We have often heard the quote, "Change is the only constant of life!" and the evolution of women in business is a mere example of it.
We are in the 21st century and have lived through many documentaries of the lives of women worldwide. Their struggles and win over the superimposing patriarchal system and their unfathomable belief to bring a change are widely evident. With a plate of unequal opportunities, women have come a long way from not knowing how to be something to becoming inspirations to many. Many women have plunged to start their ventures, and many are successfully running theirs. It wasn't a long time back when they started clawing their ways to leave a mark in every field they have entered. Today women stand neck-to-neck with men, taking every daunting task to hand and conquering it. This is indeed the time to proudly look at how women have fared compared to their male counterparts.
Benefits of Women in Business
In the last two decades, there has been a huge growth in the percentage of women in businesses. They seem to offer the perfect balance to the dynamics of all-male businesses. Here is what they bring to the table:
1. Diversity and Creativity
Women's extraordinary experience in life and work is undeniable. They employ different strategies to find solutions to everyday problems. Their innate observation and evaluated opinions make them super creative individuals. They do not submit to the pressure of the challenges and provide unrushed perspectives to the case. Probably this quality helps the organization make comprehensive and informed decisions when a female member is a part of the board of executives.
Research reveals that companies with female executives get about 60 percent more funding. Such companies also get better valuations.
2. Excellent Soft Skills and the Will to Convince
Businesses today thrive because of the attitude and interpersonal skills of the leaders. Don't we value companies with people who are not just excellent communicators but also emotionally intelligent? Research tells us that when top-level management showcases behavior like empathy, integrity and positivity, they convince clients and investors better while also surging the profits to over 5% pa.
Women's different backgrounds and experiences make them beat men in interpersonal skills like conflict management, flexibility, self-awareness, and teamwork. There are many examples of women-owned businesses that are doing excellent today.
3. Significant Consumer Insights
Women account for almost 80 percent of consumer purchases, but only a few percent are a part of the marketing industry. We can say that women are undervalued when it comes to advertising and promotion of products, whereas they hold much power in terms of female consumer awareness. We must remember that every individual has a unique set of knowledge and experience, and businesses become profitable with gender diversity. Hence, women should not be left out because they offer significant consumer insights.
The Uphill Work
Women-in-business trends have normalized for now, but the challenges have always been many. Let's get a hold of some.
1. The Stereotyped Conviction
Women have excelled in many fields, but if you look at the workforce in sectors like science and technology, you will see how underrepresented women are! The US only has about 24% women in its overall industries population, while the UK doesn't even touch a 15% mark.
For generations, our stereotyped convictions have put women to pursue only accessible sectors like home science or teachership, barring them from choosing hard science. Gladly, times are changing, and women like Laxmi Agarwal(the acid attack survivor who did not let her situations control her) and Tamanna Sharma are inspiring women in shattering the glass ceiling. As a result, women are venturing into the fields of engineering, aeronautics, sustainability and other fields to close the gender gap.
2. The Judgemental Perception
Women have been judged quite too often for pursuing their passion, thinking out of the box, and being an exception. People question ambitious women; they even subconsciously practice bias at the workplace. Successful women are asked about work-life integration that their male counterparts do not. This difference in perception of talents and behavior poses a great challenge to women as they head on to make their careers as entrepreneurs.
3. The Inadvertent Hesitation
Because of biases that women-in-business face early on, they always hesitate to ask for better pay even when they know they deserve it. Women seldom negotiate when it comes to taking on a new role, and even when they do, most of them are turned down, which isn't the case with men. Men are more confident to vision themselves in leadership positions, whereas women underestimate themselves. Women, especially black women, suffer from the impostor syndrome and doubt their skills even when successful. Such a challenge requires us to support women in conquering the playing field and closing the wage gap.
Evolution Of Women with Changing Times
The women-in-business trend is here and will be here for the time to come. The reason is women in power are putting their success stories out to the world and inspiring other women to follow suit. Women are revealing their entrepreneurial instincts and mentoring others to move forward. They are creating their networks and tracking opportunities coming their way. They have already established themselves in many roles, and especially in business, they tend to prove very important for the organization. There are many facts that women entrepreneurs know better than men as a result of their experience. They help avoid risk and take calculated moves in the company's important decisions. This is how women are leading businesses from the forefront and are proving to be as competitive as men.
In such times, women need to be pushed to the paths of success and given lead roles. When women grow, the whole civilization grows. Moreover, this time is ripe for women to flourish in their careers and take the legacy ahead. Don't you think that's the only way forward?
We, at OpenGrowth, are committed to keeping you updated with the best content on the latest trendy topics from any major field. Also, both your feedback and suggestions are valuable to us. So, do share them in the comment section below.
