In the 21st century, women continue to excel in the same fields that men do. This new world of more opportunities for women shows the world how all this time, we have not been paying much attention to what women can do and how much they are capable of. However, there are some women CEOs who have paved the way for the female bosses of the future.
In their businesses, philanthropy, and politics, many female business leaders make waves. The five influential women managers in this article, and many others, crack barriers to help the growth of successful companies and open up the path for other women.
This move towards greater gender equality is important as the gap remains between men and women in positions of power. For example, more women today succeeded in increasing corporate ranks, but only a handful of the world’s most prominent companies currently hold the leadership of women CEOs.
1. Ursula Burns, Chairwoman Of VEON, Former CEO Of Xerox
Ursula Burns was named VEON’s president in 2017. Prior to that, she was Xerox’s CEO, turning the company into a corporation that is no longer solely recognized for paper copies. She is also now a board member of Uber. She is the very first African woman to lead a business in the Fortune 500.
Burns excelled in math and graduated in mechanical engineering with her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. As an engineering student, she entered Xerox in the company’s minority degree program.
She grew up in New York in a low-income household community. Her mother and her two siblings educated her and took many jobs by themselves so that Burns could go to a private secondary school. She is a founding member of Change the Equation, the STEM education non-profit initiative. From 2010 to 2016, she also served on the Export Board of President Obama.
2. Mary Barra, CEO Of Global Motors
Since 18 years of age, Mary Barra, employed at General Motors, has paved a special path up the hill. She holds a number of administrative, technical, and executive positions within GM, including Executive VP of Global Product Growth, Global Purchasing, and Supply Chain after completing her MD at Stanford University. In addition to her roles as CEO, Barra is President of the Governing Board of GM and a Disney Board member. In 2014, Barra became the first woman CEO of a leading automaker to show that hard work and loyalty can be rewarded with dividends.
3. Susan Wojcicki, CEO Of YouTube
This is another of the great women CEOs of our time. In 1999, the 16th employee of Google was Susan Wojcicki. Wojcicki has since become Google’s Senior VP of ads and business and has been the leading visionary of shrewd business attractions. She proposed an investment when she heard of YouTube, an online video streaming site vying for Google’s video services. In 2006. she arranged the purchase of $1.65 billion.
Wojcicki has increased the value of the website to an estimated $90 billion since she was appointed CEO of YouTube in 2014. She made it a priority to scour the internet for news, bots, and gaming policy.
4. Ginni Rometty, Chair, President, And CEO Of IBM
As a network engineer, Ginni Rometty joined IBM in 1981 and proceeded to grow to management roles in global marketing, sales, and strategy. She has been widely known for her leadership abilities since her appointments in 2012 as President and CEO of the company. She has been mentioned by TIME as one of the Tech’s 20 most valuable people and Fortune’s 50 most influential female entrepreneurs.
For her part, Rometty has certainly placed herself as a model for the aspiring women CEOs in the world, who have leadership positions in business and technology. “Women require role models, but there’s only one small minority that operates large companies like IBM’s first woman CEO,” she said.
5. Irene Rosenfeld, CEO Of Kraft Foods
Irene has been the leading voice in the industry for decades as CEO of the world’s second-largest food company. Until she was appointed CEO of Kraft Foods in 2006, she was also the CEO of Frito-Lay, where she worked to promote healthier food choices.
The organization has revitalized itself slowly under her leadership. Kraft first replaced AIG on the corporate Dow Jones, and in 2009 the firm paid more than 10 billion pounds for the long-established British brand Cadbury. In 2008, Irene ranked sixth on the “50 women to be followed” list of Wall Street Journal.
Conclusion
These women serve as proof that women can do what men do in this society, and they can sometimes do it better. These women serve as role models for generations of girls and powerful women to come. Click here to learn more about becoming a CEO.
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