Women have been making an impact in the workforce for decades, demonstrating their skills and leadership abilities with increasing confidence. However, women are still under-appreciated for their accomplishments as compared to their male counterparts, including their leadership in the business world—Females run only 8% of all Fortune 500 companies’ CEO spots. Let’s take some time to appreciate some of the most successful female CEOs in the world!
Susan Wojcicki is the CEO of Youtube and is one of today’s highest-performing CEOs. Before studying humanities in college and taking her first computer science class, she wrote for her school newspaper. She graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in history and literature with honours with plans for a Ph.D. in economics before moving into a career in academia. However, such plans changed when she discovered an interest in technology. Wojcicki was working in a marketing role for Intel when she was introduced to Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google, by a mutual friend, who would pay for her mortgage and student debts in the future. By 1999, she became Google’s 16th employee and marketing manager. Seeing how it competed with Google Video, Wojcicki noticed YouTube’s potential and proposed an acquisition, and following her advice, Google purchased the now widely-used platform in 2006 for $1.65 billion. With Wojcicki as the CEO starting from 2014, YouTube is currently valued at up to $170 billion, and Wojcicki had been named one of Time’s Top 100 most influential people in 2005 and described as the “most powerful woman on the Internet.”
Lynsi Snider, heiress of the family-owned company, is the CEO of In-N-Out Burger. What makes her empire so popular is her respect for tradition: the bread is still baked with slow-rising dough, fries are hand-cut from potatoes, and their meat is ground in-house daily—their recipes have barely changed over 70 years in business. Lynsi had a tough childhood: she lost her father through drug abuse, battled drug abuse herself, and went through three divorces. Despite this, she persisted on and continued to preserve the brand’s wholesome image. In Lynsi’s earlier career days, she worked separating leaves of lettuce and at the cash register in In-N-Out restaurants. But with hard work, by 2010, Mark Taylor, Lynsi’s brother-in-law, gave the role of CEO to her. At 27 years old, she ran In-N-Out Burger while generating about $550 million across 251 locations.
Mary Barra is the CEO of General Motors. Her father spent 39 years working for the Pontiac Family in Detroit, where Barra graduated from the General Motors Institute and obtained a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering. At the age of 18, she began working for General Motors as a co-op student in 1980. She inspected fender panels and hoods while using the money she earned to pay for her college tuition. Barra then moved into an engineering and administrative position with General Motors before taking over an entire assembly plant. Afterwards, she went to Stratford Graduate School of Business and obtained her Master in Business Administration Degree. Her dedication to the company helped her rise through the ranks, and in 2014, she became the first female CEO of an automobile manufacturer.
From the CEO of General Motors to YouTube, these women have amazing stories that should be acknowledged and shared with everyone. These famous women have worked hard to get where they are now and paved the way for others to follow, and there are still countless other amazing stories of females in business worth applauding. Cheers to our great women CEOs and to more in the future!
Source:
“10 Female CEOs That Are Leading the Business World in 2021.” The CEO Magazine, The CEO Magazine, 10 Feb. 2021, www.theceomagazine.com/business/management-leadership/female-ceos/.
“35 Women-Owned Business Statistics You Need to Know in 2021.” Great Business Schools, 18 May 2021, www.greatbusinessschools.org/women-owned-business-statistics/.
Published July 27, 2021
Written by Raveena Duggal ~ Edited by Scarlett Chu ~ Graphics created by Abinaya Balaji
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