women in the workplace.

/ kicasino

In recent years, we have begun to witness a surge in the number of women entering & holding high-power positions & entrepreneurial roles on the global stage. *’bout damn time, amirite!?*

As Sallie Krawcheck (CEO & founder of Ellevest) writes in an article included in her #BigIdeas2016 series “We’re Entering the Golden Age of Female Entrepreneurship – and It’ll be Amazing,” women are finally breaking through that glass ceiling & making their professional mark on the world. In this article, Krawcheck outlines a few outstanding reasons why we are experiencing this influx of female empowerment:

  • Start-ups with female leadership teams have been PROVEN to yield more success than companies run by all-male teams.
    • First Round Capital (a venture capital firm that specialises in providing seed-stage funding for tech companies) published a study that revealed that female teams perform 63% better than all-male leadership.
  • If you haven’t realised, we’re like actually surrounded by a hoard of brilliant women (what a concept, right?)
    • Aside from all of the incredible women that have graced “the Industry,” the business world has been hiding some real gems in the copy room. Here are some greats: Sara Blakely (founder of Spanx), Anne Wojcicki (CEO of 23andMe), Jessica Alba (The Honest Company co-founder), Julie Wainwright (of The Real Real), & seriously so many others.
  • There is (finally) a growing environment in which female entrepreneurs are actually being supported – even admired.
    • While there are some official networks that financially, etc. support women-owned businesses, there is a recognition that women supporting women in the workforce is just as important of a network. We no longer live in a world in which there is one seat at the table for a woman in corporate America. Those days are long gone.
  • The decreasing cost of technology & other business-y things.
    • The landscape of labour is changing – that’s just the way of the world now. Consultants are being hired. Freelancers are replacing full-time, benefit-sucking employees. Outsourcing & videoconfrencing are replacing face-to-face meetings in locations with soul-crushing leases. Making the workplace more affordable has opened the door for women to finally walk through.
  • The entrepreneurial spirit transcends age.
    • Entrepreneurship has become an equal opportunity opportunity. You don’t have to be twenty to have a start-up, yo.
  • It has been made significantly easier to obtain funding for female entrepreneurs.
    • One word: crowdfunding. Nuff said. No, but there’s also this growth in women-focused crowdfunding venues, for-women loans, and tax breaks for women-owned corporations. The times, they are a’changin’.

The impact? MORE BUSINESS GOING ON IN THE WORLD. We’re just now starting to climb out of our abysmal economic past, & these businesses are only going to help. They will create jobs, inject more money into the economy, & be run by competent, skilled individuals, who just happen to be women. And guess what? The world is not going to end. #progress