Why Women of Color Entrepreneurs Need More Visual Heroes
“You can’t be what you can’t see.” — Marie Wilson, The White House Project
The year is 2018. We are building flying cars, commercialized shuttles to the moon, and robots that make everything from pizza to hair appointments. Yet according to research by Project Diane, only 26 Black women in the US have raised $1M or more in investment capital for their companies.
Many studies have been conducted on the important role that self-visualization plays in the journey toward self-actualization. A Psychology Today article recently confirmed that visualization “can enhance motivation, increase confidence and self-efficacy…[and] prime your brain for success,” among other positive outcomes.
A study conducted by the Young Invincibles found that more than 60% of Black and Hispanic millennials wanted to pursue entrepreneurship. But nearly 20% of those who expressed interest cited having no real role models as a considerable barrier to success.
This presents a powerful opportunity for the media industry to leverage platforms as tools for inspiration, providing opportunity for representation, community building and exposure.
Sharing stories and connecting with diverse communities, authentically, is increased when diversity exists within the media industry itself. A recent report by the Women’s Media Center found that women of color were grossly under-represented in newsrooms across the country. They account for less than 8% of staff positions at print publications, roughly 13% of television positions and near 6% of posts at radio outlets.
This representation may help account for the fact that roughly half of blacks and Latinos view media’s representation of themselves as inauthentic and lacking in positions of authority, as reported by Variety.com.
This dynamic — lack of representation and lack of diversity in both story-tellers as well as platforms targeted to this community — present the need basis for Walker’s Legacy.
Walker’s Legacy is a digital platform for the professional and entrepreneurial multicultural woman. We exist to inspire, equip, and engage through thought-provoking content, educational programming, and a global community.
Our goal is to tell the stories of, build communities for, and provide encouragement to women of color to aid in their professional and entrepreneurial growth and development.
Our goal is ensure that by 2028, we aren’t in a position where we have found a way to land on Mars but still can’t understand how to provide the support necessary to ensure equitable access to success.
