Three Female Innovators and Trailblazers You Should Know

As an innovator, I look up to so many women who are trailblazers for change in both business and for positively impacting our world. And I want to give a shout-out to a few more of them today. If you’re not familiar with them or their work - please follow them and be ready to be inspired on the daily.

Ai-jen Poo, for bringing consistent attention to the elder boom in America and the needs of the caregiving infrastructure. I am part of the “sandwich generation” that Ai-jen is advocating for, that is people who are both caregivers to aging adults and to children.  Ai-Jen is a nationally recognized expert on elder and family care, the future of work, gender equality, immigration, narrative change, and grassroots organizing. She is also the author of the celebrated book, The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America.

Of her book, Ai-Jen told NPR: “Living longer is about loving longer, learning longer, teaching longer, connecting longer, if we figure out the supports and infrastructure to make all of that possible — and it is completely within reach.”

Andrea Mallard, for driving change to make Pinterest the kindest place on the Internet. As the company’s CMO, Andrea and her all-female executive team recently talked with Forbes about their goals for the platform:

“Pinterest has always been a place that behaves differently than a lot of other platforms,” she said. “...We’ve been called the kindest place on the internet, but now we’re being called the most inclusive place. We are focused on making sure you as a user are comfortable on this platform, so we want to make sure you aren’t overwhelmed with negativity as seen elsewhere on social media.”

Haven D. Ley, for funding and creating new ways to represent and advance gender equity.

As the  Managing Director of Program Strategy and Investment at Pivotal Ventures, Haven helped launch Pivotal Ventures in 2015. Their investments have increased the pipeline of women into the technology ecosystem, empowered women to run for public office, supported the advancement of a comprehensive federal paid leave policy, and increased access to mental health services for young people of color and LGBTQ+ youth.

These are women I greatly admire for their innovative approach to pushing the forefront of human experience. Who else do you admire?