Katharine Graham became the first woman to lead a Fortune 500 company, the Washington Post Company, in 1972. Graham elevated the newspaper’s standard of investigative journalism, which uncovered the Watergate scandal under her leadership.
Born in 1867 to sharecroppers, Madam C.J. Walker launched a collection of hair products for African American women at age 38. The company became a rapid success, turning Walker into one of the richest African American women of the time.