazine, home goods, TV shows, and books.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


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