Women & Wealth Part 3: Incredible Women in Finance
March is Women’s History Month and is a great opportunity for us to look back on some of the incredible women who helped make financial history. As a young woman, I am so grateful for the women (and men) who came before me and paved the way for a career that I love. So today, I want to honor a few of them.
Muriel Siebert
“Mickie” was the first women to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. She became a member on December 28, 1967 after allegedly being rejected by 9 men for sponsorship. After starting her own firm, she created the Siebert Entrepreneurial Philanthropic Plan in 1990 which gave a share of profits to new issuer’s charities of choice. Siebert passed away in 2013.
Madam C.J. Walker
Born Sarah Breedlove, Walker was the first self-made African American female millionaire. In 1904 she created a haircare product line for black women. Walker passed away in 1919 with a net worth of over a million dollars, two-thirds of which went to various charities (biography.com).
Elinor Ostrom
While Ostrom was not in finance, we give strong nods to economics here. In 2009, Ostrom became the first female to ever received the Nobel Prize in Economics for demonstrating “how local property can be successfully managed by local commons without any regulation by central authorities or privatization (Econlib.org).” If you are familiar with economics, you’ve likely heard of the Tragedy of The Commons, to which Ostrom’s discovery directly flew in the face of. It wasn’t until 2019 that a second woman, Esther Duflo, received the Nobel Prize in Economics.
Stacey Cunningham
In 2018 Cunningham became the 67th New York Stock Exchange President. While she was actually the second female president of the NYSE, she was the first to ever hold full leadership of the exchange.
Janet Yellen
Many today know Yellen as President Biden’s Secretary of the Treasury. In 2014, under former President Barack Obama, Yellen was nominated as the first female Federal Reserve chair. She remained in her position until 2018.
Dambisa Moyo
Moyo makes the list for a number of reasons, but after having the honor of listening to her speak during a conference, it was clear she is a woman who is making history. Originally from Zambia, Moyo earned her undergrad in chemistry and went on to achieve a masters from Harvard and PhD in Economics from Oxford. She now practices as a macroeconomist and author. She may be best known for her New York Times Best Seller, Edge of Chaos. She currently serves on multiple boards and was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. She is truly making history.
Incredible women are all around us. Take an opportunity this month to thank some of the influential women in your life. Maybe it’s a boss, mentor, mother or friend; women are making history every day and we have the honor of being part of it. If you are a woman, take some time to remind yourself how incredible you are. Whether you work on Wall Street, Main Street or your home street, one day women’s history could be written about you!
