An extract from Debbie Wosskow on women entrepreneurs.
We’ve been speaking about gender equality for decades and, frankly, still haven’t got nearly far enough. I could go on to list the many challenges women still face both at work and at home, but one area that links the two is entrepreneurship – and the difference between how female, and male entrepreneurs are treated.
It’s a frustrating fact that female entrepreneurs are much less likely to get the funding they need on a practical level. For every £1 invested in UK businesses, just 2p goes to female led businesses. Yes, women are much more likely to put limitations on themselves whether through lack of confidence, societal age bias that disproportionately affects women, or an ingrained stereotype that they need to take on the vast majority of childcare. But it’s time to stop talking so much about what’s wrong with women, and instead what need to change with the investment industry.
Not only do we urgently need to change this status quo for the sake of gender equality, we need to change it for economic benefit. If women had the funding to start businesses at the same rate as men, we could unlock a huge £250 billion for the UK economy. Start-ups and scale ups founded by women are known to deliver 35% better returns than male led ones, so it’s a no brainer for investors too.
There are some systemic changes necessary to address this. I founded my first business 25 years ago, but my success in securing investment shouldn’t be unusual. It’s why I’m so proud to be Co-Chair of the new Invest in Women Taskforce alongside Hannah Bernard, Head of Business Banking at Barclays. We’re setting out to drive this change at both a public and private sector level with a laser focus on funding: to make the UK the best place in the world to be a female entrepreneur.
While I’m going to be doing everything within my power to change these structural issues, there are some unpalatable truths we all need to face too. Here are seven of my own, and my take on how we might deal with them.
Starting your own business takes a lot of commitment, hard work and self-discipline. The easier you can make it for yourself to stick to what you have promised yourself you would do, the better. Find your reason: why are you doing what you are doing? It might be that you want to show your kids what’s possible. It might be that you are passionate about the solution your business brings. It might that you like making money (side note: let’s not shy away from saying that just because we’re women). But whatever it is, it has to be enough to keep you going through the darker times that will inevitably come.
Not just for the corporate girlies.
Women are funded less than men. Plain and simple.
Less than 2% of VC funding goes to businesses owned by women, and just 11% of VC investment committees include a woman. On top of that, almost a third (29%) of women who have raised over a £1 million in funding said that their gender put them at a disadvantage.
Yes, women are not good at asking for money, and it’s especially daunting going into a room full of men to do it. But, like I said before, that’s because the system doesn’t support them – so let’s focus on that instead. It’s why we’ve got to get more female angels – people who invest their own money – as women are more likely to back women. Ultimately, if you know your business case, it shouldn’t matter if you’re asking a man or a woman. But if we’re going to change the root of the problem and get more female led businesses off the ground, we need more than a measly 14% of UK Angel investors to be women.
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As a female entrepreneur, you need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s unlikely that we’ll have the same access to professional networks and opportunities that our male contemporaries will. Without creating these support systems, business growth is unlikely.
The good news is there are lots of organisations that are very willing to help. I founded AllBright for this reason, and Barclays Eagle Labs was set up to support entrepreneurs on a pastoral level with mentorship and networking programmes as well as to connect private investors with businesses that need an injection of cash.
Find one that works for you and your business and accept that being out of your comfort zone is only a good thing.
The UK could unlock so much potential if it enabled women to continue their careers after having children or going through the menopause. According to online women’s health hub The Better Menopause, a quarter of women hitting the menopause want to leave the workforce because of it, and, when 75% of those over the age of 45 experience symptoms, this can become quite the problem not only for the women themselves but for productivity levels too.
But most businesses are unaware of the challenges female health brings. Be sure to have open conversations about health — part of this as an entrepreneur is setting boundaries and being prepared to say no when you need to.
Female entrepreneurs must navigate work while managing external expectations. Society encourages women to pursue goals rooted in nurturing people. We’re told that everything hangs on getting married and being a good wife, then having kids and being a good mother. After that, it’s retiring early to be a good grandmother. Newsflash – you can have all these things and build your own business.
In fact, it’s one of great benefits of being self-employed: you can operate on your own clock. But you must take time for yourself, whatever that looks like or you’ll burn out fast. Be realistic and set a personal routine that works for you, and when the work or ‘mum guilt’ sets in, you have to silence the criticism of yourself or you’ll end up beaten.
Finding your political voice at nineteen is not easy, particularly if you’re a woman.
There’s no two ways about it: society glorifies youth. Don’t let this bias stop you! It’s never too late to start a business – the older you are the more life experience you have and the more contacts you will have built, even without realising.
Plus, the odds are in your favour – a 50-year-old founder is twice as likely to build a business to IPO or exit as a 30-year old founder.
Systemic bias persists, and ingrained attitudes are built around men. Women in business frequently find themselves having to prove their worth to a greater extent than men do and it’s not a huge surprise that they are just innately more confident: just 35% of women felt confident enough to start their own business, compared to 55% of men.
But in reality, you’ve just got to fake it ‘til you make it. Embrace your self-worth and don’t let imposter syndrome take over.
All of these may feel quite uncomfortable to read, but there is so much to be hopeful and optimistic about. Acknowledging that our journey as female entrepreneurs is challenging does not make us weak – it makes us strong. We must build each other up, but we must also confront the ugly truth that these challenges extend far beyond the self-imposed ones.
Female entrepreneurs have enormous potential. It’s all well and good saying to a woman that she should have the confidence to start her business, but if she can’t get the money then it’s all a moot point. That’s why the Invest in Women Taskforce will create the biggest funding pot in the world for female entrepreneurs, push the importance of micro funding and encourage more women to become angel investors too. Backed by the government, it will also hold policymakers to account.
With women supporting women, we’re a force to be reckoned with, and everyone will reap the benefits.
