Woman of the Month is a feature on my blog where each month I highlight a woman in the world who I think garners recognition. I started this mainly to increase Girl Power and empowerment, and because there’s a lot of women I feel are overlooked and I wanted to bring attention to them.
This month I’m highlighting Muriel Siebert.
Muriel Siebert
Siebert was the first woman to own a seat in the New York Stock Exchange on December 28, 1967. She is referred to as the First Woman of Finance (which is somewhat controversial depending on who you talk to but is a cool title nonetheless). She was the only woman in the NYSE for a decade, and when she arrived there was no women’s washroom. She was also New York’s first female superintendent of banking for five years beginning in 1977. Her firm, Siebert & Co., is the only nationally known brokerage headed by a woman (she has passed away, but it is still woman-run).
She was an advocate for women in business and increasing financial literacy in women. She was vocal during the 2008 market crash about the instigators going to prison. She was vocal about hiring women and minorities, and not just your “white male buddies.”
A little known fact about me is I’m super interested in economics and finance and business. One of my favourite movies is the Big Short and I’ve always been fascinated by the stock exchange. Siebert was, as she referred to herself, a maverick in finance and definitely opened kicked-down forcefully doors for other women. Time and MAKERS both wrote a great piece summarizing some of her life, if you’re interested in reading more about her.
Thanks for reading! xx
Ally Writes Things 
I hadn’t heard of her- very interesting!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We need less of the “white male buddies” mentality. Sadly, it seems nearly as prominent now as it does in history books.
I also find it fascinating to hear about where women’s washrooms weren’t originally installed. Infuriating, yes. But still fascinating.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The white mens club is so annoying, and unfortunately still so prevalent. And yes, the bathroom thing is so interesting! It just seems crazy to me that they would just… not install one? Like why not?
LikeLike
Right? It seems like an intentional omission instead of an oversight. But I have to wonder if that’s the case, or if it only seems that way from a modern perspective.
LikeLiked by 1 person