Female Entrepreneurship Sucks: What Men Must Do
Despite a staggering increase in media popularity for the buzzwords “female entrepreneurship”, I wondered if female entrepreneurs were any more successful in our everyday society? According to the Harvard Business Review, media mentions of the female entrepreneur experienced an estimated 300% growth between 2002 and 2012. Even with this dramatic increase, women continue to comprise just 1/3rd of entrepreneurs across the globe.
So while there’s no doubt that people are talking about the female entrepreneur, I think what’s happening out in our community, especially with respect to the tech industry, really sucks. It sucks that women – entrepreneurs included – continue to make less than their male counterparts. It sucks that women still have less opportunity to bring their ideas to the table and gain access the capital and resources necessary to start a successful business. It sucks that terms like “female entrepreneurship” need to experience exponential media growth in our culture before even the slightest changes begin to occur.
It sucks that many men are not doing enough to support the momentum of this change. What sucks even more is how efforts to create an equal platform for women to share their views on innovation, entrepreneurship, expertise, inspiration, and leadership are often reduced to superficial questions about their presumed “gender roles” in society. The latest example of a missed opportunity occurred less than a week ago at the Women Leadership Summit held by salesforce at its annual Dreamforce conference. where Gayle King asked CEO of the Honest Company, Jessica Alba, what prompted her to become an entrepreneur when her acting career is far from over. Or, if you really want to see how bad things suck, on the same panel when YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki shared with King she had 5 children ranging from ages of 8 months to 18 yrs, King asked her whether all her children had the same father. (No its not a typo, I’m still shaking my head. See session here)
It should be no news to anyone that women have a plethora of skills to offer society. Let’s also keep in mind that women are the #1 consumers and decision-makers in most households. I’m not talking about the stereotypical roles portrayed in TV commercials – I’m talking about real estate, major capital investments, vehicles, etc. Failing to recognize that women play an integral role in the business ecosystem is a huge flaw of any aspiring entrepreneur who wants to have a competitive advantage. My wife stumbled into the world of Internet marketing almost 15 years ago. At that time, when she came to me to ask my opinion, it would have been easy to dismiss the idea in favor of more traditional business endeavors – but I didn’t.
We became a team that empowered each other, learned from one another, and grew our idea into a business that today makes important health products and services more accessible to consumers through the pharmacies and healthcare companies we work with. I’m a firm believer that my wife and I were able to build a successful business together because of our combined strengths, skill set, knowledge and grit. Qualities that aren’t gender specific. After working alongside my wife for nearly 15 years, I must admit that women do approach entrepreneurship differently, and that is a good thing. HBR highlights how women take a different approach when it comes to reinvesting additional income, creating jobs, and facilitating innovation. There are necessary considerations to make when it comes to understanding the value of female entrepreneurs and the role they are meant to play in shaping the business landscape.
From a position of social privilege, men do have role to play in making this change. For some, that can sound daunting, or even impossible – but in reality it is pretty simple. It starts with encouraging change, accepting new ideas, and re-learning a lot of what we thought we knew about business and entrepreneurship. If I had discouraged my wife’s aspirations to be an entrepreneur, my own business ventures would be much different than they are today. I witness the joys and frustrations of female entrepreneurship every day beyond daily business operations. My daughter is already expressing her own interest in entrepreneurship – be it a lemonade stand, child-friendly bath bombs, or an online toy rental service (sharks or dragons, feel free to get in touch!). It is continually inspiring to work with her, creating business plans, encouraging her innovation, and watching her grow into an entrepreneur that is going to make an incredible impact.From a position of social privilege, men do have role to play in making this change. For some, that can sound daunting, or even impossible – but in reality it is pretty simple. It starts with encouraging change, accepting new ideas, and re-learning a lot of what we thought we knew about business and entrepreneurship. If I had discouraged my wife’s aspirations to be an entrepreneur, my own business ventures would be much different than they are today. I witness the joys and frustrations of female entrepreneurship every day beyond daily business operations. My daughter is already expressing her own interest in entrepreneurship – be it a lemonade stand, child-friendly bath bombs, or an online toy rental service (sharks or dragons, feel free to get in touch!). It is continually inspiring to work with her, creating business plans, encouraging her innovation, and watching her grow into an entrepreneur that is going to make an incredible impact.
Many men in our industry are supporting and empowering our younger generation. I hope to see more men recognize that the females of our generation would also gain tremendously if they were to receive the same support and empowerment, so that female entrepreneurship doesn’t have to “suck”. What has been your experience with Female Entrepreneurship?