This list features six influential businesswomen who have carved out significant places in business history. The phenomenon of influential women leaders is not a new one. It dates back to the 14th century BCE, when Egypt’s queen Hatshepsut ruled for twenty years. Other examples of influential women leaders include Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the first woman to head a government in 1960, followed by Margaret Thatcher in the UK and Angela Merkel in Germany. The list also includes Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who became the first woman president of Liberia.
Margaret Hardenbroeck
Margaret Hardenbroeck was an accomplished businesswoman who lived during the early days of colonial America. After marrying Peter Hardenbroeck, she inherited his estate and expanded his business by trading furs for merchandise in the Dutch colonies. It was not uncommon for women to own businesses in the seventeenth century. In New Amsterdam, they were known as “she-merchants.”
Margaret Hardenbroeck first arrived in New Amsterdam in 1659. Her work ethic was unmatched. She immediately set out to work, collecting debts for a merchant. Later, when her husband passed away, she inherited his estate and continued working. She became the most successful merchant in New Amsterdam and expanded the fur trade throughout the Netherlands. Hardenbroeck also acquired real estate in the colonies.
Rebecca Lukens
Rebecca Lukens is a woman who has a strong sense of business leadership and a keen sense of the iron industry. She was the only woman to run an iron mill during the early 1800s. Despite facing challenges in her business, Lukens persevered and found a way to balance leading a company with raising her family. Although Lukens had little formal business training, she possessed the necessary qualities to succeed in business.
Lukens became the owner of the Brandywine Iron Works, a forge that was founded in 1825. She overcame family opposition to become the company’s first female CEO. The company eventually became Lukens Iron and Steel, purchased by Bethlehem Steel in 1998. Lukens’ strategies proved successful in the face of the Panic of 1837, which devastated the steel industry. To avoid layoffs, she created new jobs for her workers. She hired people to work on the farm, repair equipment, and fix the dam, among other positions.
nicole junkermann mary barra
Mary Barra and Nicole Junkermann are international business leaders who have made significant contributions to the business world. The former is the founder of the company NJF Holdings, and the latter founded the virtual gaming platform Winamax. Both women have an extraordinary work ethic and are philanthropists. In addition, they are passionate advocates for gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Both women have made a mark in business and are among the most influential women in business history. Mary Barra, the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company, studied electrical engineering but chose business over her major. She began her career as an investor and grew a small company into a giant. Currently, she serves as CEO of General Motors, where she has made significant changes to the company’s culture and business practices.
Madam C. J
Alice Walker arrived in Denver, Colorado, in 1905 and worked as a cook for a pharmacist. She learned introductory chemistry from her boss and developed an ointment to treat hygiene problems in an era when most of the United States had no indoor plumbing. Walker married Charles Joseph Walker in 1906 and soon became the owner of a successful beauty school and manufacturing company known as Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company.
The product was a mixture of petroleum jelly and sulphur. It was marketed to black customers and quickly gained popularity. Walker began selling her products door-to-door in black neighbourhoods of St. Louis. The product became so popular that she changed her name to Madam C.J. Walker to be more recognizable.
