Many women were denied access to higher education in the English-speaking world until the 18th and 19th centuries. Census data shows women have consistently been paid less than men for decades.
Madam C.J. Walker launched a collection of hair products for African American women at age 38 and one of the richest African American women of the time.
After her divorce from Desi Arnaz, she bought her ex-husband out of their company, Desilu Productions, thereby becoming the first woman to have ownership over a major television studio.
Born to enslaved parents, Maggie L. Walker paved the way for women in finance when she became the first woman to establish a bank in the United States in 1903.