The Strengths of Female Entrepreneurs
What strengths do female entrepreneurs have that make them unique? From which male best practices can female entrepreneurs learn?
My gut reaction to these types of questions is to counter by saying that male and female entrepreneurs shouldn’t be separated out by gender nor labeled as having different characteristics. As females, aren’t we always asking for greater equality, especially in business? What value could there be in entertaining a discussion about sweeping generalizations that specifically point out differences attributed to gender?
Yet somewhat reluctantly, I will admit female and male entrepreneurs do tend to exhibit different patterns, which lead me to believe that certain stereotypes have some grounding in truth. As with any diverse group, I would say the point of noticing and analyzing these differences is to learn, improve, grow — and at the very least — gain greater understanding of each other. Of course, there are exceptions, too. So let me be the first to say these qualities do not always match with our gender; they can be shown to varying degrees in all of us.
Stereotype #1: Women have high “EQ”
Honed from generations upon generations of motherhood, “Emotional Quotient”, the ability to interpret and empathize with others’ emotions and feelings, is a skill by and large retained by the female gender.
Business is working with and for people, so this skill is invaluable in building the strong relationships needed to build a successful business. Even in a business where building client relationships is less important, an entrepreneur will come across relationships with other stakeholders, like government, suppliers, vendors, and the public. Understanding and relating to others’ point of view is an invaluable skill for sales, negotiation, and customer service, too.
A Forbes article explores EQ in the workplace, noting that:
“Raising your EQ improves your ability to cope with pressure, build trust, negotiate, influence without authority, navigate workplace politics, take smart risks, avoid reckless ones, and handle life’s myriad of curve balls with resilience.”
And it’s clear that higher EQ equates to greater success:
“emotional intelligence is regarded as a far stronger predictor of success — in work, love and life — than traditional measures of intelligence, with 90% of leadership success being attributed to a high EQ.”
So has it been proven that women have higher EQ’s than men? As with any good stereotype, Psychology Today sums up their answer with “yes, and yes and no.” They conclude that women do tend to have a slight advantage over men when it comes to reading emotions (empathy), but in the area of handling distressed emotions men tend to win out.
Stereotype #2: Women look out for others (and the common good)
Historically as primary caregivers, females are fine-tuned to identify and meet the needs of others. As entrepreneurs, this skill equates to excellent leadership and team building, human-centered design and kick-ass product development skills—serving to truly meet the needs of the client/customer and empower employees. If any entrepreneur should master one skill, this would be it.
A great example of the power of women looking for their communities is in the case of microcredit lending. Nobel Prize winner and founder of Grameen Bank, Muhammed Yunus, has found great success in lending to women in poor countries like Bangladesh where Grameen Bank began.
“We found that compared to men who spent money more freely, women benefited their families much more. Women wanted to save and invest and create assets, unlike men who wanted to enjoy right away. Women are more self-sacrificing, they want to see their children better fed, better dressed and, as a result, the conditions of the entire community improved.”
I would further sum this stereotype with the term compassion, where women are motivated to solve the pain points of others (an excellent entrepreneurial quality):
“Compassion literally means “to suffer together.” Among emotion researchers, it is defined as the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering.”
When we dig deeper it is interesting to note that researchers have not concluded that women are more “compassionate” than men. Rather, the studies show that men and women experience and express compassion in different ways.
Stereotype #3: Women value connectedness
Females seem to be natural connectors and community builders. An entrepreneur’s network and ability to connect members of their network with each other is crucial. Cultivating this phenomenon is often the way to ensure receiving reciprocities with key people at those times when you need it most.
In digging through Psychology Today’s article on compassion, studies reveal that:
“Women faced with a stressful situation are more likely to respond by socializing, bonding with others and seeking protection and nurturance within a community. These tendencies may have been evolutionarily adaptive since we have evolved in communities where women’s primary responsibility was raising and protecting offspring who needed protection while men traditionally engaged in hunting and warfare.”
Stereotype #4: Women reflect through discussion
Taking the time to reflect on your company’s progress, decisions or business environment can be extremely valuable in making informed and thoughtful decisions going forward. But let’s face it, many would agree females are notorious for accomplishing this task through discussion. The process of discussing recent events and decision rationale helps women understand the motivations and drivers of their business’ stakeholders. The result is that future actions can be refined and improved. Reflection through discussion also provides a great opportunity to give and receive peer feedback.
Stereotype #5: Men exude confidence
Yes, men tend to rock this quality (especially those in business), and females would do well to take some notes from their self-appreciation playbook.
A recent article discusses many studies on how confidence impacts women’s success in the workplace. The conclusion is that success is equally associated with high confidence as it is with high competence. Even with equal training and merit as men, since women tend to be less confident inevitably there is less female representation in high-stakes business environments.
“Compared with men, women don’t consider themselves as ready for promotions, they predict they’ll do worse on tests, and they generally underestimate their abilities. This disparity stems from factors ranging from upbringing to biology.”
The good news is that confidence is a skill that can be built up over time with practice, so let’s work on it ladies!
Stereotype #6: Men keep their eye on the ball
Male entrepreneurs tend to be very good at keeping their ‘eye on the ball’ and staying focused on what is important. A large component of this skill comes from not dwelling on past decisions/mistakes, or worrying about things in the past that can no longer be changed.
Female entrepreneurs could do well to take this note and stay forward looking with their eye towards future decisions and future actions that will make a positive impact on their companies.
As women strive for greater gender equality and a level playing field, let’s also not lose sight of embracing our strengths. Our individual strengths allow us to be successful in what we do and deliver our greatest contribution to the world around us.
Danielle Carruthers is the CEO of theSedge.org, a peer collaboration network where social mission organizations meet to exchange social enterprise ideas, best practices and learn how to implement revenue strategies to increase financial self-sustainability.
