Throughout U.S. history, black women have founded businesses, transformed industries, revolutionized television and media and created jobs — often without recognition.
Black women are the second fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs, after Latina women.
According to the 2016 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, "there are an estimated 1.9 million African-American women-owned firms, employing 376,500 workers and generating $51.4 billion in revenues."
Here are 14 black women whose contributions impacted business, finance and the U.S. economy:
1. Ursula Burns
Burns is the chairwoman of Xerox and served as CEO through 2016. Early in her time Xerox, Burns publicly disagreed with a company vice president. She thought she'd be fired but the risky move paid off; Burns moved into an executive assistant role that introduced her to the c-suite and changed the course of her career.