Strong, successful women have been killing it in the business world for a long time, but their true worth and value is only just beginning to be realized in the marketplace. Starting with Barbie and ending with Oprah, we’ve also found some women who are everything in between. And you don’t have to be a chick to get inspired by this list — these women are consummate professionals and great success stories that all can draw energy and learn something from. And here they are: eight amazing women blazing paths in business and in life.
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Ruth Handler
She’s not a favorite among a lot of old-school, dyed-in-the-wool first- and second-wave feminists, but Ruth Handler is a testament to the strength of women with clear vision and passion. Years ago, she created Barbie dolls because she believed that young girls should have dolls with breasts to increase self-confidence later in life. And she’s also the co-founder, with her husband, of the toy company giant Mattel. Later in life, she helped develop a prosthetic breast implant for mastectomy and cancer survivors, and it can’t be denied that she’s changed the world of childs-play forever. More than one billion Barbie dolls have been sold in 150 countries, and Mattel remains an industry standard for children of all ages.
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Chelsea Handler
No relation we can find to the Barbie founder, this life-sized blonde has carved a niche for herself as an author and comedic celebrity pundit, but that’s just the beginning of Chelsea’s reign. Less than five years old, her Borderline Amazing Productions company has produced four television shows in its short life span, and there’s a new one in the works. Chelsea’s known for being involved in decisions that may be considered minutia to some. She’s taken power and control of her business interests and her destiny, and she’s an inspiring businesswoman and creator of pop culture.
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Safra A. Catz
The software systems guru and longtime president of Larry Ellison’s Oracle Corporation, Catz began her career as an investment banker. Born in Israel, the tech sector business leader moved to Massachusetts at a young age, and holds both a bachelor’s and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Her concentration and talent concerning growth strategies has made her an invaluable asset to any business she’s entered, and she’s been at the helm of Oracle through its ups and downs. In 2010, she revealed in a keynote speech the top 10 things she’d wish someone would have told her at the start of her career, and her words are inspiring stuff. She represents a challenge to bulwark business leaders to think outside the box, and given her explosive success, that’s an obviously inspiring practice that she commits to every day.
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Indra Nooyi
If Gossip Girl‘s Blair Waldorf wants to get an internship with her, you know she’s reached the pinnacle of power (and, um, pop culture). Born in India, the chairman and CEO of PepsiCo has been credited with a 72% rise in the company’s annual revenue (from 2000 to 2006). And Pepsi isn’t her only passion. Nooyi serves on the board of the World Economic Forum and the Lincoln Center, as well as co-chairing the World Justice Project. She believes in collaborative work, and definitively believes that, “challenges are global … They require people from every country, every background, every area of expertise, pulling together.”
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Martha Stewart
She’s an often-hated and controversial figure in the business world, but if you follow her entire career, Martha Stewart is particularly awe-inspiring. The lifestyle maven emerged from a five-month stay in federal prison for a conviction surrounding an insider trading scandal, and she remains at the top of her market and her game. A billionaire of her own making, those that have stuck by Martha through thick and thin have more than just her lifestyle pointers, perseverant attitude, and beautiful centerpieces to find inspiring.
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Sheryl Sandberg
She went from chief of staff at the Treasury Department to Google, and now she’s the legendary COO of Facebook. A winner in the web world and in big business, once the Washington, D.C. native was hired away from Google, she quickly devised a strategy to make Facebook profitable. And profitable it’s been. Sandberg also serves on the boards of Starbucks, Disney, The Brookings Institution, V-Day, and the Ad Council, and she’s a newly vocal proponent of the family-flexible work schedule. Placed on power lists with presidents, this woman is changing the way that business is done, on both a micro and macro level.
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Jill Abramson
The first female executive editor of The New York Times, Jill Abramson has risen to the top by lots of patience, diligent practice at her craft, and several lifetimes of hard work. She’s competent, inspiring, and heading the Times into the paperless age and on to new heights. “There are still few women successfully leading the cornerstone institutions of our society,” Abramson says. And she’s right. But we’re certainly glad that she’s one woman at the tip-top of her field!
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Oprah
And, of course, there’s always Oprah. She overcame abject poverty and a difficult childhood, and dropped out of college to go on air in Chicago at the age of 19. The rest is world-beating history. There’s nothing that the woman can’t do, and she, quite literally, OWNs it all. She’s one of the most powerful human market forces of all time, and The Oprah Effect is an aptly named economic phenomenon. Manning Harpo Productions and a host of diverse business ventures, there’s not much she can’t do or doesn’t deserve. Apart from her journey, her message to the world is also inspiring and quite simple to remember: live your best life.
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