LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- UPS celebrated International Women's Day on Wednesday by honoring a century of female trailblazers.
Jessie Bell was the first woman hired at UPS as a clerk-stenographer in Los Angeles 100 years ago in 1923. She retired after 31 years of service as a trailblazer at UPS and in the logistics industry.
Today, women serve many roles, including CEO Carol Tome. Tome is one of the few female CEOs in the Fortune 50 ranks.
"UPS is very good about encouraging women to take leadership roles and supporting us through our careers," said Erika Kuhn, director of Powerplant Engineering.
UPS said its C-suite executives "represent one-third women" and its board of directors is 46% women. The company also said the UPS Foundation donated $3.3 million last year to "help women around the world thrive." It also aims to have 30% of women "in full-time management positions globally," and 40% "ethnically diverse company management" in place by 2025 in the U.S.
The first International Women's Day was celebrated in 1911, about 10 years before women were given the right to vote in the U.S.
March is Women's History Month.
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