Respect: 10 Black Women Leaders Creating Change Now
As the only Black woman now leading a Fortune 500 company as CEO, Rosalind Brewer is making history.
Recognizing that there are infinitely more than 10 brilliant Black women in 2021 to celebrate, acknowledge and learn from, Take The Lead looks at the latest contributions from only some of the multitudes of Black women leaders who are making a difference—in politics, economics, literature, business, science, academia, sports and retail.
“Recognizing that there are infinitely more than 10 brilliant Black women in 2021 to celebrate, @Takeleadwomen looks at the latest contributions from only some of the multitudes of Black women leaders who are making a difference. #blackwomenlead”
For Black women this can be another year of living—and leading—powerfully.
“For Black women this can be another year of living—and leading—powerfully. #blackwomenlead #BlackHistoryMonth #blackempowerment”
Vice President Kamala Harris is in a political position no Black woman—or any woman—has ever held, and is demonstrating her competence every day in her unique intersection with history. Poet Amanda Gorman is showing every young Black girl who dreams of using her words for purpose, artistry and change, can transform the world.
“Vice President @KamalaHarris is in a political position no Black woman—or any woman—has ever held, and is demonstrating her competence every day in her unique intersection with history. #glassceiling #BlackHistoryMonth”
They are among the many role models across industries, disciplines and concentrations who inspire and transform the systems of the past and the present. It is urgent to acknowledge every one of these leaders.
Janelle Harris Dixon writes in Smithsonian, “As the National Museum of African American History and Culture expands and curates its Historically Black Colleges and Universities collection, the women who are leading in every industry, sector and segment—from politics to religion, entertainment to STEM—are making black women in leadership more visible, more attainable. Each of the 101 HBCUs across 19 states carries its own legacy of brilliant black women who cultivated triumphant careers, sometimes whole movements, as leaders in classrooms, on staffs and in administrations.”
1. Dr. Gaëtane Jean-Marie, dean and professor of educational leadership at Rowan University, has extensively researched Black women in leadership. “We don't want to be a figurehead or just being a figure of representation. We also want to be able to influence policy,” Jean-Marie tells the Smithsonian. “It's not enough for us to have a seat at the table. It’s time for us to seize the moment and speak up at the table.”
“ “It’s not enough for us to have a seat at the table. It’s time for us to seize the moment and speak up at the table.”—Dr. Gaëtane Jean-Marie (@lead_with_me), dean and professor of educational #leadership at @RowanUniversity. #blackwomenlead”
2. Rosalind Brewer, who recently served as Starbucks’ chief operating officer, this month started “a new position as CEO of drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance. When she steps into this new role, she will be the only Black woman currently leading a Fortune 500 firm, and just the third Black woman in history to serve as a Fortune 500 CEO,” according to CNBC. As Walgreen’s steps up to lead in the vaccination rollout across the country, Brewer is at the helm at this significant time in history.
“As the only Black woman now leading a Fortune 500 company as CEO, Rosalind Brewer is making history. #blackwomenlead #womeninbusiness #glassceiling”
3. Nancy Johnson, author of her debut novel The Kindest Lie, earned a brilliant review in the Los Angeles Times.“ The novel is a triumph, a deeply affecting work of truth and reconciliation over what it means to live the American Dream — and not just for the winners.”
4. “Daina Ramey Berry, history department chair at the University of Texas at Austin, is dedicated to rethinking the way we teach American history to all students. Her latest book is called, A Black Women's History of the United States," reports PBS News Hour. Berry tells PBS, “When I was growing up, African American history was literally one paragraph. There were — Africans came and they were enslaved. There was Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and then a jump to Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. We learned about four people in African American history. Now, where I sit and I know that four million people received their freedom, or took their freedom, or were granted their freedom, stole their freedom in 1865 and even before that moment, there's so many stories that we can understand about survival, about resilience, about pride, and about the African American experience in the United States that goes beyond those four great figures.”
Read more in Take The Lead on Daina Ramey Berry.
5. Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, 35, is a “viral immunologist and research fellow in the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the lead scientist on the team that developed the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. She built on her six years of experience studying the spike proteins of other coronaviruses like SARS and MERS in order to design the vaccine within two days of the novel coronavirus being discovered,” CNBC reports.
6. Rashida Jones is the new president of MSNBC, and is the first Black executive—man or woman—to head a major television network. Jones “said at a 2015 conference at the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, ‘If you really want to be a next-level journalist that’s coloring the history of our world, that’s the only reason you should be on this path,’” CNBC reports.
“@RJonesNews is the new president of @MSNBC, and is the first Black executive—man or woman—to head a major television network. #BlackHistoryMonth #EmpoweringWomen”
7. Dallas Mavericks’ CEO Cynt Marshall is the first Black woman CEO in the NBA. “Marshall — a former AT&T executive who was hired by billionaire Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to clean up the workplace culture after an investigation revealed 20 years of sexual harassment and misconduct issues — says the Mavericks organization has pledged a minimum of 10,000 employee volunteer hours and $5 million to support local communities via education, scholarships, mentorship and public policy,” CNBC reports.
8. Alicia Boler-Davis in August 2020 became Amazon’s vice president of global customer fulfillment, after 25 years with General Motors, beginning with a program she participated in when she was in high school, the General Motors Institute.
“Alicia Boler-Davis in August 2020 became Amazon’s vice president of global customer fulfillment, after 25 years with General Motors. #blackwomenlead #femaleengineers ”
9. Stacey Abrams, an influential Democratic Party organizer, founded The New Georgia Project, and “stood at the forefront of helping register voters of color – who turned out in record numbers during both the 2020 presidential election and the two runoffs in January,” according to ABC News earlier this month.
10. Nina Banks, an associate professor of economics at Bucknell University, “argues there is another form of work that has been historically overlooked and uncounted: community activism by Black and other marginalized women. This week, she took over the presidency of the National Economic Association, which has promoted minority economists in the profession for half a century,” according to The New York Times.
According to Forbes, Lean In’s “The State of Black Women in Corporate America” 2020 report finds, “For every 100 men promoted to manager, only 58 Black women are promoted, despite the fact that Black women ask for promotions at the same rate as men.”
Read more in Take The Lead on successful Black women entrepreneurs
Forbes reports, “In fact, the report explains that Black women’s ambition is in fact often discouraged. Because we expect women to be kind and communal, women are often criticized as ‘overly ambitious’ or ‘out for themselves’ when they express a desire to lead. For Black women, this ambition penalty can be compounded in some contexts by stereotypes that unfairly portray Black women as aggressive and angry.”
Facing historic and systemic interference and widespread bias, Black women in all fields and disciplines are affecting change for a different take on the present and the future.
“Facing historic and systemic interference and widespread bias, Black women in all fields and disciplines are affecting change for a different take on the present and the future. #blackwomenlead #BlackHistoryMonth”
As Kimberly Peeler-Allen, co-founder of Higher Heights For America, earlier told Take The Lead, “Women lead every single day in every aspect of their lives, so we have to be able to challenge and support that in more formal outlets.” Peeler-Allen says, “You are leading in your community and don’t realize it. Give women the confidence to lead in a bigger way.”
