Yes, the gender gap remains in the usual places for women. They get less pay, need career pauses with time out for children and other dependents yielding lower savings for retirement. Despite facing challenges, women are gaining ground.
High growth entrepreneurship has rebounded from the slump of the great recession but overall growth is still in a decline. Women’s business ownership however, has bucked that trend with significant gains. Women-owned businesses are growing faster in numbers, employment and revenues as compared to total businesses.
Women entrepreneurs face greater difficulties than men when raising capital to fund their growing concerns. They receive a miniscule fraction from a largely male-dominated investor pool.
Women tend to be less assertive and more accommodative than men at the bargaining table. A Carnegie Mellon study by Professor Linda Babcock showed that women are penalized by “the social cost of negotiating.” It has been found that women tend to make better advocates when they represent others rather than themselves.
Networks are important for emotional support. Starting your own company is fraught with stress from constant decision-making. It could be a lonely undertaking. Reach out to someone you believe has the ability to help you, especially if they have launched their own company.
Working women executives, suffering from work/life balance issues often consider starting up their own businesses as an anecdote.
The role of women entrepreneur is a relatively new one and presents greater conflicts to resolve.
Women entrepreneurs need to prioritize what is important in their dual roles at work and home. You can’t handle everything especially by yourself. Women need to get external help like cooking meals for kids and cleaning the house. They also need to delegate assignments to others in the office.