The need for gender parity at work has been a priority across the world for quite a few years now. It even forms one of the core objectives of global SDGs. Despite increased efforts and growing numbers, the gender gap is showing no sign of closing anytime soon. Just like in workplaces, presence of women in the world’s entrepreneur community is lagging considerably – out of America’s 500 top grossing companies, only 37 or just 7.6% are led by a woman, found Fortune in 2020.
Encouraging, supporting and celebrating women entrepreneurs will help provide the much-needed boost and bridge the global gender gap faster. To do that, business and national leaders from all sectors should forego tokenism and empower female entrepreneurs by doing these six simple practical things.
- Promote them on social media
The ever-present social media became more impactful in the aftermath of the pandemic. Small businesses are thriving due to positive feedback and publicity on social media. You can promote local, small businesses owned by women on social media by featuring their products or them on your posts, commenting on their feeds and tagging important people from your circle, who might be interested in their business.
- Review a women-owned business that you like
This one is pretty simple, just visit sites like Yelp, Facebook, Google and write a positive review about your favorite small business run by women. Make sure the review is genuine and states all the good points about the business in detail while mentioning the real reasons behind giving the five-star rating. A good review can be instrumental in tilting the balance towards a purchase.
- Mentor a female entrepreneur
Mentorship is extremely valuable for all entrepreneurs and more so for female players. By donating a few hours of your time to directly help and support a female entrepreneur, you can assist in launching their business or take their business to the next level successfully.
- Host a networking meet for women entrepreneurs
It can be a simple virtual meet, a small gathering at evening tea or an elaborate luncheon – play the honorable host to a clan of budding and established female entrepreneurs. By bringing them together, you will help them connect, collaborate and support each other in different ways. Many women entrepreneurs lack formal education or practical experience – such meetings and networking events can provide invaluable knowledge and advice to help them prosper better.
- Buy from female owned businesses
This one is pretty obvious – the simplest way to boost a business is to become its customer. By being conscious about buying products and services from women-owned businesses, you will not only boost their business but also spread the awareness to others. Also, make sure you talk about it during professional or personal interactions or may be even share a social media post – that will inspire others to adopt this practice.
- Join an organization that supports women entrepreneurs
There are many networking organizations that work for helping and supporting women entrepreneurs. By joining such an organization, you can help a number of women entrepreneurs from a single platform. Also, when you become a member of such an organization, you can extend your expertise in different fields to women entrepreneurs. It is especially important that more male leaders and executives come forward as a facilitator of such an organization to effectively bridge the gender divide.
