14 Memorable Black News Events of The Decade
- By
MadameNoire
First African American Woman Is Named Head of Fortune 500 Company
A native New Yorker who grew up in a lower East Side housing project, Ursula M. Burns started out as a mechanical engineering summer intern at Xerox in 1980. She proved that hard work and persistence pays off when she was named chief executive officer in July 2009. That year, though nearly 66,200 women were employed in the civilian labor force, only approximately 26,800 served in management, professional and related occupations. Burns’ appointment was the first time in history that a Black woman became the face of a Fortune 500 company.
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