What Does it Mean to be a Female Business Leader

empowering businesswomen

Written by Jessica Beeson Tocco 

Recently, while putting together a response for a publication that evaluates female chief executive officers (CEO) and entrepreneurs, I was startled to learn the following:

  • only 32% of Chief Executives in the United States are women
  • the average age of all CEOs is 51 years old
  • only 1% of the United States workforce is actually a “chief executive.”

This means that, if you are female chief executive, you are only 32% of the 1% of CEOs!

Globally, only 19% of women hold a chief executive title. This comes after a 5% growth rate since 2019. Another staggering statistic shows that, globally, 76% percent of the elderly population believes that women can be capable leaders, while only 72% of millennials believe this. How can it be that this generation is going backwards?!

Worldwide, woman owned businesses are funded $300billion less than male owned. According to the World Economic Forum, woman owned businesses are systematically underfunded and, if equally funded, could add 26% to the global GDP. One reason for this is that women are not significantly represented in the investor class, amounting to only 20% of institutional investors.

Therefore, as a female in a male dominated industry… and an entrepreneur at that… I ask myself … “What’s a girl to do?”

Well, for starters, support each other… And empower each other as women.

One of the most famous female world leaders, Mother Theresa, who founded the Missionaries of Charity – serving 4,000 facilities for impoverished people worldwide – taught us, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.”

As women, we do not have to look hard to find others around us who need empowerment. Our sisters, daughters, friends, colleagues, and neighbors will do just fine.

Who should we empower as women?

We should empower every woman that will let us support them – and we should meet them where they are at – finding something in common and a way to empower them individually. As Mother Theresa also said, “A simple smile is an act of love,” and spreading positivity everywhere we go is a simple way to start empowering other women.

Eighty percent of Americans in the workforce wish that they had a mentor today. Employees who have mentors are five times more likely to be promoted. 87% of those who have mentors at work feel empowered on a daily basis.

Even with the staggering statistics that show the need for formal career mentoring, only 27% of businesses in the USA actually implement these programs. Only 26% of managers in the USA say that they are even focused on employee development. Just 5% of American companies have any type of formal leadership program at all.

Therefore, we cannot wait for our businesses to take action, we must take action with the women around us to build each other up and progress together in the workforce. Don’t wait for someone to empower to be chosen for you; look around your circle and focus on who you know and how you can help them advance alongside you.

When should we empower other women?

Every day, in everything we do, we are given the opportunity to empower other women, even when we do not know it. Take the NBA and WNBA for example – the NBA makes $10b in revenue, while the WNBA only makes $200M. This means that the highest paid NBA player makes over $50M, while the highest paid WNBA player makes over $200K per year. The average salary of a WNBA player is less than 10% of that of an NBA player. We can all say that sexism, but the truth is, that the pay scales of the players are driven by organizational revenue, which is driven by viewership.

Last year, the NBA had over 1.59 million viewers, and 31% or 492,000 were women. Meanwhile, the WNBA had only 500,000 viewers, and 44% or 220,000 were women. Imagine if that 492,000 female viewers changed to the WNBA?! Both leagues would have about the same amount of viewership, which would lead to equal pay. Literally, you can empower other women at home by watching women’s sports! There is always a time and a way to empower other women.

Why should we empower other women?

Did you know that women-led companies have 34% higher return on equity and 42% higher return on invested capital than male led companies?! Empowering female business leaders could, in fact, grow your pocketbook!

A recent Boston Consulting Study even found that woman-owned businesses generate 78 cents on every dollar invested, while male owned businesses are currently generating only 31 cents on the dollar.

Moreover, women make 80% of household buying decisions globally. However, McKinsey & Company this year was unable to find a single global fund that is focused on investing on women-owned businesses in frontier markets.

Ladies, just like fixing things around the house, we can sit around and wait for the men to jump in while we nag at them, or we can figure out ourselves and take action! Let’s take action.

How should we empower other women?

As women, we can be our own worst enemies, we let our own insecurities and fears prevent us from effectively supporting and empowering others. Another reminder from Mother Theresa: “If you have time to judge others, you have time to love them.”

What if we each spent less time judging and condemning other women, and more time supporting them. Below are just a few ways I try to think about empowering other women on a daily basis:

  • Shutting down unnecessary negativity and gossip from the start.
  • Going out of my way to help other women when they’re encountering a personal or professional hardship.
  • Sharing my failures, stories, and struggles in a real way.
  • Fighting for the women I work with, not against them.
  • Encouraging other women to make difficult decisions, present new ideas and step outside their comfort zones.
  • Leading by example – not asking others to do things that I would not do.
  • Being empathetic and listening to the problems of others without judgment.

What if you are a man and you are still reading this article?

Because the global workforce is currently dominated by male leadership, men are essential as part of the solution to close the gender gap. Not only can men mentor us and support us in our careers, but they can also help us to understand their modes of operation in the workforce better, so that we can work together in partnership. Women and men can learn so much from each other at work, if we are just willing to open up the lines of communication and empowerment.

In closing, ladies, if we do not step up and empower each other, who will. This week, I challenge each of you to not only look for ways to empower your fellow women, but to notice and appreciate ways you are currently being empowered too!

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest