Supplementary article to Course 1: Does failure feel the same for men and women?
It’s no secret what an impact failure has on our society. For many of us, it’s a taboo and embarrassing subject that we’d rather not address. Even though it’s part of our human nature, it carries a very negative connotation. And there are certain areas where failure carries even greater weight, such as the workplace or the world of entrepreneurship.
From the moment we are born, we are assigned a gender, and with it come different expectations, social roles, and prejudices. While men are expected to be high-performing, assertive, and strong, women are expected to be tender, gentle, and diligent.
Rather than being professionals or academics, we are expected to be exemplary mothers and perfect wives. Failure, though universal, is harsher on us women, who have been systematically led to believe that we must earn our place in the professional and entrepreneurial world, and that failure is a sign that perhaps we shouldn’t be there in the first place. This leads us to ask: Is a man’s startup different from a woman’s?
In this article, we will explore the differences between male- and female-led startups and the challenges they face in the professional world. We will also discuss some key steps for taking action and addressing these issues.
Differences and obstacles in numbers
To better understand the challenges we face, we first need to take a look at the figures that highlight these differences.
According to the World Bank, there is a gender gap in entrepreneurship across all the world’s economies. Women account for one-quarter of new business owners and executives, while men account for three-quarters of these positions.
As for sole proprietors, the number is higher, but not higher than for men: one-third of women versus two-thirds of men. However, these are businesses considered low-risk and low-profit.
In recent years, between 2014 and 2020, these figures have changed, with the percentage of women who are sole business owners increasing by two percentage points, thanks to countries such as Benin, Guinea, and Rwanda. However, this is not enough.
On this side of the world, in Latin America, one of the biggest differences among women-led startups lies in the economic sphere. In the region, in 2021, only 5% of startup founding teams were composed entirely of women. And within this context, there is a phenomenon known as the “Missing Middle.”
This phenomenon refers to the gap in capital allocated to finance small and medium-sized enterprises. This lack of support stems from the fact that certain startups are considered too small to attract the attention of private capital. In Latin America, 73% of women-led SMEs do not obtain sufficient capital to drive their business growth or are excluded from financial institutions.
Many of these issues—such as low participation and a lack of funding—stem from the mistaken belief that certain industries (the most well-funded ones) are exclusively for men.
In México, it is known that 62% of companies founded by women are in the consumer sector, 10.5% in the industrial sector, and 4.8% in the technology sector. In contrast, for men, these percentages are 47.7%, 22.5%, and 7.5%, respectively.
These trends in male-dominated industries are evident in academic circles, which influences women’s choices regarding college majors.
And although the number of mixed-gender founding teams at startups in Latin America has increased by 10% since 2019, there is still a long way to go.
From Frustration to Action
Although all these figures may be somewhat discouraging, we believe it is important to channel that frustration into action. Our Mujeres Sin Filtro project Mujeres Sin Filtro build communities focused on solving these issues and creating safe spaces for sharing and growth.
Vincent Speranza, CEO of Endeavor México a board member of Endeavor Latin America, suggested (oh, the irony) a very interesting solution to Forbes: promoting success stories of women entrepreneurs and encouraging more and more women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
We believe it is definitely important to share stories about women in entrepreneurship and academia in science and technology; however, the approach we propose is different.
It is important to create safe spaces for sharing and being vulnerable. The (few) models of success that are accepted in the professional world need to be redefined, so that failure is seen not as a weakness but as a strength necessary for normalizing the margin of error.
This could directly address many harmful gender biases, which give rise to problems starting at the university level, where the myth of "masculinized" or "feminized" fields begins to take hold.
What if a female entrepreneur in the tech industry shared her story of failure and vulnerability? What impact would it have on a young college student who is hesitant to pursue a STEM major out of fear of failure?
We need more women in top-tier careers and major industries. Entrepreneurship in these fields presents a tremendous opportunity to level the playing field in terms of funding, teams, and salaries.
How can we be part of that change? Community and sisterhood hold the answer.
Sisterhood and Community
In México, according to the Intercontinental University, 17.8% of businesses founded by women are unique in the market. This gives us an idea of the potential for women’s entrepreneurship, and to tap into that potential, more confidence and investment are needed.
Entrepreneur magazine suggests a number of steps needed to address the problem of low investment:
- Develop flexible financial services tailored to the capital needs of women entrepreneurs.
- Develop financial education programs for obtaining loans.
- Provide consulting services for women entrepreneurs with a gender perspective.
- Create opportunities for women to start their own businesses.
- To build support networks for women to strengthen their projects and empower them.
We find these last points particularly interesting, as we also believe that spaces for learning and community are essential. And these are closely linked to sisterhood—that bond among women that allows us to form alliances, share experiences, and change our reality.
Feminist psychologist and activist Daniela Olaiz says that's the key.
“We women must forge this bond of sisterhood among ourselves; we must offer each other unconditional support to build a community, because we cannot make it on our own.”
Among the exclusive 3% of female CEOs at the top companies on the Fortune 500 list, a phenomenon entirely different from Impostor Syndrome is at play.
The "Queen Bee Syndrome, " a term coined by psychologists, occurs when women in leadership positions who have achieved professional success deny the existence of gender discrimination, surround themselves with men, and attribute their professional success to their own merits. This stems from a fear that their achievements will be devalued if they acknowledge the existence of a sexist system.
This syndrome also leads women to adopt masculine and macho behaviors and attitudes in order to maintain their status in leadership roles. There is also a lack of flexibility, and asking for help is rare, due to a constant fear of appearing weak and out of control.
In the face of these threats, the community and spaces that foster sisterhood are both important and necessary.
The future of women's entrepreneurship and the solutions it offers require our unique gender perspective. We have the opportunity to take the reins and drive change through vulnerability and transparency to make a difference in gender equality.
References:
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/431255#:~:text=%2C%20Standby...-,Estudio%3A%20El%2073%25%20de%20las%20PyMEs%20en%20Latinoam%C3%A9rica%20que%20son,el%20desarrollo%20de%20sus%20empresas
https://www.forbes.com.mx/brecha-de-genero-solo-5-de-las-startups-en-latam-son-fundadas-por-mujeres/
https://www.uic.mx/mujeres-emprendedoras-mexicanas-cambian-mundo/
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