From gaining the right to vote to becoming self-made billionaires, women in the U.S. have made important strides toward financial success. As the country celebrates its 250th anniversary, we look back on the women behind these historic milestones.
- 1870: Victoria and Tennessee Woodhull open Woodhull, Claflin & Co., becoming the first female stockbrokers on Wall Street.
- 1910: Madam C.J. Walker becomes the first American woman – and the first Black woman – to become a self-made millionaire.
- 1920: Clara Porter writes “The Woman Investor,” arguing that gender shouldn’t determine a person’s investments.
- 1937: Mary Roebling becomes the first woman to serve as president of a major commercial bank at the Trenton Trust Company.
- 1967: Muriel Siebert is the first woman to have a seat on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
- 1984: Rosemary McFadden becomes first female president of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).
- 1999: Cathy Hughes, founder of Urban One, takes the company public, making her the first Black woman to lead a publicly traded corporation.
- 2014: Janet Yellen is appointed the first female chair of the Federal Reserve.
- 2019: MacKenzie Scott signs the Giving Pledge, promising to give away at least half of her wealth over the course of her lifetime; as of 2025, she has given $19.3 billion to more than 2,500 nonprofits.
- 2022: Rihanna becomes the youngest American female self-made billionaire at age 34.
NOW, women manage one-third of household financial assets, graduate college at higher rates than men, and hold leadership roles in businesses of all sizes. While progress has been made, there is still room for improvement.
- Women own about 39.1% of all U.S. businesses - a 13.6% increase from 2019 to 2023. But women-owned businesses account for only 9.2% of the workforce and 5.8% of revenue.
- Understanding and addressing the challenges facing women business owners is more important than ever, as an estimated $124 trillion in U.S. wealth is expected to be transferred through 2048 in the Great Wealth Transfer.
- Of the women who have already inherited wealth, 45% said they've used their inheritance to invest.
- Women are also still working to build wealth on their own:
- 3 out of 4 express confidence in their ability to achieve their financial goals.
- 93% expecting an inheritance say they aren’t depending on that money to reach their financial goals.
