Comments on: A Genuine Question: Where are the Women?

By: Melissa Richer

Melissa Richer — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 23:03:04 +0000

PS THe correct link for the wsj article is http://online.wsj.com/search/term.html?KEYWORDS=S...

By: Melissa Richer

Melissa Richer — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:38:48 +0000

Teju, you raise a great point that has been on my mind for months. You are right that about a third end up being women – I was one of 8 out of 30 finalists at Echoing Green who were female, for instance. Not to open up a can of worms but I do think part of the reason has to do with gender norms in our culture. I do notice that it is harder for me to sell to funders than it is for men, and I'm not alone. A fantastic book on this subject (Women Don't Ask) has a telling quote: "although women now own about 40% of all businesses in the US, they receive only 2.3% of the avialble equity capital needed for growth–male-owned companies receive the other 97.7%" (admittedly this stat is out of date, but not TOO out of date). About 9 months ago I realized that almost all Ayllu's advisers are male. I also noticed that many of the funders I talked to were male, and sometimes I didn't feel like I could be 'male' enough and that I was at a disadvantage. There are definitely behavior norms that make it harder for women to present themselves than for men (whether these are learned by women or just expected by society). Many of my peer women social entrepreneurs feel the same. There was an excellent article in WSJ last May about how women don't shoot as high as men, and this can be really limiting for their companies (http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748704688604575125543191609632.html). Women Don't Ask says women should not copy male behavior, but have to learn to be more effective in a feminine way. It's a really interesting idea; I wonder if it is something you can investigate as a possible workshop for the women in next year's institute.

- Melissa Richer

By: Jalak

Jalak — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 22:55:06 +0000

in my experience women have always been entrepreneurial, especially after working in careers that don't offer flexibility. however, as a vc, i am seeing an increasing number of women looking for venture funding and think the key is to ensure they have the same access to capital that their male counterparts do — and as a funder, i do what i can to help educate ALL entrepreneurs about the process and make sure that women are included in the conversation. this is not about preferential treatment, but awareness that existing networks aren't always the most inclusive (on many different fronts, not just gender).

By: Kanoe Naone

Kanoe Naone — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:34:05 +0000

Great analysis and article. I concur with Simone. You need at least one woman on your team. The way decisions are made and what decisions get made will be positively impacted by having women as full participants. Love your site.

By: Katie Corner

Katie Corner — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:51:13 +0000

"Considering this information, it would seem that it’s not the quality of women or their drive as entrepreneurs that keeps them from participation in the field, but something else"

I've been conducting research on women in the College of Engineering at CU for over 6 months now, and many of our findings relate to the themes in this post. To help answer the question above, it may very well be a possibility that women (even the most talented) self-select out of the entrepreneur option. Literature notes that when women pick careers, work-life balance tends to be one of the strongest motivators in their selection. Thus, given the stereotypes often associated with the early years of start-ups, it seems possible that active avoidance could be part of the story. That is at least some of what we have been finding for why some of the most talented women leave engineering. Food for thought.

By: SaraJoy

SaraJoy — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:48:49 +0000

My response was too long for a comment--read it here: http://blog.thetippingbucket.org/2010/02/23/seein...

By: Katie

Katie — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:04:57 +0000

Thanks for your honesty in this article. I feel ya. I founded a non profit, More than Me, and we try to be intentional about having an eclectic board and "staff." It hasn't been easy, not sure how successful we have been, but we have it in mind and are on our way.

Loved this encouraging article, thanks again!!

Katie

By: Simone Brummelhuis

Simone Brummelhuis — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:58:24 +0000

Thanks for your request, how to encourage involvement and participation of women:
1. really, get more than 1 woman on your team
2. actively search for women entrepreneur examples
3. encourage women entrepreneurs to submit for the finalist marketplace

Happy to help btw, we have portraited female internet heroes for 1,5 years now.