The Shakespearean quote "Frailty, thy name is woman" may not resonate well in today's world. Defying odds and stereotypes, women
have risen to the occasion, making a mark in whichever field they are engaging in. Wall Street is no exception, where women have
forayed, found success and flourished.
Benzinga profiled some of the milestone achievements of women on Wall Street to commemorate the International Women's Day, which
is observed on March 8.
1. Crackdown On Insider Trading
Protagonist: Mary Shapiro was the SEC Chair between January 2009 and December 2012. According to a Time
article, during Shaprio's tenure, the SEC had brought more insider trading cases than it did during any other three-year period in
its history.
2. Visionary Leadership Transformed Xerox
Protagonist: Ursula Burns, the first African-American to head a S&P 500 company, helped transform
Xerox Corp (NYSE: XRX) into a document
processing and business process outsourcing company from merely a paper copier company. The company was splintered recently, the
Remainco retaining the name of Xerox and the business process outsourcing company named Conduent Inc (NYSE:
CNDT).
3. Restoring Confidence In Financial Institutions Post-2008 Crisis
Protagonist: Sheila Blair, who served as Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation between June 2006
and July 2011. Blair played a prominent role in the government's response to the 2008 financial crisis. Her initiatives helped
bolster public confidence and achievement of system stability that resulted in no runs on bank deposits.
4. Women's Equality Crusader On Wall Street
Protagonist: Muriel Siebert was the first women to buy a seat on the NYSE and she advocated women's equality on
Wall Street. She also became the first woman to own a brokerage firm, named Muriel Siebert & Co. that was a member of the NYSE.
5. Taking The Media World By Storm
Protagonist: Oprah
Winfrey managed to earn the moniker "Queen of All Media," which puts us in no doubt about the influence she wields as a media
proprietor, producer and talk show host.
6. Getting In The Driver's Seat
Protagonist: Mary Barra of General
Motors Company (NYSE: GM) has the distinction of being
the first women to run a global automaker. She has done creditably, with her recent decision to shunt the company out of Europe,
where it was raking in losses for over a decade standing testimony to her bold and brave facet.
7. Blowing The Whistle On Enron
Protagonists: Sherron Watkins,
along with Cynthia Cooper and Coleen Rowley, exposed the accounting issues at the now-defunct Enron.
8. Managing Fed Rate Expectations
Protagonist: Fed Chair Janet Yellen, the first woman to occupy the position, took over from Ben Bernanke, who
oversaw the progress past the financial crisis. Yellen, who has a dovish proclivity, has managed to further the cause of the Fed's
twin objectives of employment and inflation.
9. Fizzing Up The Soda
Protagonist: Indira Nooyi, chair of beverage giant PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) has led the company with her focus on innovation. Under her leadership,
Pepsi's international business has grown by leaps and bounds.
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