As winter finally yields to spring, March arrives as Women’s History Month — a time to honor the women whose resolve and insistence reshaped the arc of history, and to celebrate the leaders among us who are building the future now.
This observance began as a recognition of women who insisted on being heard, their ideas counted and their contributions recorded. Today, that tradition continues as we spotlight women transforming our communities, businesses and institutions. The National Women’s History Alliance theme for 2026, “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future,” invites us to move beyond commemoration to active celebration of living history: Women who are driving innovation, entrepreneurship and civic life across Greater Lansing.
Leadership is too often reduced to jargon — synergy, scalability, leverage — but the work we’re seeing here is tangible and transformative. Women in mid‐Michigan are not only participating in the economy; they are building it. The data underscores that momentum: Women‐owned businesses in Greater Lansing grew by 10.7% between 2018 and 2023, while male‐owned businesses declined. Women now own more than 43% of Michigan’s small businesses, and nationally women‐owned firms contribute $2.7 trillion annually to the U.S. economy and employ 12.2 million people.
This issue of 517 Business introduces readers to a few of those visionaries — entrepreneurs, executives, technologists and community leaders widening the region’s talent pipeline and creating opportunities where none existed before. These women didn’t wait for permission. They created it. They embody Shirley Chisholm’s rallying cry: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”
Their stories remind us that progress depends on more than policy or rhetoric; it depends on grit, imagination and everyday courage.
It depends on mentorship, access to capital, supportive networks and workplaces that value diverse leadership. It also depends on community recognition — sharing successes so others can see the path and follow.
To every woman in Greater Lansing who has led with grace, grit and generosity: Thank you. Your work raises the bar, expands possibility and helps ensure the future we build is more inclusive, resilient and vibrant.
Tiffany Dowling
Publisher
