In honor of Women’s History Month (and every month, for that matter), it’s important to recognize and understand the many contributions women have made and continue to make to the finance industry.
They’ve fundamentally changed the industry and made it possible for many more people to live financially successful and fulfilling lives.
Along the way, they’ve also opened doors for many other women.
From pioneers who fought through barriers to high-profile women who are essential to finance today, these are women to celebrate and admire.
Eight women who changed the face of financial services
1. Maggie Lena Walker (1864-1934)
Maggie was a 19th-century woman of color who was instrumental in building a small community bank that merged and morphed several times, eventually becoming the Consolidated Bank and Trust Company. She built an institution that allowed many people of color to begin achieving financial stability.
The daughter of a formerly enslaved person, she founded St. Luke’s Penny Savings Bank in 1903 to encourage African-American women to harness their economic power through saving and investing. The bank grew to over 50,000 members and, under her careful management, was one of the few banks to survive the stock market crash of 1929 that signaled the beginning of the Great Depression.
She received an honorary master's degree from Virginia Union University in 1925, and her former home is now a registered historic site. St. Luke’s Penny Savings Bank eventually merged with two other banks to become The Consolidated Bank and Trust Company.
2. Muriel Siebert (1928-2013)
Muriel was the first woman to have a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, which she achieved in 1967. She is referred to as “the first woman of finance” for this achievement.
Beginning in business classes at Western Reserve University, where she was often the only female, one of her classes took a trip to the New York Stock Exchange. The experience was massively impactful, and she resolved to work there one day.
Muriel landed a job as a researcher in training by lying about having a college degree (she never graduated), switching jobs often because she was paid less than her male counterparts in equivalent jobs. She spent two years finding a sponsor, raising money, and convincing a bank to loan her the money to help purchase a seat on the exchange, which cost $450,000 then.
She later became New York’s first female superintendent of banking, where she was charged with regulating the safety and soundness of the state’s financial institutions. She was a tireless advocate for women’s rights and a noted philanthropist.
3. Madame C.J. Walker (1867-1919)
Madam C.J. Walker broke another historic barrier for women: she was America’s first self-made female millionaire. The child of enslaved people, she and her husband co-founded what became a wildly successful hair care company for African-American women, making her one of America’s first and most successful female entrepreneurs.
She built a company that employed 40,000 black women and men in the US, Central America, and the Caribbean, continually working to advance the causes of African-American women.
She donated most of her to charities, primarily organizations and individuals who were integral to black education and social services. Because Jim Crow laws denied her an education as a child, Walker heavily supported the Booker T. Washington - Tuskegee Institute, the Palmer Memorial Institute in North Carolina, and the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute in Florida.
4. Dr. Janet Yellen (1946-Present)
Dr. Janet Yellen is the first and only woman to hold each of the top economic positions in the federal government, serving as chair of the Board of Governors for the US Federal Reserve, (Obama) chair of the Council of Economic Advisors (Clinton) and US treasury secretary (Biden). In her roles, she was a critical part of managing national financial infrastructure and regulation:
- The Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve guides the operation of the federal reserve system and sets monetary policy.
- The Council of Economic Advisors, an agency within the Executive Office of the President, provides the President with objective advice to drive domestic and international economic policy.
- The Secretary of the Treasury formulates and recommends domestic and international financial, economic, and tax policy, helps write broad fiscal policies that have general significance for the economy and manages the public debt.
When Yellen stepped down from the Fed, a survey of economists conducted by the Wall Street Journal spoke to her leadership: with 60% of the economists polled, both Republicans and Democrats, gave her an “A” rating.
5. Victoria Woodhull (1838-1927) and Tennessee Claflin (1845-1923)
These two pioneering sisters rose from poverty and overcame many barriers, from financial instability during childhood to minimal schooling, to founding the nation’s first female-owned brokerage, where they bought and sold stocks and financially advised a number of clients.
Some clients were among the wealthiest people in America, such as Cornelius Vanderbilt. Victoria also was the first woman to own a newspaper and the first to address a committee in front of Congress. The sisters quietly made enough money to put most of their counterparts to shame.
Outside of the financial world, they were active in the suffrage movement, which fought for women’s right to vote. Woodhull became the first woman to run for president – fifty years before she could legally vote for herself. Their efforts helped pass the 19th amendment, which enshrined women’s right to vote in the US Constitution in 1920.
6. Abigail Adams (1744-1818)
The wife of President John Adams is mostly remembered for documenting the home front of the Revolutionary War and her ongoing advocacy for women’s rights. Few realize that she was also America’s first documented female investor.
When her husband served in the Revolutionary War and later became president, Abigail managed the family’s finances, which included the family’s investments. She initially invested in government bonds, making a fortune (and ignoring her husband’s advice to invest in farmland).
Additionally, she was a fierce opponent of slavery and a champion of women’s education. She consistently admonished her husband to “remember the ladies” when he was president and considered legislation.
7. Hetty Green (1834-1916)
As a child, Hetty read the popular financial newspapers to her father, which prepared her when she inherited the family fortune. Hetty grew the $7 million she inherited into over $200 million by the time of her death – over $17 billion in today’s dollars.
Nicknamed the “Witch of Wall Street” because of how she dressed, she was reputed to be miserly and opposed to borrowing money. She made enough investing her inherited wealth to loan New York City $1 million in 1898 when the city was broke, equal to $36 million in 2023 dollars.
8. Rosemary McFadden (1964-Present)
After joining the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) as a staff attorney, she became the first woman to serve as president of any exchange, leading the exchange from 1984-1989. Exchanges are marketplaces where financial instruments, like stocks and bonds (commodities such as steel or orange juice), and other items are bought and sold. During her tenure, new crude, heating oil, and gasoline “option contracts” and propane futures contracts, where buyers and sellers agree to a sale at a specific price on a future date, were introduced, with the number of contracts traded jumping from five to 34 million.
Her leadership grew NYMEX into the world’s largest energy exchange, with offices in Asia and Europe. She now serves as deputy mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey.
Recognizing contributions
It’s important to understand and recognize the crucial roles women have played in finance since America’s birth and growth as a nation. You may be, or may know, a woman (or women) who is changing financial planning or making significant strides in another area. Please join us in honoring the women who’ve positively impacted and advanced the world of finance, opening doors for all people to live more fulfilling lives.
