For centuries, society sought men as leaders, while women attend to their aid. Women were once perceived as secondary, existing only to commit their duties and responsibilities as home makers. However, since the 20th century, occupation choices have expanded for women, possibly caused by the plea for equality in gender (Women’s Rights). Today, society has been more accepting of women dominating the workplace and carrying on the same occupations, titles and responsibilities of men.

The European features some of the brilliant minds as standouts in their respective industries; spearheading companies.

URSULA M. BURNS

Chairman and CEO (VEON)

Burns’ slay of achievements also include being a senior advisor (Teneo), a senior advisor (Diageo) and a member of the board of directors (Uber). With all these under her belt, she remains unstoppable.  The 60-year-old American’s rags to riches story continues to inspire those who come to know her. Initially wanting to become an engineer, enrolling at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute for college came off as a challenge in terms of the hefty workload and feeling inferior from predominantly white males. Guaranteed, it was not a walk at the park.

Everything comes in full circle eventually when she became the leader of a enterprise she interned years ago: Xerox. Today, she holds the record for being the first African-American woman to lead an S&P 500 company.

WHITNEY WOLFE-HERD

Founder and CEO (Bumble)

Women are taught to be prim and “hard-to-get” by interested men – at least, that’s how the older society once taught. As young as 26-years-old, Herd has made a fortune for herself and for her fellow females. The main difference with her online dating app “Bumble” compared to those in the market (i.e., Tinder, where she also worked prior to creating Bumble!) is how women are instructed make the “first move” to the males upon the “match”.

Although dating apps have built a reputation for making women a commodity, an avenue to exchange lewd photos, an initiator for hook-ups or even killing the joy of experiencing romance, Herd’s main objective for creating the app is to simply empower her fellow females. As of 2018, Bumble’s value is at $1 billion according to Forbes, but with the rate at which Bumble is going, Herd would be able to swipe right to the top of one of the richest self-made women in America in no time.

Photo from Doctify

STEPHANIE ELTZ

Founder (Doctify)

In today’s modern age, the wide accessibility for technology can be an advantage or disadvantage. For Stephanie Eltz, she chose the path of the former. She founded “Doctify”, an app that enables patients to book appointments with specialist doctors. With a swipe or tap on the screen of one’s mobile device (and with the internet handy for some scenarios), everything you need is available in an instant – which also includes attending to medical cases.

The orthopaedic surgeon, who is based in the United Kingdom, started Doctify based on a personal experience – she needed to find a doctor near her area who was available during her day off. Willing to spend money for a specialist, she was unable to find someone fitting of her schedule. Dr. Eltz has definitely saved the lives of patients in more ways than one.

Photo by When Women Win Podcast

RANA GHANDOUR SALHAB

Executive Board member (National Commission for Lebanese Women)

Leadership and loyalty come hand in hand with Rana Ghandour Salhab, after establishing a name for herself in a company she’s been working at for over 15 years. She was a former director for human resources for Deloitte Middle East as well a partner in its talent and communications operations.

She works in several other sectors in the industry such as consulting, talent and diversity management, social responsibility, corporate branding and communications. Additionally, she’s dedicated to ministries in Lebanon particularly with issues on gender equality laws and practices; she also sits on advisory boards of her alma matter, American University of Beirut. She’s got a lot of responsibilities to keep up with, but her dedication towards her work trumps all busyness. It’s no surprise that she was included at the list of Global Champions of Women in business in 2017, awarded by the Financial Times and HERoes.

Photo from Tracey Groves (via Twitter)

TRACEY GROVES

Founder and CEO, (Intelligent Ethics)

Behind every successful business leader is a woman. Groves likes to keep herself involved and busy with what she is passionate about – mentoring. From being an expert adviser to the City of London Corporation, a board member of City Women Network, as well as a non-executive director of the Middlesex County Cricket Club, Groves serves as her clients’ backbone by helping them enhance their own potentials to improve one’s respective work ethics.

Just recently, Groves was appointed as the Global Managing Director of Talking Talent’s Client Advisory services, where she will continue to help individuals enhance their skills in the workplace. It’s no surprise that her efforts have paid off as she is one of the Financial Times’ Top 100 Female Champion of Women in Business and a recipient of the Variety Catherine Award for Consulting both garnered in 2018.