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SOMETHING LIGHT
Girl Power
#girlonthestreet:
Globally, statistics show that women are more likely to start businesses than men. In a 2018 research by SCORE, it was found that 47% of female respondents started businesses in that year, compared to 44% of male respondents. In Ghana, 46.4% of businesses are owned by women, and in the U.S, four out of every ten businesses are owned by women.
The fact is that women in business are visible and thriving. Perhaps it is because of our innate ability to multi- task, or our nurturing spirits, whatever the case, it is clear that women in business are present and unrelenting. Despite this triumph for female representation in business, the sad reality is that female entrepreneurs experience twice as much hardship as their male counterparts in different regards.
In a 2018 report by Business Daily, challenges such as, defying social expectations, struggling to be taken seriously, owning accomplishments, building a support network, balancing business and family life, coping with the fear of failure, and limited access to funding were highlighted by some
leading female CEOs as key challenges for women in business. The issue of access to funding in particular poses a real threat to female business owners. According to renowned researcher Andrea Stojanović, women who own small businesses are 43% more likely than men to be concerned about limited access to money affecting their companies, and woman-led businesses receive less venture capital than businesses led by men (one reason may be that only 9% of VCs globally are women).
The gap in funding means more women are unable to expand their businesses in the same trajectory as their male counterparts and have to experience steeper difficulties to ensure business sustenance in harsh economies. Even beyond funding gaps, the discrimination faced by many businesswomen because of their gender is costly and stifling. In some industries (like Oil and Gas, Finance, or Engineering, or the STEM industries), male-led businesses are given preference over female-led businesses because of the bias
that the male-driven business 'has the capacity' to handle projects in that particular field. Even when women are entrusted
with such large-scale projects and contracts, they are constantly scrutinized and questioned. Ironically, female entrepreneurs are more sought out in more stereotypical lifestyle industries (like fashion and food) as opposed to the male-owned businesses in these fields, which is commendable but limiting.
PAGE 8 INSIDE ACCESS | SEPTEMBER 2020 1ST EDITION