These women of color in tech and business are killing it in their industries and inspiring women of all races and ethnicities all over the world.
Photo by Ono Kosuki from Pexels
Women of color have long been making incredible, impressive strides in business. So many companies and brands all over the world are headed by Black females, who have started inspiring, innovating, and genuinely culture-changing businesses. As Black History Month comes to a close and International Women's Month begins, we want to honor several of the Women of color who have made a difference in their industries in the recent past, including during the pandemic, and who will make a huge difference in business going forward.
Here are 4 women of color in tech, finance, the arts, business, and beyond who are simply killing it. Keep an eye on these leaders by reading books by women of color, following their socials, and watching as they progress through the ranks of their industries—ready to change the entire world and everyone in it.
Denise Woodard - Partake Foods
One Black businesswoman whose work is making a difference in the food and health space is Denise Woodard, of Partake Foods. Partake Foods is a company that is committed to making snacks that are allergy-friendly for kids (and delicious for adults, too!) Partake Foods was able to raise tons of money from investors through several series of fundraising efforts, and after raising $7.5 million for her company (half from black investors), she has been able to get her brand out to huge companies like Target, Sprouts, and Whole Foods.
Woodard was inspired by her daughter who has several food allergies. But she also wanted to ensure all families had snacks with anti-allergy ingredients that didn't taste like cardboard to eat. Since launching her snack lines Woodard has also launched a Baking Mixes line, and how her company has raised over $1 million to continue growing her health-conscious brand.
Milan Durhan - Cultured Kombucha
Another Woman of Color killing it in the food and beverage business is Milan Durham. Durham founded Cultured Kombucha Co in order to help people of all races—across the world—achieve a healthier lifestyle via the things they consume. With a company based out of Washington, D.C., Durham strives to use her brand to spread her love of health and wellness with Black women and girls—but also women and girls of all races and ethnicities throughout the country.
Cultured Kombucha is known for making kombucha probiotic drinks that help people with their gut health. But Durham's other goals were to tackle barriers to wellness for Black women. She also wanted to make it easier for Black women to be represented in the health food space and to give Black people more access to healthy products across the board. Because she dedicates herself both to her healthy product and the societal difference her product can make, Durham's Cultured Kombucha has taken off and is making a significant impact in health food scenes across the nation.
Kathryn Finney - digitalundivided
If you are interested in how women of color are making a difference in tech, read about Kathryn Finney. Of all the women of color in tech, Kathryn Finney might be one of the most important, because she has also devoted her career to helping more women of color get into tech. Finney launched and now runs digitalundivided, an organization that works to give black women in tech (including other founders), the connections, funding, training, and know-how they need to run a successful tech company.
Finney strongly believes that no women of color in tech should believe that 1 million dollars is out of their reach. In fact, it is just in their grasp so they can launch their own ventures. Finney takes her own experience studying at places like Yale and earning awards like the Green Fellowship, Eisenhower Fellowship, and membership on Entrepreneur Magazine's "Women to Watch" list to pass the baton and yelp younger Black and Brown women succeed in tech in their own right. Kathryn Finne is also an author; she wrote the book Build the Damn Thing. This is one of the most important books by women of color you should read if you are hoping to also be a powerful woman of color in tech or in business.
Camille Hearst - Kit / Patreon / Spotify
Camille Hearst is one of the women of color in tech who has tons of tech experience under her belt. She worked at Google and Apple for a while. Then, she left to raise money and found Kit—a company that was recently sold to Patreon. Kit is a sort of social network for creators where they can share with other creators the products and tools that they swear by. On her own Kit, Hearst shares holistic beauty products she recommends, books that moved her, tools for CEOs and founders, and more. Kit was enough of a success that it got bought, so she is a woman of color in tech to be inspired by.
When the product did get bought by Patreon, Hearst stayed on board as the head of Product. This means she could shape how Patreon looked and functioned online. Today, she works at Spotify as Head of Spotify for Artists. This means that she leads the actual creation of the Spotify product so that it appeals to artists and musicians. Hearst clearly shows business prowess and tech acumen, and she is an unstoppable woman of color who clearly has incredibly outstanding and exciting things that lay ahead of her in whichever field she ends up choosing.