Ivelisse McBride 
Women have been great leaders in the workforce for centuries. Their success has paved the way for other women like myself and acted as role models for generations. Unfortunately, their stories are often overlooked, so I dedicate this blog to honoring Women’s History Month.
Here are eight stories of powerful women whose startups should never be forgotten.
Lydia Estes Pinkham, Inventor and Women’s Health Advocate (1819-1883)
Dissatisfied with male physicians and the poor quality of gynecological health products, Lydia Estes Pinkham started selling Vegetable Compound, an herbal medicine to relieve menstrual discomfort and menopausal symptoms, from her kitchen in 1873. With the help of her son, she turned her home basement into a factory, bottled and packaged the medicine at home, and distributed advertising pamphlets throughout her neighborhood. Pinkham became the matronly mascot of gynecological health throughout the country as her face was prominently printed on advertising and her medicine bottles. She received letters from customers on various health issues and published pamphlets under the Department of Advice, which she established and was staffed by women. She continued to publish reproductive health publications throughout her life.
Madam C.J. Walker, America’s First Self-Made Female Millionaire (1867-1919)
I could write pages upon pages just on the life of Madam C.J. Walker, but to put it short, she was the first American woman to become a self-made millionaire. After becoming a widow at 20, she was a single mother earning $1.50 a day as a washerwoman. Then, just two decades later, she owned a million-dollar haircare empire.
In the 1890s, she moved to Denver and developed a hair growth formula which she then turned into a lucrative line of hair products. Her hair product success expanded her business into more cosmetic markets, from shampoos to cold creams to hot combs. So how did she build her business? She went door to door, placed newspaper ads, trained specialized “Walker Agents,” and invested thousands in her company when others wouldn’t!
Elizabeth Arden, Cosmetics Empress (1881-1966)
Elizabeth Arden was a 20th-century beauty tycoon. Elizabeth was the first to market makeup and cosmetics as a respectable industry suitable for all classes rather than just for performers or sex workers. She began her career as a bookkeeper for a pharmaceutical company in Manhattan after dropping out of nursing school. By 1908, she worked as an assistant to beautician Eleanor Adair and spent long hours in the labs learning about skincare. Two years later, she opened her salon! After 1924, she expanded and opened salons in Paris, Italy, and across the globe. She introduced makeovers as part of her marketing.
Elizabeth Arden was also active in the fight for women’s votes, supplying suffragettes with red lipstick as a symbol of a woman’s strength. Her business continues to thrive even during the Great Depression.
Olive Ann Beech, First Lady of Aviation (1903-1993)
Olive Ann Beech always had an aptitude for business and finances. She ran her family finances from the age of 11! After becoming a bookkeeper and office secretary at Travel Air Manufacturing Company, Olive rose the ranks and became office manager and personal secretary to Walter Beech, who later became her husband. In 1932, they founded Beech Aircraft Company.
Even though Olive focused on the financial side, she took over the company’s leadership when her husband fell ill in 1940. That is when she helped produce aircraft for the U.S. during World War II and later assisted NASA in space exploration technology. Olivia Beech was awarded the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, the highest honor in aviation, for contributions to the aircraft industry. She fully deserves the title of First Lady of Aviation!
Coco Chanel, Fashion Designer (1883-1971)
Her clothes have been sold in stores, plastered on billboards, displayed on magazine covers, and sown by society’s elite. Coco Chanel has become one of the most iconic fashion designers ever. Though her childhood was anything but glamorous, she pursued a career as a seamstress after being raised by nuns in a catholic orphanage in France. She opened her first boutique in 1913 and quickly took the fashion industry by storm with her designs that changed how women dressed forever. Even though her ”little black dress” popularized her, women fell in love with her by ditching their corsets and choosing a more comfortable and practical wardrobe. Coco herself designed the famous Chanel logo in the 1920s, and it hasn’t changed.
Annie Easley, The Human-Computer (1933-2011)
Annie Easley had no intention of becoming a rocket scientist but instead majored in pharmacy at college.
It all changed when she read a newspaper article about women who worked as “human computers” in 1955. This article pushed her to apply, get hired, and spend the next 34 years contributing to the aerospace industry. She began her career doing calculations for researchers.
When machines ultimately replaced humans, she learned a handful of programming languages and worked as a computer programmer for NASA’s Centaur rocket project. Her work also paved the way for the development of modern hybrid cars.
A firm believer in education, she participated in tutoring programs encouraging female and minority students to pursue STEM careers. She also became an equal opportunity counselor to combat workplace discrimination.
Julia De Burgos, Puerto Rican Writer (1914-1953)
Julia De Burgos was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico in 1914. She quickly became a successful published poet in Puerto Rico but struggled to get the recognition she deserved after moving to the US in the 1930s. Her poems spoke of the beauty of her native land. They celebrated her identity as an immigrant Afro-Latina, all things that were outside the mainstream in early 20th-century poetry circles. Julia De Burgos was way ahead of her time with her scintillating poems centered on themes of feminism and social justice. Julia De Burgos set the stage for many Latino writers to come!
Joyce Chen, Chinese Culinary Pioneer (1917-1994)
Before Julia Child, there was Joyce Chen! From a young age, Joyce learned to cook by watching her family’s chef in the kitchen.
During the Chinese Communist Revolution, her family immigrated to Massachusetts, where she often cooked for other Chinese students who missed food from home. Finally, in 1958, she opened her first buffet-style restaurant, encouraging customers to try new Chinese and American dishes. In addition, she created menus in both English and Chinese to bridge the language gap. Eventually, Joyce Chen began to sell her cookware brand in stores, including her patented Peking Wok, creating a culinary dynasty! The Festival of Dumplings is held annually in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to honor her birthday.
Business Legacy
Each woman above made a lasting impact on the future of women in the workforce. Their leadership helped break down barriers and paved the way for the next generation of female entrepreneurs. Yet, there is still much work to do for true equality in the workplace.
Women are still being paid less than men for their work, and this gap is even more significant for women of color. However, women of color start more businesses than their white counterparts and seize control of their wages and profits!
The women in this blog may have had a tough time, but they overcame the odds and because a success story that every entrepreneur can look to for guidance and inspiration. They have all proved that through hard work and dedication, there is nothing to fear as a businesswoman. The sky is the limit, and our future is bright!
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