Although women have come a long way in the business field in the past fifty years, the vast majority of business people (approximately 85% in 2008) are still men. Catalyst, the not-for-profit New York-based women’s research organization, performed a study in 2009 and discovered that in 1998 11.2% of corporate officers in Fortune 500 companies were women; this percentage rose to a peak of 16.4% by 2005. It has since fallen, and in 2008 it rested at 15.7%. Although this is progress, at this rate, it would take 40 years for the number of female corporate officers to match the number of male officers.

Fortunately, there are women who have played a significant role in industry, and continue to invest in businesses and become entrepreneurs in all fields. There are women in business who have achieved great success, made millions of dollars, and have strived to make the world a better place.

Leslie DeeAnn, owner and co-founder of the Trivani Foundation and Trivani International is an incredibly successful entrepreneur and a prime example of a strong business woman. Leslie DeeAnn started her first company, an industrial chemical business, in the 1970s and was soon supporting over 20 salesmen and manufacturing over 400 chemicals and products for some of the largest hotels, restaurants, universities, and grocery chains in the western United States. After having researched the use of the chemicals her company was producing, she was appalled at how many toxic and harmful chemicals were being placed in everyday products such as cosmetics, household cleaners and personal care items. This mis-use of chemicals motivated Leslie DeeAnn to form a new business in hopes of spreading the message about harmful, toxic chemical ingredients in common consumer products.

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