tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/women-in-business-18481/articleswomen in business – The Conversation2023-10-31T21:38:18Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2141362023-10-31T21:38:18Z2023-10-31T21:38:18ZStuck in the waiting room: Why women and minority groups are still underrepresented in top management<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549672/original/file-20230913-33750-imqte4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C0%2C4470%2C2964&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The percentage of women at the helm of companies in North America still hovers around five per cent.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past few years, there has been a great deal of research looking at how well women are represented in top companies. The findings continue to be distressing. </p>
<p>Whether in Canada or the United States, the proportion of women in top management in large organizations still hovers around five per cent. </p>
<p>Can we expect this percentage to increase over the next few years? Will today’s pool of up-and-coming female talent ensure a substantial increase in the number of female CEOs, or will other strategies be required to change the game?</p>
<p>As dean of the John Molson School of Business and a decades-long expert on the place of women in the upper echelons of the business world, we are interested in explaining the current standstill.</p>
<h2>Diversity in the C-Suite</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Diversity-in-the-C-Suite%3A-The-Dismal-State-of-Among-Larcker-Tayan/192970d4859158281b752be4b76bdf7e8dc0a2c6">recent study</a> published by Stanford University professors David F. Larcker and Brian Tayan provides us with some interesting information on this subject. The aim of the study was to identify the potential for women and members of cultural communities to be appointed to CEO positions in the top 100 U.S. companies. The authors evaluated those who hold positions that report directly to a CEO. </p>
<p>The conclusions of this analysis are worrying:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>only 25 per cent of women hold such positions;</p></li>
<li><p>few women can be found in the functions that have the greatest potential for promotion, i.e. operations (15 per cent), financial services (14 per cent) and legal services (35 per cent);</p></li>
<li><p>the functions that offer fewer opportunities for promotion to CEO, according to the criteria used to select potential CEOs, are occupied to a greater extent by women (head of human resources, risk management, communications, etc.).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The greater presence of women in these support functions illustrates <a href="https://hbr.org/2007/09/women-and-the-labyrinth-of-leadership">the leadership labyrinth</a>, i.e. the complex, dead-end detours that women face in their careers due to stereotypes, biases and family responsibilities that they continue to shoulder alone, despite better sharing of these functions with their male partners.</p>
<p>Why, after so many decades of efforts to increase female representation in decision-making bodies, do so few women manage to hold these positions? We are proposing three sources of indirect discrimination as an explanation for this.</p>
<h2>Lack of experience, a discriminatory criterion</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.spencerstuart.com/research-and-insight/predicting-ceo-success-when-potential-outperforms-experience">In a recent article</a> published by consulting firm Spencer Stuart, it was noted that the demand for experienced CEOs had almost quadrupled since the turn of the century, rising from four per cent in 1997 to 16 per cent in 2019. According to executives consulted by the firm, those in charge of selection processes assume that prior CEO experience is a predictor of the impact a candidate will have on shareholder value.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.spencerstuart.com/-/media/2019/hbr-ceo-lifecycle/hbr_ceo_lifecycle_spencerstuart.pdf">The findings of another study</a> carried out by the same firm on the life cycle of CEOs and their performance cast doubt on the assumption that there is a link between prior experience and shareholder value. </p>
<p>After analyzing the performance of 855 S&P CEOs over a 20-year period, the firm found that first-time CEOs produced a higher rate of shareholder return (TSR) than did experienced CEOs. These non-experienced CEOs had also demonstrated the advantage of staying in the job longer and having a less volatile performance overall. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272806955_La_remuneration_des_dirigeants_mythes_et_recommandations">According to the results of another study</a> carried out a few years ago by Professors Michel Magnan of Concordia University and Sylvie St-Onge of HEC Montréal, less than 10 per cent of the differences in the stock market performance of the major Canadian banks can be explained by factors specific to each bank. These include the decisions and initiatives of the incumbent CEO, as well as the bank’s employees, customer base, business location and business mix.</p>
<p>The criterion of prior CEO experience, and the importance attached to it, is a factor of indirect discrimination that prevents women, members of cultural communities and young talent from having access to these positions. In addition to being discriminatory, this criterion perpetuates the status quo and limits access to such positions to a restricted group of individuals.</p>
<h2>Hiring people who look like us</h2>
<p>The concept of “cultural fit” aims to select talented individuals who are in line with the company’s culture, i.e. its values, vision, role, objectives and other elements that make up its character. </p>
<p>While using this criterion to recruit has the advantage of attracting talent who will integrate and perform quickly, it has the disadvantage of favouring the status quo and majority rule. It also means we surround ourselves with people who resemble us, whether in terms of gender, age, cultural origins or other differences <a href="https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/cultural-fit-discrimination">that might be seen as disrupting the status quo</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.talentinnovation.org/_private/assets/IDMG-ExecSummFINAL-CTI.pdf">A study</a> from the Center for Talent Innovation clearly shows that innovation thrives in an environment where leaders accept difference, are open to change and disruption, and encourage free expression.</p>
<h2>The underestimated financial value of diversity</h2>
<p>A group of researchers from Bryant University and Concordia University <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/AMPROC.2023.134bp">carried out an empirical study of the financial performance</a> of CEOs at the head of publicly traded U.S. companies. More than 11,600 observations were made each year over a 15-year period (1998-2013). </p>
<p>They found that women of colour and white women outperformed men of colour, who outperformed white men. According to the authors, these results can be explained by the fact that from a very young age, people from minority backgrounds are told by those around them that they need to develop resilience, and that if they want to succeed, they need to be smarter and do better than anyone else. </p>
<h2>More human leadership</h2>
<p>In a world where volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity prevail, the leadership qualities that are appropriate to such a context should guide selection processes. These qualities — agility, adaptability, empathy, humility — can be found in both men and women. These are what we call “soft skills.” </p>
<p><a href="https://hbr.org/2022/07/the-c-suite-skills-that-matter-most">According to a study published in August 2022</a>, the quest for these qualities has become increasingly important in job descriptions for senior management positions over the past decade. Prioritizing the qualities that allow us to identify the best candidates is the only way we will ensure a level playing field for women and men alike. </p>
<p>Companies can benefit from recognizing the importance of diversity in talent and leadership styles. By promoting the best people to positions of power, companies will become more efficient and more humane.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214136/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>After decades of efforts to increase female representation in corporate decision-making bodies, few women are managing to take the reins of power.Louise Champoux-Paillé, Cadre en exercice, John Molson School of Business, Concordia UniversityAnne-Marie Croteau, Dean, John Molson School of Business, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1992152023-02-03T18:52:13Z2023-02-03T18:52:13ZThe Wall Street Journal, Economist and Financial Times all now have female editors – what does it mean for business?<p>February 1 was a date to celebrate for women in business everywhere. It happened to be the day that water group Severn Trent became the first large UK quoted company to be led by an all-female team by appointing Helen Miles as chief financial officer. That’s certainly worthy of celebration – but not what I had in mind. </p>
<p>Instead, I was thinking of Emma Tucker starting work as editor of the Wall Street Journal. It means that for the first time ever, women are in charge of what I believe to be the three most influential organs of financial commentary: the Economist, Financial Times (FT) and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). </p>
<p>When I commented on this on Twitter, it was the first time that one of my posts has gone viral. People pointed out many more women in positions of editorial command – Alessandra Galloni is editor in chief of Reuters, Sally Buzbee is executive editor of the Washington Post, Deborah Turness is CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, Julie Pace is executive editor of Associated Press. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1620849920608714758"}"></div></p>
<p>I could carry on – Victoria Newton edits the Sun, Alison Phillips edits the Daily Mirror, and indeed Jo Adetunji edits The Conversation UK. Tucker herself arrives at the WSJ after being in charge of the UK’s Sunday Times. Perhaps we should speak about female dominance rather than representation.</p>
<h2>The effect on business</h2>
<p>All of that is fantastic progress, and more likely to inspire other female journalists to want to be editors – <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0267257X.2020.1862984">after all</a>, it’s hard to be what you can’t see. The Economist/FT/WSJ trio, though, is the most critical for women in business. Full disclosure: I wrote a weekly column for the FT for 17 years under (three) male editors, before giving up when I became a full-time academic. My final editor, Lionel Barber, was fully supportive of women’s careers – he did, after all, help to appoint Roula Khalaf as editor in January 2020 when he left. </p>
<p>Khalaf spoke in <a href="https://www.spiegel.de/international/business/interview-with-financial-times-editor-roula-khalaf-a-1ab6d01e-9051-4b72-94ae-79c675e83d12">an interview</a> in 2021 about taking the paper in a more female-friendly direction, striving towards a 50-50 male-female management split, as well as increasing the proportion of female columnists and subscribers. I took a look at the prestigious Lunch with the FT profile that appears each weekend, for instance, which featured 101 men to 56 women in the three years before Khalaf took over, while the divide has been 93:64 in the three years since. </p>
<p>Meanwhile at the Economist, where Zanny Minton Beddoes took over in 2015, the keywords “women in leadership” yielded 30 articles in the eight years before her appointment. In the eight years since, there have been 53.</p>
<p>More women at the top increases the likelihood of women rising through the ranks. Are these appointments more important in this respect than the increased number of women on boards? I think so. I was one of the small group of women who, in 2010, under the leadership of the financier Baroness Helena Morrissey, founded the <a href="https://30percentclub.org/">30% Club</a>, which successfully campaigned to raise the proportion of women on boards. </p>
<p>The proportion of women on FTSE 100 company boards back in 2010 was 12%, having been flat for over a decade. These days it is <a href="https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/femaleftseboardreport">over 40%</a>. But that’s only 100 companies out of 2,000 listed on the London Stock Exchange, and doesn’t include private businesses. There <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/business-population-estimates-2022/business-population-estimates-for-the-uk-and-regions-2022-statistical-release-html#:%7E:text=At%20the%20start%20of%202022%3A,4.1%20million%20had%20no%20employees">over 5 million businesses</a> in the UK, with 45,000 employing more than 50 people, and no reliable data available on their gender progress.</p>
<p>Even if we had that data, that’s just businesses in the UK – these three publications cover the world. The FT, WSJ and Economist are so much more influential than the women that lead the UK’s businesses. </p>
<p>The work of the 30% Club – which has gone from focusing on board-level appointments to challenging the makeup of the executive committee, and the pipeline behind it – has shown me that the thing that matters most in trying to change any inequity is to give it the oxygen of publicity. Women leading the most respected financial commentary in the world can’t fail to help other women in this regard. </p>
<p>Women in business are more likely to be known by women in the media, something that <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.415">academics call “homophily”</a> (the tendency for people who are similar to seek out each other’s company). Success breeds success, so being appointed to these jobs means that the women taking them are more likely to meet other successful women, a concept known as “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378437120303617?casa_token=rdAX-EwNnaAAAAAA:PAQ5blxdMGRtCuE0NeyyhDHYC35j7n86QvDR0TQBVCsHy89x9peswRfS3TQAZ0GWE2oIKt1xy6I">preferential attachment</a>”. </p>
<p>The high-profile nature of these appointments will also have drawn the attention of others to the merits of a woman editor. Arguably the biggest change that the appointment of Minton Beddoes made was that Khalaf and now Tucker were able to follow.</p>
<p>Strangely, round about now seems a popular time for female leaders of major financial and business media organisations to start work. Minton Beddoes started in her current role on February 2 2015, Khalaf on January 20 2020. </p>
<p>Returning to Severn Trent, Helen Miles does not join until April 1, so that is when the company’s all-female top team will get going. I am sure that they will be pleased that their progress, and the value that they will hopefully deliver to all their stakeholders, will be closely observed – by women.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199215/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather McGregor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Emma Tucker’s arrival as editor of The Wall Street Journal means that there are women running the three most important outlets for financial commentary.Heather McGregor, Provost and Vice Principal of Heriot-Watt University in Dubai, Heriot-Watt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1866052022-09-01T17:45:35Z2022-09-01T17:45:35ZWhy it’s a good career move to join a women’s business network – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480064/original/file-20220819-3033-9t0pw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=81%2C90%2C5936%2C3293&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/side-view-row-diverse-female-staff-2010700331">Shutterstock/fizkes</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Women-only professional networks have become a <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/PR-03-2015-0074/full/html">familiar feature</a> of the corporate world. Set up to organise and channel female voices and experiences, some have even become big businesses themselves. </p>
<p>Organisations like <a href="https://driven-woman.com/">Driven Woman</a> and <a href="https://www.ellevatenetwork.com/">Ellevate</a> have international reach, and see themselves as a vital part of improving women’s equality and status in business. </p>
<p>Of course, such groups are not without their critics. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gwao.12440">Some say</a> they are not that useful (at least compared to traditional “old boys’ networks”, where men use their positions of influence to help others with a similar social or educational background) while others say they are <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444818822490">elitist</a>. They have even been described as <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09649420610683462/full/html">“glorified knitting circles”</a>.</p>
<p>Yet the <a href="https://www.cipd.co.uk/news-views/nutshell/issue-98/gender-equality#gref">popularity</a> of women’s networks continues <a href="https://www.seeherthrive.com/blog/2020/9/14/7-reasons-why-you-should-join-or-create-a-womens-network-in-your-workplace">to grow</a>. And, according to our <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00187267221083665?journalCode=huma">recent research</a>, with good reason. </p>
<p>By analysing online discussions of four large women’s business networks in the US and the UK, we gained insight into the value they bring to the lives and careers of professional women. Overall we found them to be highly valued by their members, for offering both individual and collective strategies which help them to navigate workplaces that remain male-dominated. </p>
<p>One of the networks we looked at directly invites potential members to question the dominant status quo, asking: “Are you tired of traditional structures of top-down hierarchy and me-first competitive culture? The old patriarchal ways are falling down fast when women start creating the kind of environments where they flourish and thrive.” </p>
<p>Our analysis showed that these networks are very effective at building such environments, and that the most obvious reason for joining one is probably the career support it can offer. For women at the beginning of their career, or returning from maternity leave or a sabbatical, previous <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/PR-03-2015-0074/full/html">research suggests</a> that joining a global professional network can be critical. </p>
<p>Women who are part of these groups are more likely to be offered better jobs and secure promotions. The increased visibility achieved through networking <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/job.253?casa_token=eNjTABRWKSMAAAAA:jR-4GFRVsKUc6auEVtZH_1gVhg64zSjqJRtRc7Yb_F_I9jgqdDlmCGKedKt3IhEcNDtF8InIO4z2UqU">can lead to</a> women being paid higher salaries, and establishing a pathway to the most senior levels of an organisation. We found that women’s business networks provide opportunities and resources which are pivotal for career development. </p>
<p>We also saw evidence of multiple benefits that came from being in touch with women from different industries and different steps in their careers. One popular advantage was the availability of psychological and emotional support, which some members said boosted their self-confidence – particularly when combined with the career advice that network members often share. </p>
<h2>Taking the lead</h2>
<p>Many networks also have mentoring programs, and actively encourage more experienced women to share details of their career paths. We found that senior female managers are equally keen to learn about – and meet – the next generation of women leaders. </p>
<p>As one woman stated on a network forum: “If you are not willing to help others in their search for success, how can you expect to get a lift yourself? </p>
<p>"By sharing your journey and exposing your vulnerability you are actually putting your experiences out there for others to learn from. It’s one of the greatest ways to help others.”</p>
<p>Networks were also widely praised for valuing “<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-intersectionality-all-of-who-i-am-105639">intersectionality</a>”, a term which encapsulates the overlapping nature of social categorisations such as race, class, and gender. They often provide access to greater diversity of background and experience than their members may have been used to. Such interactions allowed women the opportunity to better address power and privilege at work and beyond. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman with smartphone emitting a 'network' in background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480100/original/file-20220819-2925-r02xh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480100/original/file-20220819-2925-r02xh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480100/original/file-20220819-2925-r02xh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480100/original/file-20220819-2925-r02xh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480100/original/file-20220819-2925-r02xh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480100/original/file-20220819-2925-r02xh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480100/original/file-20220819-2925-r02xh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Networking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-businesswoman-using-smart-mobile-phone-1963303573">Shutterstock/TZIDO SUN</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As one entry from a network’s blog claimed: “Every time I meet a group of driven women, I am struck by the wonderful variety of experiences and characters, backgrounds and dreams they have. Exploring with them what’s been going on in their lives and where they’re going next helps me to learn and improve too.”</p>
<p>Taking a broader view, away from individual career development, we found that many network members see their networks as a way to make the business world a fairer place for women and girls. As one member commented: “For many years I was playing directly into the patriarchal game without ever noticing.” </p>
<p>She added: “So next time you feel small, overwhelmed and confused, please remember this: it is not who you are. There’s an enormous [amount] of energy and drive inside of you”.</p>
<p>Overall then, we found that women’s business networks are seen by their members as spaces that can bring about collective change and transformation, with immense professional and personal value. They are seen as a trustworthy and accessible source of advice and information on everything from improving work-life balance to motherhood, or working from home to starting a business – and providing a supportive environment in which to prosper.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186605/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The evidence shows they are highly valued sources of support, connections and opportunities.Elina Meliou, Reader in Organisational Behaviour, Aston UniversityFlorence Villesèche, Associate Professor, Copenhagen Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1713442022-08-30T12:17:29Z2022-08-30T12:17:29ZHow Mary Kay contributed to feminism – even though she loathed feminists<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480473/original/file-20220822-54947-jktayt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C2789%2C1996&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mary Kay Ash's legendary love for the color pink symbolized her determination to be a business success by "thinking like a woman."</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/beautys-big-business-mary-kay-ash-the-originator-and-news-photo/502259765?adppopup=true">Colin McConnell /Toronto Star via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1963, the same year American businesswoman Mary Kay Ash started her cosmetics company, publisher W.W. Norton <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/powerful-complicated-legacy-betty-friedans-feminine-mystique-180976931/">released “The Feminine Mystique</a> – the book that has since been widely credited with launching the contemporary women’s liberation movement.</p>
<p>Ash loathed the term "feminist” and disliked the movement. In a 1983 Dallas Morning News interview, she dismissed “that foolishness feminists started in the ‘60s” of “trying to act just like a man” by cutting their hair short or lowering their voices.</p>
<p>Yet Ash, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/23/business/mary-kay-ash-who-built-a-cosmetics-empire-and-adored-pink-is-dead-at-83.html">who died in 2001</a>, successfully defied her era’s female gender norms. She turned a few thousand dollars into a multibillion-dollar cosmetics empire and led it for decades. Her sales force grew from fewer than 10 women to tens of thousands.</p>
<p>While researching a book on Ash’s life and work, I’ve learned that many of the Mary Kay saleswomen were comfortable with their era’s vision of femininity and motherhood. Ash’s <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/the-hot-pink-empire-of-mary-kay-ash/">company motto of “God First, Family Second, Career Third”</a> put them at ease. </p>
<p>American women today owe gratitude to the women’s movement of the 1960s for making issues like equal pay for equal work and sharing household responsibilities part of the national conversation – but also to a Dallas entrepreneur who reveled in the feminine mystique.</p>
<h2>From underpaid saleswoman to CEO</h2>
<p>In 1963, the year Ash founded “Beauty by Mary Kay” in a small Dallas storefront, barely <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS11300002">a third of American women were in the workforce</a>. Ash was one of them. She had peddled children’s encyclopedias door to door, and conducted “house parties” - home demonstrations of products that catered to housewives – <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/23/business/mary-kay-ash-who-built-a-cosmetics-empire-and-adored-pink-is-dead-at-83.html">with Stanley Home Goods</a> and other companies. </p>
<p>Ash consistently earned lower wages than her male counterparts, who also passed her by for promotions. When she protested, one common response was to deride her for “thinking like a woman.” Another was that men needed more money because they had families to support. </p>
<p>“I had a family to support too!” <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Kay-Ash-1981-10-01/dp/B01K175DX0">recalled Ash, a single mother, in</a> her 1981 memoir. So she quit to build a company where there would be no wage gap or male bosses, and women would be rewarded for thinking like women – all while embracing the vision of traditional gender roles that the feminist movement was trying to overturn. </p>
<p>By 1969, the company was earning US$6.3 million in net sales, according to The New York Times. And an article in the Irving Daily News, a Texas newspaper, put the sales force at around 4,000 women from 15 different states.</p>
<p>In 1976, Mary Kay Inc. became the <a href="https://npg.si.edu/exh/journal/ash.htm">first woman-founded and -led company listed</a> on the New York Stock Exchange. </p>
<p>In 1979, glowing coverage on “<a href="https://youtu.be/nrWz_MzKAMk">60 Minutes</a>” prompted nearly 100,000 more women to sign up. The company was grossing over <a href="https://youtu.be/nrWz_MzKAMk">$100 million annually</a> and had a <a href="http://www.marykaymuseum.com/highlight_1970.aspx">global reach</a>, and Ash was named one of the year’s top corporate women in America by <a href="http://3vcm07307bnr2jg8679q77x8-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Mary_KayCosmeticsInc_Corp_PlanningInAnEraofUncertainty.pdf">Business Week</a> magazine.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nrWz_MzKAMk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The CBS news show “60 Minutes” aired a glowing profile of Mary Kay Ash’s cosmetic company in 1979.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1985 Ash and her son <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/23/business/mary-kay-ash-who-built-a-cosmetics-empire-and-adored-pink-is-dead-at-83.html">led a $450 millon deal</a> to buy the company back into private family hands. As of 2021, the company <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/10/02/how-mary-kays-founder-went-from-single-mom-to-billion-dollar-beauty-queen/">reportedly has $3.5 billion in annual revenues</a>. </p>
<h2>The Mary Kay mystique</h2>
<p>Ash rejected feminism but sought to build women’s confidence – something absent in the average housewife’s life, according to “The Feminine Mystique” – as well as their income.</p>
<p>“Here’s a woman who’s never had any praise at all for anything she’s ever done,” Ash <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Kay-Ash-1981-10-01/dp/B01K175DX0">said in her best-selling memoir</a>. “Maybe the only applause she’s ever had was when she graduated from high school. So we praise her for everything good that she does.”</p>
<p>Based on the interviews I’m doing for my research, this approach worked. </p>
<p>Esther Andrews, a housewife, told me that before she became a Mary Kay saleswoman in 1967, “nobody had ever said that I could be great at anything.” Andrews, who raised three children with her Mary Kay earnings after her husband died, was among the first winners of a pink Cadillac – a company prize for top sellers. The car was both a symbol of her success and a means of mobility few housewives enjoyed at the time. </p>
<p>Andrews’ story reflects that of many I’ve uncovered. From a former waitress and single mom in New Jersey who was able to raise her daughter and purchase her own home to a former housewife in Ohio who has more diamond rings than fingers and funds her family’s European vacations, Mary Kay has changed women’s lives. </p>
<p>Both of these women fought back tears as they shared their career accomplishments with me. Both have been in the company for more than 30 years. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Salespersons from Anhui Province, China, pose for pictures in front of a pink sedan, an award for the best sales team, during the Mary Kay China Leadership Conference on February 20, 2011, in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481609/original/file-20220829-27-801kvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481609/original/file-20220829-27-801kvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481609/original/file-20220829-27-801kvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481609/original/file-20220829-27-801kvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481609/original/file-20220829-27-801kvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481609/original/file-20220829-27-801kvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/481609/original/file-20220829-27-801kvu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Mary Kay company continues to award top saleswomen with new cars in its founder’s favorite color.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/salespersons-from-anhui-province-of-china-pose-for-pictures-news-photo/109325814?adppopup=true">China Photos/GettyImages AsiaPac via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>In her book “In Pink: The Personal Story of a Mary Kay Pioneer Who Made History Shaping a New Path to Success for Women,” homemaker and early Mary Kay recruit <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pink-Personal-Pioneer-History-Shaping/dp/0985372516">Doretha Dingler remarked that</a> “much more than raising our family income, that kind of earning raised my consciousness” – language echoing that of the era’s feminists.</p>
<h2>Opportunities for women of color</h2>
<p>It wasn’t just middle-class white women who found success in Mary Kay. </p>
<p>In 1975, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=9lwEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA183&dq=ruell%20cone%20mary%20kay&pg=PA183#v=onepage&q=ruell%20cone%20mary%20kay&f=false">Ruell Cone</a>, a Black woman from Atlanta, was the company’s highest-earning saleswoman. She was honored in person by Ash herself before tens of thousands of saleswomen at the company’s annual seminar. </p>
<p>In 1979, Gerri Nicholson told The Record newspaper of Hackensack, N.J., that while she had “a lot of hang-ups” from growing up as an African American in the South, working for Mary Kay “substantially increased my family income” and gave her “a feeling of self-worth.” At that point Nicholson had worked her way up from saleswoman to sales manager, and would go on to become Mary Kay’s <a href="https://www.warrenrecord.com/article_a63211f2-30fa-11ec-9c07-cb0095c02517.html">first Black national sales director</a>.</p>
<p>By 1985, Savvy magazine reported that Mary Kay Inc. could claim more Latina and Black women earning annual commissions of over $50,000 – the equivalent of $137,000 in 2022 – than any other corporation worldwide. </p>
<p>Ash’s elevation of “thinking like a woman” and the company’s acceptance of Black and Latina saleswomen are also forerunners of feminism’s “third wave” in the 1990s. In this era, younger feminists shifted the movement’s focus from equal rights to diversity, embracing gender differences and celebrating femininity in its various forms.</p>
<h2>A ‘pink pyramid scheme’?</h2>
<p>Along with these success stories, the company has faced accusations of exploiting more women than it enriches. A 2012 article in Harper’s Magazine, “The Pink Pyramid Scheme,” <a href="https://harpers.org/archive/2012/08/the-pink-pyramid-scheme/">pointed at unrealized promises of success</a>, saleswomen going into debt to purchase product inventory, and high turnover rates.</p>
<p>I believe these stories are a part of any accurate telling of Mary Kay history. </p>
<p>However, based on my research, a substantial number of the company’s “beauty consultants” say they found camaraderie, <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/08/why-women-stay-out-of-the-spotlight-at-work">recognition</a> and <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/after-two-years-job-womens-confidence-plummets-180955373/">confidence</a> working for Mary Kay, and a female role model in Mary Kay Ash.</p>
<p>These are things working women today <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.2006.22898277">still find elusive</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171344/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cassandra L. Yacovazzi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ash derided women’s liberation as “that foolishness” – but her success story is very feminist.Cassandra L. Yacovazzi, Assistant Professor of History, University of South FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1399612020-06-29T13:57:26Z2020-06-29T13:57:26ZCOVID-19 may turn back the clock on women’s entrepreneurship<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342277/original/file-20200616-23221-kwby2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C253%2C7360%2C4649&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Female entrepreneurs in Canada have been heavily impacted by the pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Canadian government responded to the COVID-19 crisis in record time. <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/ei/cerb-application.html">It launched programs</a> that would normally take months or even years in a matter of days. At the same time, it’s important to recognize systemic barriers to women and diverse groups are being exacerbated in the crisis.</p>
<p>To support them, we need to bring a gender and diversity lens to our responses, or else decades of hard-won gains will be lost.</p>
<p>Statistics Canada confirms <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2020001/article/00018-eng.htm">small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with under 20 employees have been the hardest hit</a> during the pandemic, and because women are more likely to own newer and smaller businesses, they are most affected.</p>
<p>During the pandemic, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3310023101">40.6 per cent of women-owned businesses had to lay off employees</a>. Among them, women-owned business laid off a disproportionately a higher percentage of their workers — 62 per cent laid off 80 per cent of their employees, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3310023201">which is much higher than the 45 per cent observed for most businesses</a>.</p>
<h2>Support programs exclude women</h2>
<p>While women are majority owners of 15.6 per cent of SMEs with one or more employees, they account for 38 per cent of self-employed Canadians. While important eligibility changes were recently made to include more businesses, many existing support programs targeting SMEs unintentionally exclude women. Successful women’s ventures, particularly in the services sector, often rely on contractors instead of employees or may not meet the criteria of eligible non-deferrable expenses, excluding some from programs focused on companies with employees. </p>
<p>Not only are women shouldering the brunt of unemployment, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200219/dq200219e-eng.htm?CMP=mstatcan">they are also bearing the burden of unpaid caregiving</a>, including child care, home schooling, household duties and elder care. The <a href="https://canwcc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Falling-through-the-Cracks_CanWCC_May2020.pdf">top challenge identified by women entrepreneurs</a> is child care. Women report feeling like failures at both roles of worker and parent, adding to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/parenting-and-working-from-home-1.5595495">mental health challenges and family stress</a>.</p>
<p>Racialized, Indigenous, newcomer and disabled women face additional barriers and are also disadvantaged in <a href="https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/diversity/reports/ImmigrantEntrepreneur.pdf">accessing supports and loans</a>. For example, with limited resources and assets, <a href="https://www.ictinc.ca/blog/11-challenges-for-indigenous-businesses">Indigenous entrepreneurs are facing unique barriers</a> — the Indian Act prohibits reserve land from being used as collateral for bank loans.</p>
<p>There is also evidence that we need to further unpack many of the categories to better understanding intersectionality. For example the experience of racialized people is not uniform — anti-Black racism has a profound impact on Black women entrepreneurs.</p>
<h2>Access to internet a challenge</h2>
<p>Under-represented groups often lack space, infrastructure and the choice of working from home or the skills needed to support home schooling. In rural communities, <a href="https://wekh.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WEKH_The_Impact_of_COVID-19_on_Women_Entrepreneurs-1.pdf">access to the internet is a particular challenge</a>. </p>
<p>Increasing access to venture capital is of course important, but <a href="https://femalefunders.com/women-in-venture/">women-led businesses virtually receive none of the investment</a>. The new government loan packages are not as helpful because women are often “discouraged borrowers” — they are less likely to seek credit. Often when they do receive it, they get smaller amounts and less favourable terms. </p>
<p>Unlike those who are majority owners of SMEs, many self-employed women have to put personal assets at risk. Indigenous women on reserves often do not have conventionally understood “income” to report and <a href="https://wekh.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WEKH_The_Impact_of_COVID-19_on_Women_Entrepreneurs-1.pdf">no property to use as collateral</a>.</p>
<p>The pervasive issues around financial literacy and expert advice also present challenges. Innovative approaches, such as micro-grants and crowd-funding, have helped <a href="https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/diversity-inclusion/assets/women-unbound.pdf">level the playing field for women entrepreneurs</a>, but these models are rarely a priority. </p>
<h2>Focus on STEM only</h2>
<p>The science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) bias in innovation and entrepreneurship <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/march-2020/the-future-of-work-is-based-on-assumptions-we-need-to-challenge/">has been well documented</a>. Because women entrepreneurs are less represented in the technology sector, they are less likely to benefit from investments in STEM companies and research. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/05/the-confidence-gap/359815/">It is clear that digital transformation is critical to survival</a> during this time and women entrepreneurs need additional support to implement technology solutions that <a href="https://www.ryerson.ca/diversity/news-events/2019/11/advancing-growth-through-inclusive-entrepreneurship-innovation/">underpin new business models</a>. They are also more likely to combine social with economic goals, but social enterprises are usually ignored in the chatter about research, commercialization and innovation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342279/original/file-20200616-23217-1d2r5ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342279/original/file-20200616-23217-1d2r5ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342279/original/file-20200616-23217-1d2r5ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342279/original/file-20200616-23217-1d2r5ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342279/original/file-20200616-23217-1d2r5ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342279/original/file-20200616-23217-1d2r5ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342279/original/file-20200616-23217-1d2r5ea.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Women who own small businesses often lack access to mentors and incubators.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>For women entrepreneurs to thrive in different environments, they need supports that are distinctive than those for men, such as access to incubators, mentors and <a href="https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/diversity/reports/5515_TELFER-Orser-Inclusive-Innovation-report_0419_final-aoda.pdf">training or business support</a>. Such distinctive needs are not only caused by structural inequality, but also resulted from the socialization of women and girls, the gendered nature of entrepreneurship and a lack of role models.</p>
<p>Women entrepreneurs urgently need one-on-one coaching and mentoring, which extends beyond technical and financial advice to emotional and social supports <a href="https://wekh.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/WEKH_The_Impact_of_COVID-19_on_Women_Entrepreneurs-1.pdf">in navigating post-COVID-19 realities</a>.</p>
<h2>Women’s voices ignored</h2>
<p>While <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriaforster/2020/04/14/women-are-leading-canadas-public-health-response-to-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/#3850c84864ae">diverse women are leading the COVID-19 health-care response</a> across Canada and around the world, women’s voices have been largely muffled in the discussion about economic recovery. We have seen a shocking revival of “manels” and mansplaining by pundits who, ignoring the perspectives of half the Canadian population, are oblivious to the particular challenges women entrepreneurs face.</p>
<p>I work with Canada’s <a href="https://wekh.ca/">Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub,</a> which has been leading efforts to understand the impacts of COVID-19 and channel feedback from more than 200 business support organizations. The hub offers recommendations to support women entrepreneurs:</p>
<p>• Applying a gender and diversity lens and collecting disaggregated data on COVID-19 impacts, as well as on the effectiveness of programs to support entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>• Ensuring definitions of entrepreneurship are inclusive for self-employed women and owners of SMEs across sectors, including services, arts and social enterprises.</p>
<p>• Using <a href="https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/diversity/reports/social-innovation-shaping-canadas-future.pdf">innovative approaches to meet women’s needs and preferences</a>, such as crowd-funding, micro-grants, customized counselling, mentoring and sponsorship.</p>
<p>• Redoubling efforts to advance affirmative actions and preferential procurement for women and diverse groups.</p>
<p>• Strengthening capacity in <a href="https://fsc-ccf.ca/research/bridging-the-digital-skills-gap-alternative-pathways/">financial and digital literacy programs</a> to assist women in considering digitization financing, incorporation and exporting, while providing human capital to support research development and implementation.</p>
<p>• Paying adequate attention to supports, such as affordable, accessible child care. As economist Armine Yalnizyan said: “No recovery without a she-covery, no she-covery without child care.” Experts argue child care should be considered <a href="https://www.childcarecanada.org/documents/child-care-news/20/06/without-more-support-child-care-economic-recovery-will-be-slow-says-">an essential service</a>. Similarly, supports for home schooling of children, <a href="https://www.ryerson.ca/diversity/research/studybuddy/">particularly for immigrant women</a>, is critical.</p>
<p>As Canada responds to the pandemic, there is a risk that we will lose the traction we’ve gained on gender and diversity. Women-led businesses represent a growing proportion of new startups in Canada, but their businesses are younger and more fragile than those led by men.</p>
<p>More than ever, it’s critical to maintain intentional focus on women and other under-represented groups, and to nurture their fledgling micro-businesses from which larger businesses may grow.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139961/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Cukier receives funding from SSHRC, Government of Canada, Government of Ontario and several other organizations. ITAC, Metrolinx, TD Financial Services. Wendy Cukier is leading, in collaboration with the Brookfield Institute and Ted Rogers School of Management, the newly formed Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub, funded by the Government of Canada.</span></em></p>As Canada responds to the pandemic, there is a risk that women who lead businesses will lose the traction they have gained on gender and diversity.Wendy Cukier, Professor, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1310172020-02-18T22:34:33Z2020-02-18T22:34:33ZDo women-focused capital funds actually help women, or are they just ‘pinkwashing?’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315984/original/file-20200218-11017-27ndsv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7360%2C4704&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women-focused capital financing is supposedly aimed at ending the corporate gender gap. But many equity investors, still largely high-net-worth men, still view women entrepreneurs as being deficient — and are practising what's known as pinkwashing.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>An increase in the number of women-focused capital funds promises to help address gender gaps in the provision of financial capital.</p>
<p>Capital funding is the money that lenders and equity holders provide to a business.</p>
<p>A recent study I conducted with <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Susan_Coleman">Susan Coleman</a> of the University of Hartford in the United States and doctoral candidate <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yanhong_Li18">Yanhong Li</a> of the University of Ottawa looked at how women entrepreneurs are described within <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11187-019-00302-1">women-focused capital funds</a>. We examined 27 women-focused capital funds in North America.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jsbm.12473">International studies</a> show that borrower discouragement and informal rejections from potential investors dissuade many women from seeking loans when they start up businesses.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/angel-investors-not-entrepreneurs-need-government-support-107324">Angel investors, not entrepreneurs, need government support</a>
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<p>Historically, equity investors have primarily been high-net-worth men. And so a preference to invest in business owners who look and think “just like me” reinforces gender stereotypes. As birds of a feather flock together, women and their businesses can be viewed as too feminine, and therefore less attractive investments. Feminine innovations that benefit women and girls can also be viewed as less attractive.</p>
<p>Our study asked if women-focused capital funds are aimed at truly enhancing gender equity or simply at creating wealth for investors. We were surprised to learn that few funds challenge the institutional constraints that hold back women entrepreneurs. Some actually reinforce gender stereotypes due to how they regard women’s supposed entrepreneurial deficiencies.</p>
<h2>‘Pinkwashing’</h2>
<p>For our purposes, we defined “pinkwashing” as capital funds targeted at women solely for marketing purposes. Pinkwashing is most likely the result of creating women-focused funds as an add-on to mainstream finance services, rather than as a central element of the organization’s mission to support women.</p>
<p>Several more of our findings should be interesting to would-be investors. Few funds have third-party audits. Online disclosures of fund performance are generally absent. It is often difficult to discern governance and ownership structures of the funds. Lack of reporting standards may reflect the infancy of this capital market.</p>
<p>Stereotypical challenges faced by women also tend to be amplified to legitimize funds, such as the inability to access financial capital and their need for emotional and social support. Women are described as risk-averse, less successful and lacking professional contacts and role models.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315951/original/file-20200218-11040-nlwlzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315951/original/file-20200218-11040-nlwlzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315951/original/file-20200218-11040-nlwlzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315951/original/file-20200218-11040-nlwlzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315951/original/file-20200218-11040-nlwlzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315951/original/file-20200218-11040-nlwlzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315951/original/file-20200218-11040-nlwlzi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Stereotypes persist among equity investors, some of whom view women entrepreneurs as being risk-averse and in need of emotional support.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>In contrast, some funds focus on community building, investment knowledge and circumventing gender biases, offering a positive perspective versus a need to fix women.</p>
<p>Paradoxically, our study’s findings provide both optimism and skepticism about the extent to which equality is at the heart of these funds.</p>
<p>We conclude that only a minority of funds seek to counter structural barriers associated with women’s access to capital, such as a preference to invest in male-dominated firms and sectors. Most funds are positioned to facilitate individual wealth creation. And few funds prioritize racialized Indigenous people and other underrepresented women versus privileged white women.</p>
<h2>Silver lining</h2>
<p>At the same time, women-focused capital funds are creating new spaces that enable women investors and small business owners to make choices based on their values, financial knowledge and investment capabilities.</p>
<p>International Women’s Day will soon be upon us, and hundreds of investors and women-identified small business owners will gather in Toronto on March 9 for the <a href="https://sheeo.world">SheEO Global Summit</a>. Founder <a href="http://www.vickisaunders.com/bio">Vicki Saunders</a> has a goal — to mobilize the capital, the buying power and the networks of a million volunteers to fund 10,000 women-led ventures.</p>
<p>In the United States, Alicia Robb, founding CEO of <a href="https://nextwaveimpact.com">Next Wave Impact</a>, is working to reduce the gender imbalance in angel investing and educate women investors. Founding <a href="https://www.digitalundivided.com/about">CEO Kathryn Finney</a> of Digitalundivided focuses exclusively on advancing financial capital to Latin-American and Black founders in the U.S. <a href="https://www.ccab.com/indigenous-women-entrepreneurship-fund/">The Indigenous Women Entrepreneurship Fund</a> advances funds for Indigenous businesses in Canada.</p>
<p>Some funds, such as Next Wave Impact, are disrupting the status quo of institutional investment by constructing grassroots engagement, and networks of gender-focused investors and women entrepreneurs.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315754/original/file-20200217-10980-v3w0zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C840%2C5701%2C2974&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315754/original/file-20200217-10980-v3w0zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315754/original/file-20200217-10980-v3w0zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315754/original/file-20200217-10980-v3w0zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315754/original/file-20200217-10980-v3w0zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315754/original/file-20200217-10980-v3w0zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315754/original/file-20200217-10980-v3w0zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Some funds have targeted women-identified and owned enterprises.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Christina Wocintechchat, Unsplash)</span></span>
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<p>These change-makers are exemplars of <a href="https://www.feministforums.com/what-is-entrepreneurial-feminism.html">entrepreneurial feminism</a> in the growing market of women-focused capital funds. The investments target women-identified, women-owned and women-led enterprises, and femme and non-binary entrepreneurs.</p>
<h2>Ask ‘who benefits?’</h2>
<p>Investors should keep this in mind before assuming that all women-focused capital funds serve an inclusive economic agenda. </p>
<p>While pinkwashing may be acceptable to some, more transparency is needed to make informed investment decisions. To identify pinkwashing, investors and entrepreneurs are encouraged to examine the governance structure of the funds and ask: “Who appears to benefit from the fund and how?”</p>
<p>Another suggestion is to determine if the fund helps expand the entrepreneurial ecosystem in ways that are likely to benefit women and non-binary femme entrepreneurs, or if the fund serves to perpetuate stereotypes and constraints implicit in the existing ecosystems. </p>
<p>Our study suggests that an increasing number of investment funds described as “women-focused” fall short of this standard in practice.</p>
<p>In light of these findings, due diligence on the part of both investors and entrepreneurs is essential.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131017/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barbara Jayne Orser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Women-focused capital financing is supposedly aimed at ending the corporate gender gap. But many equity investors still view women entrepreneurs as being deficient and are practising pinkwashing.Barbara Jayne Orser, Full Professor, Deloitte Professor in the Management of Growth Enterprises, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1223522019-09-26T11:32:31Z2019-09-26T11:32:31ZHow women entrepreneurs are changing Indian society<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/294350/original/file-20190926-51405-1gyys6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/indian-beautiful-businesswoman-green-sari-tika-1379486969?src=EXbAeIWQXBAabPokXcEl-w-2-43">Shutterstock/yurakrasil</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In India, the proportion of women in paid work is among the lowest in the world, at <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS?end=2018&locations=IN&start=1990&view=chart">just over 23%</a> – a figure which contrasts sharply with the corresponding rate of <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS?end=2018&locations=IN&start=1990&view=chart">over 78%</a> for men. </p>
<p>Opportunities for women to enter employment in the country are limited by a range of factors. These include a dominant tradition of female domestic responsibility, and a prevailing <a href="https://www.economist.com/briefing/2018/07/05/culture-and-the-labour-market-keep-indias-women-at-home">social patriarchy</a>. </p>
<p>Deeply entrenched <a href="https://wol.iza.org/news/female-labor-force-participation-in-india-is-a-concern">cultural expectations</a> mean that women are more likely to stay at home. And when they do work, it is mainly on an informal basis, without the luxury of <a href="https://borgenproject.org/informal-sector-in-india/">secured wages and contracts</a>.</p>
<p>Against this backdrop, the idea of female entrepreneurship in India faces major challenges. Setting up a business can require significant efforts outside of normal work times, and can lead to women being perceived as irresponsible if they dedicate time to entrepreneurial activities. </p>
<p>But it seems as if things may be changing. <a href="https://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2018/09/07/conference-on-women-entrepreneurs-and-innovators-contemporary-insights-from-research-and-practice/">My research</a> on women entrepreneurs in India reveals they are contesting social, cultural and family pressures to challenge the status quo in Indian society. They are also empowering other women while providing innovative solutions to major social problems. </p>
<p>Some of the women I spoke to greatly inspired me with their stories. One manufacturing business founder, Pinky Maheshwari, was challenged by her son to make environmentally friendly paper. She went on to create handmade paper made out of cotton that is embedded with seeds. These can then be planted and grown into trees when the paper has served its purpose. </p>
<p>Her award-winning ideas have won <a href="https://yourstory.com/2018/03/jaipur-based-startup-wants-surprise-someone-spread-smiles">appreciation and support</a> from the highest levels of Indian government. She is, she told me, motivated by the idea of empowering others, and “hires women from rural and small towns so that they earn a livelihood and get acknowledged for their creativity”.</p>
<p>She added: “I have employed largely women and I support them in any way I can.” </p>
<p>A similar spirit shone through other women entrepreneurs I interviewed. Padmaja Narsipur, the founder of a digital marketing strategy firm, supports women “re-starters” to join her workforce after a break in their working lives. </p>
<p>She said: “Women re-starters are highly qualified and committed. I have been one myself. I have built a workplace where trust in employees, giving flexible hours, work from home options, is built into the DNA and it is paying off.” </p>
<p>The CEO of <a href="https://anthillcreations.org/#services">Anthill creations</a>, Pooja Rai has a vision to create “interactive learning environments in public spaces with a primary focus on sustainability”, by using recycled materials to build accessible play areas in remote parts of India. </p>
<p>These are just some of the many Indian women entrepreneurs I met who are creating businesses of real purpose. Despite the cultural obstacles, they are changing perceptions and creating innovative businesses that have a real impact on their communities and beyond.</p>
<p>Their work is rewriting the rules for business, families and society while challenging the mindset that there is limited scope for them to create good businesses. </p>
<p>With a blend of <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/wellness/article/meet-the-women-of-mettle-who-are-writing-their-own-stories/articleshow/68305483.cms">social purpose and business acumen</a>, Indian women are embarking on a journey to change perceptions and creating prosperity for themselves and for the nation. </p>
<p>This is the new face of women entrepreneurship in India. And there is evidence that <a href="https://yourstory.com/smbstory/women-entrepreneurs-msme-loans-schemes">public policy</a> is increasingly supportive of this transformation while society is <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/spotlight/celebrating-women-who-turned-entrepreneurs-from-home/articleshow/68389686.cms">beginning to celebrate their successes</a>. </p>
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<p>Indian society is gradually becoming <a href="http://www.bbc.com/travel/gallery/20190806-an-indian-market-run-by-4000-women">progressively egalitarian</a> with much needed government initiatives such as <a href="https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/government_tr_rec/beti-bachao-beti-padhao-caring-for-the-girl-child/">“Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao”</a> (Save the Daughter, Educate the Daughter) designed to improve the prospects of young girls.</p>
<p>Improved access to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329687049_Impact_of_Social_Media_on_Indian_Society_towards_Women">social media</a>, <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/data-story-girls-are-fast-catching-up-with-boys-in-literacy-and-how-find-out-2399003.html">education</a>, and <a href="https://ssir.org/articles/entry/women_prosperity_and_social_change_in_india#">social enterprises</a> are all contributing to change. These are giving momentum to the aspirations of women entrepreneurs in India. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266588/original/file-20190329-71003-uc9saw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266588/original/file-20190329-71003-uc9saw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266588/original/file-20190329-71003-uc9saw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266588/original/file-20190329-71003-uc9saw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266588/original/file-20190329-71003-uc9saw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266588/original/file-20190329-71003-uc9saw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266588/original/file-20190329-71003-uc9saw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/india-tomorrow-a-podcast-series-from-the-anthill-episode-guide-114654">Check out our India Tomorrow podcast series, exploring major issues facing Indian society.</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Their stories will hopefully inspire women entrepreneurs from around the world, while encouraging policy makers to create avenues that support their aspirations. </p>
<p>Such policies could include promoting entrepreneurship education amongst women and helping to finance women led start ups. The work has started, but there is much more to do to encourage the female businesswomen of India to overcome historically entrenched barriers and become part of a global entrepreneurial society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122352/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mili Shrivastava does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Research on women entrepreneurs in India reveals they are contesting social, cultural and family pressures to challenge the status quo in society.Mili Shrivastava, Lecturer in Strategy, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1032122019-09-05T11:26:42Z2019-09-05T11:26:42ZWhy are there so few women CEOs?<p>Women <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/03/07/in-many-countries-at-least-four-in-ten-in-the-labor-force-are-women/ft_17-03-07_womenpaidlabor_comparison/">comprise about 47%</a> of the U.S. workforce, yet they make up <a href="https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-sp-500-companies/">barely a quarter</a> of all senior executives at large U.S. public companies. Even worse, only about 5% of Standard & Poor’s 500 companies have female CEOs.</p>
<p>Moreover, women who become CEOs are often appointed to companies that are in crisis or are <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-number-of-new-female-ceos-has-almost-doubled-since-2010-heres-whats-behind-that-dramatic-growth-2019-07-18">performing poorly</a>, as in the cases of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2014/05/28/exclusive-inside-mary-barras-urgent-mission-to-fix-gm/#2ae47e91c3a5">Mary Barra at General Motors</a>, <a href="http://fromsecretarytoceo.com/did-you-knowcarly-was-hired-at-hp-to-be-a-change-agent/">Carly Fiorina at Hewlett Packard</a> and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dorieclark/2012/07/16/3-reasons-why-marissa-mayers-hiring-is-a-huge-win-for-yahoo/#6168f95047ef">Marissa Mayer at Yahoo!</a></p>
<p>To better understand why women are so poorly represented at the highest levels of corporate America, several colleagues and I studied differences between the careers of male and female CEOs. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.04.002">Our research paints</a> a grim picture. </p>
<h2>A sobering situation</h2>
<p>In 2018, I conducted <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.04.002">a study</a> with fellow professors of management <a href="https://business.fsu.edu/person/gang-wang">Gang Wang</a> and <a href="https://www.american.edu/kogod/faculty/devine.cfm">Rich Devine</a> as well as John Bischoff, who was a doctoral student in management during the study. </p>
<p>We synthesized the findings of nearly 160 studies published during the past 25 years that examined the effects of gender on different aspects of CEOs’ careers. We found several surprising patterns.</p>
<p>For example, although female chief executives attended more elite schools than their male counterparts did, bolstering their education credentials, they were less likely to chair their companies’ boards, had shorter tenures as CEOs and were paid less. The companies they led also tended to be younger, smaller and less prestigious. </p>
<p>Moreover, although companies led by women or men took similar levels of risk and earned similar profits, those with female CEOs generated smaller investor returns. This finding suggests that Wall Street investors put a lower value than they should have on the share prices of companies with women in charge. </p>
<p>The challenge for women trying to climb to the upper echelons of corporate leadership – and to succeed in those positions to the same degree that men do – appears sobering.</p>
<h2>Stereotypes and favoritism</h2>
<p>What causes these big differences in the career trajectories of women and men?</p>
<p>Just like other workers, CEOs’ careers unfold within a labor market, with the usual components of demand and supply. That is, companies demand – and pay for – CEO labor. In turn, CEOs supply – and are paid for – that labor.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, many discriminatory factors reduce the demand for female CEOs. For one thing, women are subject to gender stereotypes. The stereotypical qualities of effective leaders – such as aggression, ambition and dominance – <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bce4/03fe0a9e4cab58d2c4fc2705f6c583ebe596.pdf">tend to overlap</a> with the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(199601)17:1%3C33::AID-JOB778%3E3.0.CO;2-F">stereotypical qualities</a> of men more than women. </p>
<p>As a result, men are often considered natural leaders when they exhibit traits like aggression, whereas women displaying these same qualities <a href="http://web.pdx.edu/%7Emev/pdf/Eagley_Karau.pdf">might be penalized</a> for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.12.004">appearing “unfeminine.”</a></p>
<p>Another problem is women are the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43589224">victims of in-group favoritism</a>. People tend to evaluate others who are similar to them more favorably. This bias hurts women because <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/43589224.pdf?casa_token=59Up2YWUaVAAAAAA:lo27SGOGw_GXMaCemnV7GwMEWsHLLPQL8DZ5WsBsKp6MVX7p1pHK1wzkpYuXI-OE7Nsi_a8BCs7tweNGPDoxNJCuJenQU3xy0Bmz0zsHSGSPAea5Lw">nearly 80% of board members in large U.S. public companies are men</a>. These are the people responsible for hiring and paying CEOs, after all. </p>
<p>Regarding supply-side forces, there simply are fewer women at these senior levels because of <a href="https://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/545/docs/Wendy_Wood_Research_Articles/Gender_Differences_in_Social_Behavior/wood.eagly.2012.Advances.pdf">social factors</a>. For example, women perform more family duties than men do. And the need for maternity leave and absences to care for sick children <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4166156?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">hurts women’s careers</a>. </p>
<p>In addition, women experience different socialization processes than men. Even as children, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2015.11.003">males tend to receive more encouragement</a> to lead, compete and take risks than females do. As a result, men often have more opportunities to develop these skills, which also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2016.05.001">may help them ascend and succeed in CEO positions</a>.</p>
<h2>A few remedies</h2>
<p>So what can be done to remedy the situation?</p>
<p>One response from policymakers has been to institute gender quotas, as <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/09/30/california-law-sets-gender-quotas-corporate-boardrooms/1482883002/">California did recently</a> for corporate boards. However, this approach focuses only on the demand for women leaders. Quotas could be ineffective – and might even be harmful.</p>
<p>For example, they can create perceptions that <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2777808">women are tokens</a> – that is, they are there only because of their gender – which can foster a backlash and <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2393234">undermine their legitimacy</a>. Such quotas also might result in the promotion of women leaders who lack the qualifications to succeed as CEOs, thus reinforcing harmful gender stereotypes. </p>
<p>A better approach is simply making sure women have the same opportunities to develop as men. </p>
<p>Workplaces that mentor female leaders and provide a better work-life balance – such as by providing paid family leave – <a href="http://blog.indeed.com/2016/10/27/paid-parental-leave-strengthens-companies/">are more likely to attract and retain women in managerial roles</a>. Companies could also focus more on preventing biases, such as stereotypes and favoritism, from discouraging the selection and retention of women in executive positions. </p>
<p>More broadly, society needs to ensure women are given more opportunities to develop leadership skills – in sports and community service, for example – earlier in life as well. </p>
<p>If we needed a reason to push for more gender equality among the leaders of corporate America, there’s <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/do-companies-with-female-executives-perform-better-4586443">growing evidence</a> that companies actually perform better when they have more women in senior leadership positions. A simple solution like a gender quota probably won’t get us to equality, but a comprehensive approach could. </p>
<p>[ <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=expertise">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103212/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>R. Michael Holmes Jr. does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Women occupy just 5% of the top jobs at companies in the S&P 500. Research shows the problem to be even worse.R. Michael Holmes Jr., Jim Moran Associate Professor of Strategic Management, Florida State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1086882019-01-08T12:45:31Z2019-01-08T12:45:31ZWhy Africa’s women entrepreneurs struggle to grow – and how to help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/252869/original/file-20190108-32124-5qnj2e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Several approaches can be taken to help women entrepreneurs achieve high growth.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Africa has seen the <a href="http://disrupt-africa.com/2017/09/african-female-entrepreneurship-rates-highest-in-world/">highest growth</a> among businesses run by women in recent years. This would appear to be good news: entrepreneurship is arguably crucial for job creation and economic growth.</p>
<p>But the flip side of this data is that businesses run by women are less likely than those run by men to grow because of a higher <a href="https://newsroom.mastercard.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/MIWE_2018_Final_Report.pdf">fear of business failure</a>. This is not because women are bad entrepreneurs. Instead, it’s because <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160738316300846">they often start from a lower base</a>. They have less start-up and investment capital, and possess little or no collateral security. This limits access to loans and credit. They are also affected by exclusion from certain sectors, as well as insufficient staff numbers. All these factors affect the growth and survival of their businesses. </p>
<p>This low base means that when it comes to sales, number of employees, revenue and productivity, women-owned businesses in developing countries tend to be smaller in size and grow more slowly than those run by men. Yet, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11187-011-9374-z">research</a> shows that those businesses are equally efficient and growth oriented as male-owned businesses. </p>
<p>This discrepancy led us to wonder whether there are targeted policies African governments can use to promote high-growth women’s entrepreneurship. So we conducted a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsbm.12493">study</a> that evaluated why high-growth women-owned businesses are relatively rare in Cameroon. </p>
<p>The West African nation’s legal and commercial infrastructure, as well as its government support programmes related to some sectors’ entrepreneurial activities, are – <a href="http://www.gemconsortium.org/country-profile/48">on paper</a> – more developed when compared to those elsewhere in the region, <a href="https://newsroom.mastercard.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/MIWE_2018_Final_Report.pdf">like Nigeria and Ghana</a>.</p>
<p>But conversely, it has one of the highest business discontinuation rates and the lowest rates of opportunity-oriented early stage <a href="http://www.gemconsortium.org/country-profile/48">entrepreneurial activity in Africa</a>.</p>
<p>Our findings reveal how being embedded in formal and informal networks enabled women to access and act on resources; this allowed them to realise slow and continuous business growth. But it creates a paradox. Women become locked into complex administrative, ethnic and <a href="http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/810421519921949813/Women-Business-and-the-Law-2016.pdf">patriarchal structures</a>. These create reciprocal obligations that are difficult to fulfil, and limit women’s room for high growth.</p>
<h2>A struggle to grow</h2>
<p>In 2017, women constituted 49.96% of Cameroon’s <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/country/cameroon">population of 24 million</a>.<a href="https://www.gemconsortium.org/report/49860">Previous research</a> has found that 41.9% of Cameroonian women are interested in becoming entrepreneurs. And, of those who are already entrepreneurs, 56% are doing so because they see a real opportunity; 36.6%, meanwhile, say they are running their own businesses merely to survive.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cairn.info/revue-congolaise-de-gestion-2017-2-page-11.htm">Another study</a> has found that about 70% of Cameroon’s women entrepreneurs are involved in the tertiary and services sectors. These include wholesale and retail trade, education, health and social services, arts and crafts, events management, food and beverage, hospitality and tourism. This trend carries into other African countries, too.</p>
<p>But their businesses face serious resource constraints. This is partly because of socio-cultural and structural inequalities that favour men. Women entrepreneurs struggle to obtain credit, and to access entrepreneurship education. They also battle to deal with government officials, and cultural norms make it difficult for them <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsbm.12493">to cultivate business networks</a>.</p>
<p>All of this, along with the reality of starting from a lower base than their male counterparts, makes it tough for women entrepreneurs to start big. They then battle to create growth-oriented businesses.</p>
<p>This is a blow for women entrepreneurs, and can have a real effect on their lives. Growth-oriented women entrepreneurs have been found to be among <a href="https://www.gemconsortium.org/report/48772">the happiest workers in any economy</a>. More broadly, it has ramifications for the country’s economy.</p>
<h2>Lessons and solutions</h2>
<p>These concerns and experiences were all borne out in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsbm.12493">our study</a>. We analysed questionnaires, focus groups and interview data collected between 2014 and 2016 in Cameroon.</p>
<p>The data also offered some potential solutions. </p>
<p>For instance, it is clear that countries need to create networks or regional clusters that specifically target women entrepreneurs who display growth aspirations. One approach would be to extend existing government policies on traditional <a href="https://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/abs/10.1596/978-0-8213-8627-9">manufacturing industry clusters</a> to the women-dominated service industries.</p>
<p>Another would be to revise or expand a country’s national employment fund and tax incentives to deliberately target women entrepreneurs with growth intentions. This approach could be tailored to women who are already in the business system, and would be designed to help pay for training opportunities and to enable market access.</p>
<p>Women entrepreneurs also need to be aware of existing government initiatives and networking opportunities. Examples of formal networks providing support to women entrepreneurs in Cameroon include the <a href="http://fcem.org/pays-membres/asie-pacifique-orient/afrique/">Association of Cameroonian Business Women</a>, <a href="http://www.cwen.cm/accueil">Cameroon Women Entrepreneurs Network</a> and <a href="https://www.legicam.cm">Cameroon Employers Association</a></p>
<p>These organisations act not only as knowledge exchange and networking platforms but, importantly, serve as bridges between women entrepreneurs and their organisations, and various government departments and international NGOs. Membership would enable growth oriented members to be aware of and access existing opportunities.</p>
<p>Finally, it would be very valuable for women who are interested in high-growth entrepreneurship to learn about those who have come before them. There are women who have overcome the odds to become high-growth entrepreneurs in different African countries. Their lessons may be useful in educating others, and in informing policies to increase the number of high-growth women entrepreneurs in Africa.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108688/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Albert N. Kimbu and Michael Z. Ngoasong received funding for this study from the Sir John Cass Foundation through the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust Small Research Grants. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Z Ngoasong and Albert N. Kimbu received funding for this study from the Sir John Cass Foundation through the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust Small Research Grants.</span></em></p>Women entrepreneurs in Africa struggle to obtain credit, and to access entrepreneurship education.Albert N. Kimbu, Senior Lecturer in Hospitality & Tourism, University of SurreyMichael Z Ngoasong, Senior Lecturer in Management, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1001672018-08-06T19:38:54Z2018-08-06T19:38:54ZHow to improve the appeal of franchising for women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230331/original/file-20180802-136664-1icqldp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The franchise sector might be missing out on opportunities to attract female entrepreneurs.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/721112086?src=SSuunVxy52n4Lb4tIbg9eA-1-30&size=huge_jpg">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The franchise model should represent a business model of choice for women. The format has a lower risk profile, as it offers a level of perceived reassurance that the concept has been tested in the marketplace. It also minimises some of the historical disadvantages women face when entering self-employment. </p>
<p>Yet contrary to the stereotype of women being risk-averse, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0965254X.2018.1482946">our research</a> has found many are willing to take risks in business and embrace innovation. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/senior-female-bankers-dont-conform-to-stereotypes-and-are-just-as-ready-to-take-risks-71891">Senior female bankers don't conform to stereotypes and are just as ready to take risks</a>
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<p>We identified another factor that might limit women’s uptake of franchising opportunities. Many remained unaware of key benefits such as support from government and franchisors, which includes initial investment and working capital. </p>
<p>This matters for both the franchising sector and the broader economy. Entrepreneurs are considered a major source of economic growth, and <a href="https://www.afr.com/news/special-reports/businesses-of-tomorrow/the-rise-of-femaleled-businesses-and-entrepreneurs-20180304-h0wyzq">more and more of them are women</a>.</p>
<p>Yet a number of factors often constrain women’s choices in business. These include lack of business experience, lack of access to capital and formal and informal business networks, and the need to balance work and family commitments. In fact, <a href="https://www.startupmuster.com/reports/Startup-Muster-2017-Report.pdf">women founded only about 25% of start-ups</a> in Australia in 2017.</p>
<h2>Risk-taking propensity</h2>
<p>Our research explored the effects of different risk-taking levels among women on their likelihood of adopting a franchise business model. The chart below illustrates influences on the identified risk-taking groups – low, medium and high risk propensity. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229570/original/file-20180727-106524-1ue8gpf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229570/original/file-20180727-106524-1ue8gpf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229570/original/file-20180727-106524-1ue8gpf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229570/original/file-20180727-106524-1ue8gpf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229570/original/file-20180727-106524-1ue8gpf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=891&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229570/original/file-20180727-106524-1ue8gpf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=891&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229570/original/file-20180727-106524-1ue8gpf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=891&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Based on Thaichon, P., Weaven, S., Quach, S., Bodey, K., Merrilees, B., & Frazer, L. (2018). Female franchisees; a lost opportunity for franchising sector growth?, Journal of Strategic Marketing, 1-16./The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>“Push” influences are external factors stemming from an individual’s lack of control in their working environment. “Pull” influences are internal motivations based on the need to take control of one’s working life. Other factors include work-family life balance, industry sector characteristics and capital availability. </p>
<p>The impacts of these factors on decision-making vary with the three risk categories. </p>
<p><strong>Low risk-taking propensity</strong></p>
<p>“Push” factors are more dominant among women with a low risk-taking propensity. Most of these women go into franchising because of a lack of employment choice and difficulties in finding work. </p>
<p>These women favour business options that reflect minimal risk. Work-family life balance is extremely important to them.</p>
<p>In addition, low-risk female franchisees prefer known industries and those that are less financially intensive. They tend to have difficulty in obtaining finance from third-party sources. Instead, they seek equity financing from family and friends. </p>
<p><strong>Medium risk-taking propensity</strong></p>
<p>Women in the medium-risk group tend to enter franchising in response to a combination of “push” and “pull” motivations. They appear to see becoming self-employed as a way to gain greater control in their working lives and bolster individual prosperity. </p>
<p>Work-life balance, while still important, is less of a concern for this group. </p>
<p>Despite many studies suggesting women select business opportunities to achieve greater work-life balance, our study suggests this may take a back seat as the demands of the business grow. By definition, most medium-sized franchise systems require substantially greater financial, physical and mental inputs from owners than those considered low risk. This further erodes work–life balance and has impacts on desired lifestyle and family outcomes. </p>
<p>Medium-risk-taking women generally sought a combination of private equity and debt or external financial sources to start their franchise.</p>
<p><strong>High risk-taking propensity</strong></p>
<p>Typically, internal motivations most strongly influence high-risk-taking women to go into the franchise business. This is markedly different from the other two groups. </p>
<p>An intrinsic desire to leverage their knowledge and skills to provide job certainty and grow personal wealth “pulls” high-risk-taking individuals towards franchising. Though not totally neglecting work-life balance, the external benefits from working hard likely compensate for reduced family contact or flexibility among these franchisees. </p>
<p>High-risk-taking women franchise owners tend to value innovation. They are willing to enter unfamiliar industries in which they have less direct experience.</p>
<p>These women, like the medium-risk cohort, were also proficient in financing operations from a combination of equity and debt sources as well as government grants and franchisor-provided assistance.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-going-wrong-with-australias-franchises-92916">What's going wrong with Australia's franchises?</a>
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<h2>So what does this mean for the sector?</h2>
<p>Individual characteristics as well as one’s willingness to take risks appear to influence a woman’s likelihood of engaging in self-employment. But understanding the risk-taking propensities of female franchisees may help franchisors recruit this valuable business segment. </p>
<p>Although entrepreneurship research has suggested women have lower self-confidence or self-efficacy and higher risk aversion than men, we found many women have a medium to high propensity to take risks in business operations. The high-risk group also embraced innovation, in contrast to traditional views of franchisees as “reproducers” not “innovators”. This represents a solid departure from limiting gender stereotypes.</p>
<p>A majority of female franchisees appear to know about the main benefits of franchising. These relate mainly to initial and ongoing training and support, prominent branding, and opportunities to work within a proven business system. </p>
<p>However, many remained unaware of key benefits such as assistance from governments and franchisors. In fact, many hadn’t known that franchisors provided investment and working capital support. This knowledge might have changed the size of their initial investment and encouraged them to enter franchising earlier. </p>
<p>This suggests franchisors need to overcome this lack of information. Marketing campaigns explaining relevant franchise opportunities may increase participation by women.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/it-really-pays-for-franchisees-to-do-their-due-diligence-heres-how-49297">It really pays for franchisees to do their due diligence – here's how</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100167/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Women are more willing to take risks and innovate than the stereotype suggests, but even more would likely go into business via franchising if they knew about all the start-up support they can get.Park Thaichon, Lecturer and Cluster Leader, Relationship Marketing for Impact Research Cluster, Griffith UniversitySara Quach, Lecturer, Griffith UniversityScott Weaven, Professor and Head, Department of Marketing, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/847292017-11-08T09:51:40Z2017-11-08T09:51:40Z‘Someone will find me out’ – Impostor Phenomenon and the toll it takes on working women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193428/original/file-20171106-1014-1h3vx0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rawpixel.com via Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>Logically, I know I’m good at what I do. But I’m still constantly afraid someone is going to find me out for being a fraud. </p>
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<p>Millions <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/business/the_ladder/2016/04/is_impostor_syndrome_real_and_does_it_affect_women_more_than_men.html">of people</a> – <a href="http://bsris.swu.ac.th/journal/i6/6-6_Jaruwan_73-92.pdf">one researcher estimated</a> 70% of people at one time in their lives – get up each day and face the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36082469">fear of being found out as a phoney</a> in the face of evidence to contrary. </p>
<p>The nagging feeling that the role they have should have gone to someone more capable can be a constant and unwelcome companion for many. The sense that at any point someone is going to tap him or her on the shoulder and say they’d been appointed to a project by mistake drives many to overwork to assuage their fear of failure and engage in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10211285">rampant perfectionism</a>. </p>
<p>Despite being clearly and evidently capable, many still believe themselves to be simply not good enough.</p>
<p><a href="http://paulineroseclance.com/pdf/ip_high_achieving_women.pdf">Impostor Phenomenon (IP)</a>, the feeling of intellectual phoniness first theorised by American psychologists <a href="http://paulineroseclance.com/impostor_phenomenon.html">Pauline Rose Clance</a> and <a href="https://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/name/Suzanne_Imes_PhD_Atlanta_Georgia_69147">Suzanne Imes</a>, is something that is often thought of as an individual concern and something that exists only in the heads of those who experience it. And in one sense this is true.</p>
<p>We may unknowingly look at someone experiencing IP and think that they are <a href="http://paulineroseclance.com/pdf/-Langford.pdf">successful, confident and outwardly comfortable</a> with their own achievements. Inwardly, though, they’re often a mess of fearful, self-critical and <a href="http://guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10.1521/jscp.1990.9.4.401">blunder-loathing anxiety</a>.</p>
<p>However, when talking to people – <a href="http://www.paulineroseclance.com/pdf/ip_high_achieving_women.pdf">and women in particular</a> – about their experiences of IP, one gets a sense that the workplace is unknowingly perpetuating the feeling of being less than capable. Traditional processes, systems and behaviours are inadvertently confirming employees’ narratives of being bogus.</p>
<h2>Impostors in the workplace</h2>
<p>A simple example plays out every day in most workplaces. Managers may allow people to blame themselves for the mistakes of others and disavow themselves of creditworthy work. We hear it all the time. “Oh, no. Don’t praise me, it was ‘so and so’ who made the difference!” Despite knowing this to be untrue, how many of us have allowed our colleagues to diminish their own achievements in this way or batted it away as humility? Externalisation of achievement to others where success is clearly of one’s own making is a classic IP characteristic.</p>
<p><audio preload="metadata" controls="controls" data-duration="1421" data-image="" data-title="The Why Factor - Imposter Syndrome" data-size="22902309" data-source="BBC" data-source-url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csvtbs" data-license="" data-license-url="">
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The Why Factor - Imposter Syndrome.
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<p>While this seems innocuous, it allows people to confirm to themselves that they are not good enough. It plays to a script that allows them to constantly prove themselves correct in their assumptions of being a fake.</p>
<p>It’s a complex narrative that pushes the impostor to be right all the time and being right means they need to confirm their estimation of their incompetence. When “impostors” achieve some form of success (often through overwork, perfectionism and a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886998000658">fear of failure</a>) they push their achievements on to others. Thus, they create and maintain a plausible narrative of them being an impostor.</p>
<p>What’s even more distressing is that when “impostors” logically and unemotionally appraise their endeavours, achievements and successes, they can clearly (if begrudgingly) see the accomplishments as their own. But they just can’t bring themselves to accept it. “Accept praise? Oh no! My toes are curling with discomfort just thinking about it,” said one self-confessed “impostor” – a respondent to <a href="http://www.womeninstem.co.uk/support/why-women-in-stem-suffer-from-the-impostor-phenomenon">research into the phenomenon</a> in women in STEM (science, tech, engineering and maths).</p>
<p>This is the hideous dichotomy of the phenomenon. The intellectual and emotional dissonance this creates is robbing “impostors” of the opportunity to celebrate or even accept their own achievements.</p>
<h2>So why is this important?</h2>
<p>The early work of <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Imposter-Phenomenon-Overcoming-Haunts-Success/dp/0931948770">Pauline R Clance</a> focused on high-achieving women and, while research has been extended more broadly, it is generally believed to be a <a href="http://www.paulineroseclance.com/pdf/ip_high_achieving_women.pdf">gender-based phenomenon</a> more commonly affecting women. One suggested reason is that women may experience the “double whammy” of being both disadvantaged in the workplace and held back by their own involuntary sense of being not good enough.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193437/original/file-20171106-1068-tylhx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193437/original/file-20171106-1068-tylhx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193437/original/file-20171106-1068-tylhx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193437/original/file-20171106-1068-tylhx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193437/original/file-20171106-1068-tylhx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193437/original/file-20171106-1068-tylhx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193437/original/file-20171106-1068-tylhx2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Research suggests that Imposter Phenomenon disproportionately affects women.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BarakBlueSky via Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41379125">Gender gaps in pay</a>, a lack of representation at <a href="https://www.2020wob.com/sites/default/files/2020GDI-2015Report.pdf">senior levels of management and on boards</a>, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/sep/25/uk-women-lower-paid-work-figures">over-representation of women in low-pay occupations</a> and the intention to leave <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/12/female-engineers_n_5668504.html">occupations such as engineering</a> by women in mid-career feed a plausible story that women should earn less, are unsuited to leadership and are “naturally suited” to certain occupations. While the story is pervasive, it’s a sham. The narrative is fuelling incorrect assumptions and perpetuating a gender divide.</p>
<p>This might mean that they negotiate a <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/06/why-women-dont-negotiate-their-job-offers">poorer remuneration package</a>, fail to apply for promotional opportunities and get passed over for roles. </p>
<p>While diversity and inclusion initiatives are common in organisations, there are misgivings about how effective these are as they often still rely on a <a href="http://www.managers.org.uk/insights/news/2017/august/stephanie-russell-and-theresa-simpkin-on-whether-women-need-fixing?sc_trk=follow%20hit,%7B86CB756B-AB02-44E6-995A-305C69252B29%7D,simpkin">traditional notion</a> of people identifying their own worth accurately.</p>
<p>While one might suggest that women and others who experience IP should just stop being so self-defeating and do themselves a favour, the reality is more complex and difficult. Illogical but deeply held beliefs are often <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361476X85710193">laid down in childhood</a> and become embedded into adulthood. As such, they are rarely easily modified without disquiet or angst.</p>
<p>It’s not uncommon that, rather than try to shift a lifetime of confirming the “impostor” narrative, people will just <a href="https://hbr.org/2005/09/the-dangers-of-feeling-like-a-fake">choose to leave</a> or remain in a current position where they may be unfulfilled, but at least won’t be exposed as the phoney they believe themselves to be.</p>
<p>In short, while individuals may struggle with the Impostor Phenomenon and the dissonance and angst it can bring, traditional notions of how we identify and apportion success and achievement, how we manage performance and how managerial behaviours perpetuate the phenomenon should be examined. Modifying these structures will go a long way towards realising the potential of women and others who could otherwise continue to hide their light – and valuable contributions – under a bushel.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84729/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Theresa Simpkin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Do you ever feel that you’re just not good enough for your job?Theresa Simpkin, Senior Lecturer, Leadership and Corporate Education, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/544702016-02-21T19:03:50Z2016-02-21T19:03:50ZAustralian of the Year David Morrison as a ‘warrior for women’ shows belief in the male protector lives on<p>When former Chief of Army David Morrison was announced as the 2016 Australian of the Year, a number of media outlets pronounced him as “warrior for women”.</p>
<p>Morrison, who received international attention for his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaqpoeVgr8U">stern video warning against unacceptable behaviour against women</a>, is a member of the Male Champions of Change, an initiative which asks men “to use their immense power and influence, their collective voice and wisdom to create change for women”. </p>
<p>The Male Champions of Change head up companies such as Telstra, Qantas, the Commonwealth Bank, Woolworths, Citibank and IBM and hold the most senior roles in Government, Secretary of the Prime Minister & Cabinet and the Treasury. As heads of Australian and global corporates, they exert various levels of monopolistic and oligopolistic power to influence government, market price, tax structures and the remuneration packages they (and their staff) receive. </p>
<p>Yet despite the power corporate figures exercise in influencing the economic, political and social tapestry in Australia and beyond, their influence has not been able to progress women’s equality. </p>
<p>Morrison’s ascension to being a “warrior for women” reflects a rhetorical return to an implicit position that women need men to protect them and advocate for them.</p>
<p>In fact, the imprimatur of powerful men has always been intrinsic to women’s success. To thrive and even to survive in the workplace has seen women and men collude with archetypal dynamics that place men in the role of protectors. Its legacy remains subtle and covert and has been a <a href="http://www.readings.com.au/products/9911650/unlocking-gender-potential-a-leaders-handbook">powerful driver in workplace relations</a>. </p>
<p>The inclusion of women in senior leadership positions remains a challenge for corporate Australia in particular. A key finding from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s 2014-15 report indicates that women’s progress into leadership positions has been glacial. </p>
<p>The top levels of management remain heavily male-dominated, with just 15.4% of CEO positions and 27.4% of key management personnel positions held by women. Even when women achieve executive status they earn less than their male counterparts. At <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/2014-15-WGEA_SCORECARD.pdf">senior levels the gap is 29%</a>.</p>
<p>Most talented women are invisible to powerful men. Relatively few women have successfully navigated corporate cultures to reach positions of leadership. For most, career progression involves navigating labyrinthine barriers resulting in women exiting organisations or accepting the limitations of the glass ceiling.</p>
<p>In 2006, The Economist hailed the arrival of “womenomics”, claiming “the future of the world economy lies increasingly in female hands” with a new era of women in business, bringing equality. </p>
<p>Reframing the gender equality debate in economic terms brought women’s issues into a mainstream business agenda. Psychoanalyst Paul Verhaeghe writes that the tenets of the market had broken from the traditions of class, gender and race, offering the idea of a meritocracy in which “the ideal individual”, “the most productive man or women” is duly rewarded. </p>
<p>Yet the promotion of “natural” winners, women with talent, has not been realised. Women remain conspicuously missing from leadership. The market has failed to dismantle entrenched male hierarchies.</p>
<p>At a time when women are the most educated and in a position to serve the needs of a global knowledge economy, hungry for high quality talent, they remain excluded, underutilised and undervalued. Merit remains a subjective phenomenon reflecting the perspective of those who control economic resources. </p>
<p>Rationalisation for women’s absence at the leadership table is explained by women’s lack of “executive presence”, the mysterious X factor that determines entry into leadership ranks. According to research undertaken by Sylvia Hewlett leadership roles are given to those who look and act the part. </p>
<p>Top jobs often elude women and professionals of colour because they lack “executive presence”. Women have a <a href="http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/workforce-management/hr-management-skills/executive-presence.aspx">smaller window of EP acceptability</a> than men. Men continue to police the way women are expected to look and to behave. </p>
<p>No doubt the current crop of “male champions” can use their significant influence to ensure women’s contribution is valued rather than undermined. This requires commitment for the long haul. Sadly, history has shown that men’s support for women’s equality in the public and private sectors has been sporadic, selective and conditional, dismantled when priorities perceived to be more pressing took precedence. </p>
<p>Despite many leaders supporting equality, Australian companies chose a path of least resistance as gender diversity initiatives took a step backwards post the Global Financial Crisis. Women across all socio-economic strata bore the brunt. According to the 2008 <a href="https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/2008_EOWA_Census_Publication_tagged.pdf">EOWA Australian Census of Women in Leadership</a>, the number of women in board director roles in ASX200 companies had dropped to their lowest levels since the agency began collecting data in 2002. Australia was not alone. </p>
<p>In the US the number of discrimination complaints by women to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission climbed significantly during the recession in 2008 and 2009.</p>
<p>Resort to “warrior for women” rhetoric is a reflection of a number of realities that combined may offer some explanation. First, there is desperation and futility in response to the failed business case argument. No amount of evidence (such as these reports from Swiss Institute Of Banking and Finance 2015, <a href="http://www.raeng.org.uk/publications/other/women-matter-oct-2007">McKinsey</a>, and <a href="http://www.catalyst.org/system/files/The_Bottom_Line_Corporate_Performance_and_Womens_Representation_on_Boards.pdf">Catalyst</a>) is able to dispel a “deficit notion” of women as inherently lacking. </p>
<p>Second, it is a reflection of a current reality where control of economic resources, in particular, increasingly lies with strong men who head up corporations. To align with the power base is to align with the “winners”. </p>
<p>Research has found that women’s survival strategy has been to accept and collude with powerful men, albeit unconsciously, particularly in organisational settings which are highly competitive and hostile to the female presence. In a culture of “winners”, women seek to adapt to the <a href="http://www.readings.com.au/products/9911650/unlocking-gender-potential-a-leaders-handbook">norms of the winning group</a>. </p>
<p>Third, in times of heightened military and economic threat, both real and perceived, the propensity for the warrior as protector fantasy is intensified as leaders act increasingly like “commanders”. </p>
<p>Women alone will not achieve change. The support of powerful men such as the Male Champions of Change is paramount. Change will only occur if men and women stand shoulder to shoulder to expunge cultures of sexism and discrimination. However, positioning men as “warriors for women” is a return to a primitive script of hero and damsel that sees both sexes diminished. </p>
<p>This script has distanced men from women and men from themselves as men relinquish their own feelings of vulnerability and powerlessness in facing the challenges of a complex and changing world, while women relinquish their adult voice to become victims of unsavoury power dynamics. </p>
<p>The time has come to consider systemic change such as quota-based solutions that transcend a reliance on powerful men. Quotas have been introduced in Norway, Spain, France, Iceland, Italy, and the Netherlands and now Germany has legislated boardroom quotas. Why not in Australia?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54470/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah Piterman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>David Morrison being unofficially anointed a “Warrior for Women”, reflects the belief that women need male champions in order to succeed.Hannah Piterman, Adjunct Associate Professor, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/520922015-12-30T10:36:44Z2015-12-30T10:36:44ZWe didn’t solve many problems for women in 2015, but it’s good to talk<p>At the UN meeting on <a href="http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2015/9/press-release-global-leaders-meeting">gender equality and women’s empowerment</a>, which took place in New York in September 2015, 80 global leaders committed to “Planet 50:50 by 2030”. In other words, the leaders who attended the conference gave themselves another 15 years to get it right. But given the meagre representation of women in the media, both as newsmakers and as media professionals, could we see a bit of action on the media front a bit sooner that that please? </p>
<p>The visibility of women in the news has risen by <a href="http://cdn.agilitycms.com/who-makes-the-news/Imported/reports_2015/global/gmmp_global_report_en.pdf">between six and seven percentage points in 20 years</a>, now standing at 24% of everyone who is seen, heard or read about. At that excruciatingly slow rate of change, I will be long dead and my daughters old and grey before gender parity is realised and certainly nowhere near as quickly as 2030.</p>
<p>In 2015, though, there were some important stories about women, certainly not enough to make this the year of the woman, but at least a year in which some of the broader issues of gender and equality got (back) on the agenda.</p>
<p>In February, Patricia Arquette used her Oscar acceptance speech to make some <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/22/patricia-arquette-oscars-speech-equal-pay-women">trenchant comments</a> about equal pay. She received much applause from the audience as she said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all, and equal rights for women in the United States of America… It is time for women. Equal means equal. And the truth is, the older women get, the less money they make.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Her call, and those of many others, has yet to be answered, despite the findings from a recent report which suggested companies with more diverse boards are <a href="http://www.wsj.com/specialcoverage/women-in-the-workplace">more successful</a>.</p>
<h2>A high office of one’s own</h2>
<p>2015 has been a relatively good year for women in politics: we saw more countries being governed by women prime ministers and presidents than ever before. You could be forgiven for not knowing this, however, since a <a href="http://whomakesthenews.org/gmmp/gmmp-reports/gmmp-2015-reports">2015 report</a> revealed that women comprise a mere 16% of people who featured in news stories about politics.</p>
<p>In the run up to the British election in May, it looked like one woman might make up that total by herself – although she wasn’t even standing. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, arguably stole the campaign limelight, infamously being described by Piers Morgan in the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3047165/PIERS-MORGAN-Meet-dangerous-wee-woman-world-ve-never-heard-of.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed">Daily Mail</a> as the “most dangerous wee woman in the world”. </p>
<p>Sturgeon’s triumph was matched by that of Aung San Suu Kyi when her National League for Democracy Party won a landslide victory in Myanmar in November. But unlike Sturgeon, Aung San Suu Kyi has no chance of becoming the country’s ruler because its constitution disallows a contender whose children are citizens of another country: both her sons have British passports.</p>
<p>And despite it being the worst kept secret in the world, it was actually in April this year that Hillary Clinton officially confirmed her bid for the White House – an intention she made public on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N708P-A45D0">YouTube</a> saying: “everyday Americans need a champion. And I want to be that champion.” At the time of writing, her video had been watched nearly 700,000 times with slightly more thumbs up (6,443) than thumbs down (5,450).</p>
<h2>A taxing problem</h2>
<p>In November, the British government announced plans to almost entirely remove the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/20/feminism-axed-a-level-politics-dfe-draft-protest">feminist movement</a> from the politics A-level curriculum save for a throwaway mention of the Suffragettes and mention of one women political thinker (Mary Wollstonecraft).</p>
<p>It was odd timing, coming so quickly after the release of the film <a href="https://theconversation.com/review-suffragette-helps-us-see-why-we-still-need-feminism-today-48797">Suffragette</a>, which is already being tipped for an Oscar and which saw box office receipts of just under £3m in its opening <a href="http://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/film-industry-statistics-research/weekend-box-office-figures">weekend</a>: people are interested in history – and in the women <strong>and</strong> the men who made it.</p>
<p>At more or less the same time, in his spending review speech, chancellor George Osborne <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/nov/25/tampon-tax-15m-womens-charities-george-osborne-spending-review">pledged</a> to use the taxes collected on the ‘non-essential luxury’ of sanitary protection, to support women’s services. He conveniently forgot to mention that those services were now in need of support because he had cut their funding.</p>
<iframe src="https://vine.co/v/eYbF7tEJt2A/embed/simple" width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<p>You can’t help but wonder if he had discussed his big idea with anyone who has a uterus. At least the issue brought us footage of MP Stella Creasy joyfully encouraging one of her male colleagues to <a href="http://www.thedebrief.co.uk/news/politics/mp-forced-to-say-tampon-out-loud-like-an-adult-talking-about-tampons-20151056588">utter the word “tampon”</a> in the House of Commons. </p>
<p>Women are the 51%. We are not going away. We are not going to be silent or silenced. 2015 might not quite have been it, but our year is coming, very soon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52092/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Ross is a member of the Labour Party. </span></em></p>Equal pay didn’t quite happen, nor did the end of the tampon tax. And Aung San Suu Kyi isn’t quite president of Mynamar. But we certainly had a good debate.Karen Ross, Professor of Media, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/504982015-11-13T11:11:17Z2015-11-13T11:11:17ZMore women on company boards, but what about the public sector?<p>There are now no all-male boards in FTSE 100 companies, marking a watershed in women’s representation, according to the launch of the <a href="http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/dinamic-content/research/ftse/FemaleFTSEReportMarch2015.pdf">Female FTSE Board Report 2015</a>. Since the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/31480/11-745-women-on-boards.pdf">Davies Report</a> set a target of 25% of women serving on boards of FTSE 100 companies four years ago, women’s representation has almost doubled. </p>
<p>But the successes of the FTSE 100 are not mirrored in the public sector. Despite a number of government interventions since 2010, representation of women, ethnic minorities and those with disabilities remains challenging to say the least. </p>
<p>In health, although women account for <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/2014/jun/03/nhs-needs-more-women-leaders">77% of the NHS workforce</a> they hold only 37% of board positions. A mere 30% reach the position of chair, compared to 70% of men.</p>
<p>In policing, the picture is even bleaker: the system of elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) introduced in 2012 was driven by the need for greater transparency and public accountability. But the elections resulted in <a href="https://theconversation.com/by-extending-the-remit-of-pccs-the-government-is-playing-with-fire-47909">only six women PCCS compared with 35 men</a>. </p>
<p>Combined with a total lack of representation of ethnic minorities this led to the system <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/home-affairs-committee/news/140505-pcc-rpt-pubn/">being described as a “monoculture”</a>. And it makes the current government plans to extend the remit of PCCs to include all emergency services concerning, to say the least.</p>
<p>In spite of the fact that there are around 22,000 schools in England, governed by an estimated 300,000 volunteer governors, we have no idea how representative these boards are. No statistics have ever been kept.</p>
<p>Since September 1, 2015, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/459032/The_Constitution_of_Governing_Bodies_of_Maintained_Schools_Stat_Guidance....pdf">schools have been required</a> to post certain information regarding their governing body on their websites. The Department for Education is currently looking at ways that this can be made easier, but there is no indication of how this will be monitored or whether diversity data would be gathered at any point. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.bris.ac.uk/sps/policypolitcs/policyandpolitics2015/full-papers/">government’s current emphasis on recruiting people</a> with “business skills” as school governors runs the risk of creating exactly the same issues around <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/drive-to-increase-number-of-women-on-public-boards">diversity as have occurred in corporate public boards</a> – the very same issue that the FTSE 100 project sought to eradicate.</p>
<p>In higher education the outlook appears to be more positive with a fifth of the boards of governing bodies in the UK possessing a 40-60% split between men and women members. <a href="https://www.kpmg.com/UK/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/PDF/Market%20Sector/Education/women-count-leaders-higher-education-2013.pdf">Out of 166 higher education institutions</a> in the UK, women make up 37% of all governing body members. But only 12% of chairs of these boards are women.</p>
<h2>Quotas or no quotas?</h2>
<p>The FTSE report is impressive, not least because it demonstrates what can be achieved without the introduction of quotas. But it also indicates that achieving diversity on boards doesn’t come without hard work and collaboration. </p>
<p>Lack of supply of qualified female candidates is often quoted as a reason for the lack of diversity on public sector boards. An important part of the <a href="http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/ftse">FTSE 100 experience</a> lay in encouraging and supporting the pipeline of women as potential leaders. It carries the additional benefit of encouraging women to fulfil their potential on merit rather than relying on quotas to do the job. </p>
<p>The substantial <a href="http://www.quotaproject.org/aboutQuotas.cfm">body of research into quotas</a> – largely relating to their use in political appointments – has shown that although they act immediately, they also have the potential <a href="http://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/research-programmes/stranded-assets/publications.php">to reinforce the status quo</a>. This is because they recruit a “particular type of candidate”, which then provides too much “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/16/lack-of-diversity-on-boards-of-us-oil-firms-increases-risk-of-bad-investments">group think”</a>. </p>
<p>“Group think” is recognised by psychologists <a href="http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.htm">as being</a> a strong desire for harmony or conformity within a group which can result in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making. In the worst case scenario, members <a href="http://www.corpgov.net/2015/02/groupthink-boardroom-context/">go to extraordinary lengths</a> to minimise conflict by suppressing dissenting viewpoints and isolating themselves from “outside influences”. In the case of boards, the phenomenon is found far more frequently in those that lack diversity in their membership.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/documents/research/rr85_final.pdf">Research suggests</a> that there are also problems in the appointment process: organisations often employ a narrow definition of experience, essentially seeking candidates with prior board or executive experience. This restricts the access of qualified female candidates, whose backgrounds might not fit this narrow profile. </p>
<p>Interpersonal dynamics are often found to play a part, largely in terms of recruiters’ preference for similar candidates and narrow perceptions of who fits and who doesn’t. Social capital and relationships have also been found to be critical and organisations such as <a href="http://www.womenonboards.co.uk/">Women on Boards</a> have been set up to provide formal and informal support through referencing and sponsorship. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101477/original/image-20151110-21214-1bdggbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101477/original/image-20151110-21214-1bdggbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101477/original/image-20151110-21214-1bdggbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101477/original/image-20151110-21214-1bdggbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101477/original/image-20151110-21214-1bdggbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101477/original/image-20151110-21214-1bdggbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101477/original/image-20151110-21214-1bdggbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Good for business.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Monkey Business Images/www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The benefits of a diverse board</h2>
<p>There is little doubt that diversity on boards is a good thing. A recent report by <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/organization/why_diversity_matters">McKinsey</a> argued <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/growth/how_advancing_womens_equality_can_add_12_trillion_to_global_growth">that advancing</a> womens’<a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/features/women_matter">equality could add US$12 trillion to global growth</a>. </p>
<p>Other evidence shows that <a href="http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/bottom-line-corporate-performance-and-womens-representation-boards">companies with mixed boards</a> outperform <a href="http://www.womenonboards.co.uk/resource-centre/selected-reading/why-women-are-good-for-business.htm">those with all male ones</a>. There is also substantial evidence to <a href="http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/b51198804b07d3b2acabad77fcc2938e/Focus9_Women_on_Boards.pdf?MOD=AJPERES">support the fact</a> that women also <a href="http://www.womenonboards.co.uk/resource-centre/selected-reading/articles/women-as-sports-role-models.htm">bring particular skills to the table</a>. </p>
<p>So with the evidence that women on boards increase performance, it’s time the public sector woke up to the benefits of female representation and made a concerted effort to emulate their FTSE counterparts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50498/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
If the FTSE 100 can do it, then the public sector can also wake up to the benefits of female representation.Jacqueline Baxter, Lecturer in Public Policy and Management , The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/459692015-08-14T03:56:51Z2015-08-14T03:56:51ZWomen need to start believing that they’re fabulous – then we’ll start to see change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91620/original/image-20150812-18071-zucopw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This is an unusual sight in business. Women are more likely to sit at the side of the room. The number one rule to be successful is to sit at the table. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Women in 2015 have to admit they are lucky. They don’t live in the world that their mothers or grandmothers lived in where career choices for women were limited. Most have grown up in a world where they have had basic human rights. </p>
<p>But, amazingly, some still don’t have these rights. And women are <a href="http://www.bwasa.co.za/news/bwa-women-in-leadership-census-media-release">still not making it</a> to the top of any profession anywhere in the world. </p>
<p>Why is this still the case?</p>
<p>I would like to challenge every woman and ask: what would you be if you had no fear? To answer this, I will focus on the message from Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s award-winning book <a href="http://leanin.org/book/">Lean In</a>, which is a guide to her success.</p>
<h2>Sit at the table</h2>
<p>Sandberg focuses on, among others, three things women need to do to be successful. Number one is to sit at the table. Women sometimes sit at the side of the room. The problem with this is that it shows what the <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-science-success/201101/the-trouble-bright-girls">research</a> shows: women systematically underestimate their own abilities. </p>
<p>Most importantly, men attribute their success to themselves, and women attribute it to other external factors. If you ask men why they did a good job, they’ll say:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m good. Obviously. Why are you even asking? </p>
</blockquote>
<p>If you ask women why they did a good job, what they’ll say is someone helped them, they got lucky or they worked really hard.</p>
<p>Women need to remember that no-one gets to the corner office by sitting on the side (not at the table). No-one gets the promotion if they don’t think they deserve their success, or if they don’t even understand their own success.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/EDI-01-2014-0003">Research</a> shows that success and likeability are positively correlated for men and negatively correlated for women. So, women need to remind themselves that they are fabulous. They need to believe in themselves and negotiate for themselves. They need to own their own success.</p>
<h2>Heidi versus Howard</h2>
<p>A famous Harvard Business School <a href="http://academicarchive.snhu.edu/handle/10474/2484">study</a> highlights the challenges women face simply because they are women. A woman named Heidi Roizen worked for a company in Silicon Valley and used her contacts to become a very successful venture capitalist. </p>
<p>A case study was written about her success. In 2002, a professor at Columbia University gave the case study to two groups of students. In one version he had changed Heidi Roizen’s name to Howard Roizen. Changing “Heidi” to “Howard”, it turned out, made a really big difference. </p>
<p>The responses from the students was instructive. The good news was that the students, both men and women, thought Heidi and Howard were equally competent. The bad news was that everyone liked Howard. He was a great guy, the kind you would want to work for and spend the day fishing. When it came to Heidi they were less sure.</p>
<p>This is the complication. We live in a world in which daughters are told that to be successful they will have to sacrifice. It is not the advice meted out to their brothers.</p>
<p>Sandberg’s second idea is to make your partner a real partner. </p>
<p>If a woman works full time and has a child and her partner is not a real partner, she will do twice the amount of work if she does all the housework and three times the amount if she does all the childcare than her partner does. She gets to do two or possibly three jobs, while her partner gets to do one. This is avoided only if your partner is a “real partner”.</p>
<h2>Don’t lean back</h2>
<p>Sandberg’s third message is: don’t leave before you leave. When woman are starting to lean back they do not look for a promotion or to take on a new project. Women are focused on other needs and not their work far too early, and “leave” before they actually leave.</p>
<p>In South Africa, a study published last year on the factors influencing career <a href="http://www.sajems.org/index.php/sajems/issue/view/53">success in business</a> showed that family responsibility and the lack of appropriate role models and mentors were the most prominent barriers to career success. Numbers may not soon change at the top.</p>
<p>This generation won’t get to the point where women are at the top of any industry. But I’m hopeful that future generations can.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45969/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Miemie Struwig does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Women need to start believing in themselves to be successful. Men own their success but women attribute it to external factors. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg learned this a while back.Miemie Struwig, Professor and Director, School of Management Sciences, Nelson Mandela UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/439242015-07-13T20:19:23Z2015-07-13T20:19:23ZOutdated views shut entrepreneurial women out of capital markets<p>Despite considerable success in the international arena, many female entrepreneurs still struggle to raise capital. New research suggests that lenders may have an outdated concept of what an entrepreneur looks like. </p>
<p>We recently <a href="http://www.wigb.gov.au/women-global-trade-and-what-it-takes-to-succeed-2015.html">surveyed</a> 416 Australian female businesswomen, and complemented the survey with focus groups.</p>
<p>Of survey participants, 183 were female business owner-operators – what most of us would call entrepreneurs. We found that over a third (35%) of these female entrepreneurs who operated internationally had recorded sales growth of more than 40% over the previous 12 months. </p>
<p>The growth is even higher among those female owned and operated businesses that had internationalised in the past five years, with 52% reporting sales climbed by more than 40% in the past year. Employment growth paralleled sales growth, indicating promising gains for the Australian economy.</p>
<p>There was, understandably, a strong appetite for more growth. Most of these entrepreneurs (74%) were looking to expand the number of countries in which they operated in the near future. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, our data point to some substantial constraints to these internationalisation ambitions, which we view as a possible handbrake on future growth of the Australian economy. The most significant is shortcomings – and possible discrimination – in the Australian capital markets.</p>
<p>As this is the second time we have run this survey (see a discussion of the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266613695_Australia%27s_Underestimated_Resource_Women_Doing_Business_Globally">initial report</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-women-go-overseas-to-escape-the-glass-ceiling-14797">here</a>), we were able to track some respondents from year to year. </p>
<p>Of the women in our first survey who indicated an intention to expand, 60% did so. This longitudinal panel also allowed us to track changes in perceptions of barriers over the past 12 months. Internationalisation should become easier over time for any given businesswoman through experiential learning, mentoring, support networks and the like. </p>
<p>However, this wasn’t the case for many. Over half (52%) of the entrepreneurs reported “lack of alternative sources of capital” was a greater barrier to their international expansion than it had been 12 months earlier. </p>
<p>So how do female entrepreneurs fund their start-ups and their expansion?</p>
<p>Most women we surveyed rely primarily on personal savings and reinvested profits to fund expansion. Only 21% of the entrepreneurs we surveyed had attempted to borrow to fund internationalisation. Of these attempts, only 27% were successful. A tiny proportion (4%) of the owner-operators who are yet to internationalise have tried to borrow to fund international business opportunities. None have been successful.</p>
<p>We asked the 78% of internationally-engaged owner-operators, and 96% of not-international owner-operators who had not sought funds for international business expansion why this was the case. </p>
<p>Around a quarter of these women (23% of the internationally-engaged, 28% of the not internationally engaged) said they were discouraged by an inadequate track record or insufficient security. An additional 17% of internationally engaged owner-operators viewed the risk of such borrowing as too high.</p>
<p>The sophistication of Australia’s banking system, and our low cost of capital relative to many emerging economies, should be a source of advantage to Australian entrepreneurs. </p>
<p>Despite weathering the GFC relatively unscathed, Australia’s institutions appear excessively conservative and risk averse. Among the internationally-engaged female entrepreneurs, 23% rated the level of ease in accessing finance for international expansion as very difficult, and 32% assessed it difficult. Only 2% graded it as very easy, and 8% as easy.</p>
<p>Slightly more than a third of owner-operators (36% for both the internationalised and not-yet-internationalised groups) claimed financial institutions did not offer an environment in which they felt at ease discussing their financing needs. </p>
<p>Around half the respondents advocated better information about funding options available to entrepreneurs. Many also called for simpler processes and streamlined paperwork, and for lenders to explore offering more flexible loan terms. </p>
<p>Many female owner-operators appealed for more face-to-face contact with lenders and consistency of personnel, and for financial institutions to employ staff who better understand running a business. </p>
<h2>Lenders and gender</h2>
<p>Almost two fifths (39%) of the internationally active entrepreneurs felt their gender made a difference to their access to finance. This number was considerably higher (52%) for those who were yet to internationalise. </p>
<p>Of the internationally active female entrepreneurs, 62% are more than 50 years of age – certainly not the stereotypical entrepreneur, who is typically depicted as an assertive, outspoken young man.</p>
<p>However, the banks might want to consider what they’re missing out on.</p>
<p>As debtors, these entrepreneurs are safer bets than most. The women in this entrepreneurial group are very well-educated (78% hold a bachelor degree or higher). They have more life and business experience than their junior competitors and 50% have international business experience, typically for five or more years.</p>
<p>In focus group discussions, a number of the owner-operators pointed the finger not just at lending institutions, but also the regulatory constraints on other potential funding sources such as superannuation and managed funds. </p>
<p>Tellingly, venture capitalists and angel investors were almost completely absent from any funding arrangements. Most of these start-ups were solely owned, or partnerships with spouses and long-term partners. </p>
<p>Without a more proactive capital market that recognises the promise of female entrepreneurs (whatever their age), Australia’s international business performance will be constrained.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43924/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>André Sammartino undertook this research in conjunction with Women in Global Business (WIGB), a national program that supports Australian businesswomen in taking their products and services to the world. WIGB is funded by the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) and delivered in partnership with Australia’s state and territory governments. Dr Sammartino received no payment from WIGB for this research.</span></em></p>Female entrepreneurs still face substantial barriers to international expansion, including perceived discrimination in the Australian capital markets – and that may limit Australia’s economic growth.Andre Sammartino, Senior Lecturer in International Business & Strategic Management, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.