Breaking barriers: Women who reshaped American business

Not long ago, women struggled to access credit, open bank accounts independently, or enter industries like finance and investing. The entrepreneurs who pushed past those obstacles helped reshape the financial landscape, creating opportunities not only for themselves, but for generations that followed.  

Rebecca Lukens and Brandywine Iron Works

Rebecca Lukens was running a major ironworks decades before women could vote or own property freely in their own names. In 1825, after the death of her husband, the mother of six took over Brandywine Iron Works in Coatesville, Penn., later known as Lukens Steel Company, at a time when very few women led industrial enterprises. Facing financial strain and intense competition, Lukens made a bold strategic shift: She focused on producing rolled iron plates rather than traditional bar iron.

Her decision proved transformative. Lukens Steel became known for high-quality boilerplate iron, supplying materials for steamboats and later for projects that fueled America’s industrial expansion. She emphasized innovation, careful bookkeeping and reinvestment in technology, helping the company survive economic downturns that shuttered competitors.

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Sarah Breedlove and Madam C.J. Walker

Madam C.J. Walker was one of the most influential entrepreneurs of the early twentieth century and is widely recognized as one of the first self-made millionaires in the United States. Born Sarah Breedlove in 1867 to formerly enslaved parents, Walker built a thriving business around haircare products designed specifically for Black women at a time when opportunities for both women and African Americans were severely limited. After developing her own scalp treatment and hair growth formula, she founded the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company and began selling her products door-to-door.

What set Walker apart as an entrepreneur was not just the products she created, but the business network she built. She trained thousands of women– known as “Walker Agents” – to sell her products and run their own businesses. Through conferences, training programs and mentorship, Walker taught women sales techniques, financial independence, and professional confidence. In doing so, she created one of the earliest national networks of women entrepreneurs, empowering many to earn their own income and achieve economic independence. 

Elizabeth Arden and Elizabeth Arden skincare

In 1910, Elizabeth Arden, born Florence Nightingale Graham, opened a New York salon with her then-business partner Elizabeth Hubbard. However, it wasn’t the salon that solidified Arden’s place in the beauty business.

A few years after opening her business, her partnership with Hubbard ended, but Arden continued to pursue her passion of making women feel beautiful by carefully crafted beauty products. Starting with face creams and lotions, Arden worked alongside a team of chemists to develop the products that would eventually make her a household name.

In addition to creating beauty products, Arden continued to run successful salons that offered everything from massages and manicures to exercise programs and steam baths.

If asked how today’s women can succeed in business, her famous maxim applies: “repetition makes reputation and reputation makes customers” — a nod to the role consistency and quality play in entrepreneurial success.

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Muriel “Mickie” Siebert and the New York Stock Exchange

Muriel Siebert, known on Wall Street as “Mickie”, was a trailblazer in finance and a powerful example of entrepreneurial persistence. She became the first woman to purchase a seat on the New York Stock Exchange in 1967, at a time when women were largely excluded from the financial industry’s inner circles. Siebert reportedly faced rejection from multiple banks when seeking a loan to finance the purchase, with some lenders unwilling to back a woman entering the brokerage business. 

Eventually securing the funding she needed, she founded her own firm, Muriel Siebert & Co., and began building a reputation as a disciplined investor and savvy market analyst. Her firm broke barriers in its time by providing financial services to women, who were underserved and overlooked by most of the financial industry.

Beyond her success as an entrepreneur, Siebert became an influential voice for financial reform and consumer protection. In 1974 she made history again when she was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the Federal Reserve Board, making her the first woman ever to serve on the board. Later, she served as Superintendent of Banks for the New York State Banking Department from 1977 to 1982. Siebert’s career path was highly uncommon for a woman during this time period and she helped pave the way for generations of women entrepreneurs and leaders on Wall Street.

Sara Blakely and Spanx

Sara Blakely didn’t set out to revolutionize the shapewear industry in 2000 when she was 29 – she just wanted a smoother look under a pair of white pants. She was selling fax machines door-to-door when she cut the feet off of her control top pantyhose to create a sleeker silhouette. When she realized other women might want the same solution, she invested her $5,000 life savings to develop a prototype. With no background in fashion or business, and no outside investors, she wrote her own patent, researched manufacturers, and eventually found a mill in North Carolina willing to take a chance on her idea.

Blakely personally pitched her product to department stores, even demonstrating it herself in dressing rooms. Her persistence paid off when Spanx landed on shelves at Neiman Marcus and later received a major boost when Oprah Winfrey named it a favorite product in November 2000. From a simple DIY fix to a billion-dollar brand, Blakely’s journey exemplifies ingenuity, resilience and entrepreneurial grit.

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Melanie Perkins and Canva

Melanie Perkins is a modern example of entrepreneurial persistence and innovation. As a college student in Australia, Perkins noticed that graphic design software was complicated and expensive for most people to use. She believed that there had to be an easier way for anyone, from small business owners to students, to create professional quality designs. That idea eventually led her to cofound Canva in 2013.

The road to success was far from easy. Perkins and her cofounder Cliff Obrecht pitched their ideas to investors for years and reportedly faced more than 100 rejections before securing funding. Their persistence paid off. Canva grew rapidly by offering something other programs lacked: An intuitive, accessible design platform that democratized graphic design for millions of users around the world. Today the company is used by individuals, entrepreneurs, and large organizations. Perkins’ story highlights a defining trait of successful entrepreneurs – the ability to turn a simple insight into a global business through resilience and vision.

Bottom line

From the early days of entrepreneurship to the digital economy of today, women have continually pushed past financial and societal barriers to build successful businesses. All of the women highlighted above share stories that span different eras and sectors but they share a common thread: determination, creativity, and the willingness to challenge the status quo. Together, these women along with many others, have helped pave the way for the millions of women entrepreneurs who are now shaping the future of business and expanding economic opportunity for generations to come.