Why Women Are Creating The New Market Values

On Amazon, you can buy the new book “The Internet of Women: Accelerating Culture Change.” Read about this project in my blog post today at Alive and Kicking.

My big idea to pass along today was inspired by the release of this extraordinary collection of stories from women (and some men) around the world in 30 countries, who are literally redefining the definition of market value in this next wave of the Internet, the Internet of Humans. My chapter talks about ROI and investing in women and women leading the charge more and more in AI-infused companies.

Here’s my big idea: let’s not talk about the problem of inequality between gender anymore. Let’s put our actions and our money where our mouths have been.

Let’s decide that since study after study shows women and diversity-led private technology companies and public companies are more capital-efficient, achieve higher returns on investment, have higher valuations, deliver stronger stock performance, and have higher payouts of dividends — it’s okay to invest at the same or greater rates in women-founded and/or led start-ups. Not because they’re by women, but because their companies are performing as good and mostly better than men’s.

Agreed. More study should be made on what traits and characteristics women have (and diverse boards and C-suite teams have) that contribute to these high performance outcomes. So we — together — can scale companies in this next Internet that are scrubbed free of viruses like gender bias and racism, and which possess cultures with zero tolerance for bad behavior fueled by a lack of EQ or compassion, and which are optimized for ROI — financial and human.

Last night I attended a Start-Up Grind event, hosted by Rich Foreman here in Sacramento, my hometown, which is quickly becoming a new mecca for investors looking to be at the mouth of a brewing ecosystem of start-ups fed by a recently awoken group of current and new ignitors who recognize the value that is here. It also inspired this big idea.

Margaret Mackenzie spoke at the fireside chat. Her presence back in Sacramento after making it in Silicon Valley, in the international fintech sector is a giant beacon for investors if they’re paying attention. She’s here in large part to ignite the women-founded investment opportunity in the Sacramento region with Astia, a sign of the new times. But she’s also a great pin in the map of change, pointing to specific character, traits, and behaviors of inclusion, collaboration, systemic thinking, compassion, and with no BS underneath agendas of power for the sake of command and control — traits of women who are redefining what market value is in the new economy.

Like Nike says, just do it.

What do you think?