It’s been a true delight to see all the posts of women supporting women this International Women’s Day. But I have to be honest… when I read that before 1988, women in the U.S. couldn’t get a business loan without a male co-signer, I had a full-on WTF moment.
That’s not ancient history. That’s within my lifetime. And it hit me hard. An entire generation of women with brilliant ideas, grit, and groundbreaking vision were told they weren’t enough—not without a man standing next to them at the bank to co-sign on their dreams.
As a small business owner who just secured my first line of credit, I can’t even imagine what it would feel like to need a man’s signature to be taken seriously. To be told my vision, my determination, my numbers… they didn’t count on their own.
And yet, women still made it happen. They always have. They found ways to build businesses, blaze trails, and open doors for the rest of us. In 1972, Katharine Graham became the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, The Washington Post. In 1976, Estée Lauder, who started mixing face creams in her kitchen, was named one of TIME Magazine’s 20 most influential business geniuses of the 20th century. Long before that, Madam C.J. Walker became the first self-made female millionaire in America by building a beauty empire—in the early 1900s.
These women weren’t waiting for permission. They were rewriting the rules.
It wasn’t until the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988 (thank you, Rep. Lindy Boggs!) that women in the U.S. could finally access capital without a male co-signer. That law didn't just help women access loans—it helped them access opportunity. And now, women-owned businesses are one of the fastest-growing segments of entrepreneurship today.
So today, I’m celebrating:
✨ The women who paved the way—often with no map.
✨ The women beside me who are running businesses, breaking glass ceilings, and supporting each other.
✨ And the next generation of women who will build even bigger, bolder things without ever questioning if they can.
Happy International Women’s Day to every woman who’s ever dreamed, built, hustled, and made it happen—on her own terms.