OpinionThree possible reasons female entrepreneurship is not where it should be
Opinion
Three possible reasons female entrepreneurship is not where it should be
While interviewing numerous female role models in tech, three answers continued to resurface in regard to where female gender bias comes from and how we can beat it
Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey and Kylie Jenner are just a few of the world's leading successful female business owners. However, women lag substantially behind men in terms of their representation in leadership positions. They have less role models to follow and they have a number of inherent traits that appear to be holding them back career-wise. So how do some succeed where others have failed? Basically, the answer is willpower.
According to ‘women entrepreneurs statistics’, female entrepreneurs make up 43% of all global entrepreneurs. However, that is pretty much where the high fives end as only a quarter of those women will seek business funding and a staggering 88% of women-owned firms will generate less than $100,000 annually.
What about femicorns? In 2019 there were 21 new female-led unicorn companies in the market. While this may sound impressive, it is only 20% of companies that reached unicorn status that year.
The entrepreneurial spirit is seemingly shared equally, with both 32% of all men and 32% of all women stating they have an entrepreneurial spirit. In addition, female-led startups generate 63% higher ROI for investors than male-led startups.
Then why are there so few female entrepreneurs? This is a question I have asked many interviewees for the ‘She-inspires’ series and the answers I received were usually “I am not sure”. All interviewees are hesitant to answer this question. However here are a few answers that kept repeating themselves throughout the interviews:
Women have a tendency to overthink things. They get into their own heads and where men will usually just make a decision and go with it, women will look at the situation from every possible angle. The female over-analytical brain used to be no more than a stereotype until a study reported in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease confirmed that women actually do overthink more than men, due to their brains having more activity.
Most women are risk averse. Any google search will show women tend to look for stability in life and make choices that are more risk averse. This can, of course, be a healthy trait, however, when there is a need to climb a corporate ladder or go all-in on a startup - the lower the risk, the lower the reward.
Almost all successful women I have interviewed state their childhood upbringing was one of the main factors in their success. They were always told they should ‘go for it’. They were constantly challenged and their parents, namely their father, took them on adventures. The state of mind was always open to new experiences. These women are the same women who will buy a piece of IKEA furniture and build whatever it is they bought - alone. Why? Because they can read, and because they are not afraid to try it.
When looking at all three together it's pretty clear that a woman, brought up to feel she can rise up to any challenge in life, is more likely to proactively look for opportunities in her career regardless of the instability presented by the change. She will concentrate more on the ‘doing’ and less on the ‘thinking’ which will ultimately change her career trajectory toward success.
An additional issue is the shortage of corporate female leaders which creates a serious lack in role models keeping alive the chicken and the egg effect for young girls. It also keeps gender stereotypes stagnant so that when thinking of a surgeon we think of a man, and when thinking of a flight attendant we think of a woman.
Related articles:
If we want change we need to be the change. We need to realize we are all suffering from a certain level of bias and that the only way to fix it is through awareness. Also, as parents we have so much power to lift and challenge our children. They will most likely thank us in the future. And, for all the aspiring women out there - your attitude is the main contributing factor to your success and just like the words of Henry Ford `Whether you think you can, or you think you can't – you're right' so you had better think positive if you want to succeed.
First published: 09:08, 18.10.22
