In Part 1 of this blog, I discussed the issue of women’s leadership skills being underestimated in the business world. We left off on this question: if businesses with women leaders are more profitable, why are women-owned businesses failing at a higher rate?
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation published a study, Women-Owned Businesses, that found “over the last 15 years, women-owned firms have grown by one and a half times the rate of other small enterprises and now account for almost 30 percent of all businesses. Additionally, one in five firms with revenue of $1 million or more is woman-owned.”
Fast Company reports that women-owned businesses account for 42% of the 13 million overall and that they grow at a rate 2X higher than other businesses nationwide. Women of color are starting businesses at 4.5X the rate of any other group.
Don’t let these impressive statistics distract from the issue at hand: entrepreneurship for women is exceedingly more difficult for women than men, and this is largely due to a lack of funding. The MIT Entrepreneurship Center examined what they termed “underrepresented entrepreneurs” in an article, “We See Ourselves as Entrepreneurs, But Others See Our Gender or Race.” They point out that women-owned businesses lack the capital to grow:
“Although it is probably not a conscious decision, investors tend to give venture money to people that look like them – they see the potential of people who remind them of themselves. This unconscious bias and lens of exclusion keeps funding away from underrepresented groups.”
Underrepresented groups are women, especially minority groups. Further, they also point out that funding for a business often comes from funds raised through friends and family. This brings into play generation wealth. The MIT Entrepreneurship Center reports that “the average Black household had a net worth of $17,150 in 2016, nearly 10 times less than their white counterparts.”
Lack of funding by investors, or by family and friends, is not the only hindering factor for women in business—they also do not have access to networks. Shelly Bell, the founder of Black Girl Ventures, has this to say on the issue:
“I experienced firsthand how relationships and introductions are essential to open doors to new opportunities as a serial entrepreneur. I can not emphasize this enough: Black and Brown entrepreneurs, especially women, need access to new networks…I believe in the power of building community to bring about systemic change…Everyone can play a part. Donate your time, expertise, or money to ecosystem builders. Bring diverse voices to the table and listen to what they have to say.”
This month Time featured the story of Shaunda Head—a woman who worked as a freelancer for many years. After not seeing the success she knew she was capable of, she made the switch to strategic consulting and realized the profits she knew deserved. Her advice to other women entrepreneurs is to “find your voice, focus on your clients, and keep analysis paralysis on the sidelines where it belongs.”
I have witnessed many of the feats that women have overcome and I am here to call out the injustices I still see. As disheartening as the statistics are, we as women are still making progress in the world. We need to keep fighting for our equality and equity in society. Power begins within ourselves: strengthen your self-agency, own your authority, and actualize your values to gain your sovereignty.
Consider the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. The New York Times described that she “has long recognized how America’s conflicting views of race and justice shape the world around her,” and that “she has embraced her identity while refusing to let affronts to it distract her.” This is an example of a woman who has embraced her self-agency, gained her sovereignty, and utilized her authority to take on the injustices in this country. You can see her strength and resolve throughout her career and now during the confirmation process.
Visionaries effect great change in the world. It starts with each of us as leaders—in the workplace, in the marketplace, and in our home. When we have begun this work (it is a lifelong journey), we have the capacity to work as a collective to create Futures by Design™.
All the Oracles of Delphi were our ancient ancestral “Femme Futurists.” We too have this potential capacity as females to access deep insight and to carry our foresight lineage onward. Together we are a powerfully transformative collective coming together to effect sustainable and continuous change. We accomplish this by envisioning and implementing innovative solutions, responsive to the critical 11th-hour challenges we face as humanity. We need to allow girls and women the opportunity to design futures that work for all of us or there will be no future for anyone. Allow them to be the visionaries they are meant to be.
How are you showing up as a visionary? How are you supporting the women visionaries in your life?
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