Cosmopolitan: Meet 4 Black Women Fighting for Inclusive Economic Growth
Image by Jesse Mumford via Cosmopolitan
Alethia Mendez, Division President of Grameen America’s Elevating Black Women Entrepreneurs initiative, was recently featured in Cosmopolitan for being named as an Emerging Leader of PayPal's Maggie Lena Walker Award. Established to celebrate Walker’s contributions, the Maggie Lena Walker Award recognizes women who are carrying on her legacy by increasing access to capital and business resources for Black and other minority entrepreneurs.
Maggie Lena Walker’s life was one spent breaking down barriers. A Black woman born in 1864, she began her career as a teacher and went on to open a department store, finance and run a newspaper, and later became the first Black woman – and first woman – to charter and lead a U.S. bank. Walker was a businesswoman and civil rights activist that dedicated her life to improving the lives of those in her community, leaving behind a remarkable legacy.
Read Cosmopolitan’s article below:
As a Queens native and a graduate of a university on Long Island, Alethia Mendez realized early on that there was a wealth disparity affecting Black women and was determined to find ways to combat the issue, starting close to home.
"As I got into my professional career and my adult life, I saw how women of color, and Black women in particular, have endured long-standing insufficient access to affordable credit and capital."
Today, Mendez is the division president for Elevating Black Women Entrepreneurs at Grameen America, a national microfinance organization that works to ensure all women, regardless of race or income, have access to fair and affordable financial services.
