Closing the Gap
How (and why) entrepreneurs should advance gender equality
Today, I am unequivocally and unapologetically a feminist. When you hear the term used, what comes to mind? Personally, until recently and especially during college, it seemed like a term that was unnecessarily isolating. Yes, I’ve always been an avid supporter of the fight for equality. But why label myself?
Throughout my professional career, I have experienced vastly different work environments and company policies that guided their corporate structures. Some were incredibly empowering, others were overtly oppressive. I’ve also experienced similar dichotomies in my personal life. My partner and I recently closed on a home and throughout the entire process (regardless of being the main and often only point of contact) I was always assigned as the secondary account holder. Every time I questioned it, I was given some line like, “that’s just the way we do it.”
Infuriating? Absolutely. Surprising? Not in the slightest.
What have I learned from these and (many) other professional and personal experiences? Implicit gender bias exists in every corner of society; even those with good intentions towards gender equality sometimes forget to question their assumptions. Also, life is too short to be afraid of labels, and corporate America is too powerful to ignore the implicit bias that continues to drive the gender gap.
So, why should you care? Believe it or not, supporting women doesn’t only make you a good person, it’s also good for business. According to a study by the Boston Consulting Group, businesses founded by women deliver higher revenue — in fact, more than twice as much per dollar invested — than those founded by men. That said, only 2.3% of VC funding went to women-led startups in 2020, down from 2.8% in 2019, according to Crunchbase. Room for improvement? I’d say so.
Below, I’ve outlined a few starting points for entrepreneurs and those who want to be active participants and advocate for closing the gender gap. These actions are far from all-inclusive, and should only be the first steps taken in a long process of acknowledging and addressing gender inequality in the workplace.
Mentor a female in your company …even if you’re a man.
In finance, as career levels rise, female representation declines. -Forbes
Having an effective, professional mentor can be one of the most important tools in career development. Unfortunately, women are vastly under-mentored compared to men. A study by the Center for Talent Innovation in 2019 found that 71% of mentors were of the same gender or race as their primary mentee. Not great stats when you consider the disproportionate underrepresentation of women in executive roles. If you’re in a place professionally where you can act as a mentor, offer your mentorship to women and men below you (equally!) and encourage coworkers to do the same.
Pro tip: A key factor when mentoring female professionals is calling out the confidence gap. Whether this is when applying for jobs, interviewing, negotiating a salary, asking for a promotion, etc., women are significantly less likely than their male counterparts to make the ask and are more likely to be countered after making the ask. As a mentor, encourage women to push beyond their comfort zones, provide tactical advice on how to approach each situation with confidence, and be an advocate for them once an ask is made.
Want more tips? Read the Harvard Business Review’s article, What Men Can Do to Be Better Mentors and Sponsors to Women.
Talk about the gap.
As of June 2021, women accounted for 8.1% of Fortune 500 CEOs. -Fortune
Whether it’s making sure there is equal representation in leadership, a healthy mix of event attendees, or equal pay and opportunities, it’s imperative that we TALK about it. Sure, it’s awkward to address that inequality still exists in our companies. I mean, it is the 21st century. But it’s more awkward — and harmfully perpetuating — to pretend like it doesn’t exist.
Have a leadership role opening up? Make a point to push your leadership team to equal gender representation. If your numbers are far from equal, identify why that is and what could change to draw a more balanced field of employees or applicants. Make gender equality a business priority, and track against it like you do other business goals.
Not convinced? According to a study by McKinsey & Company in September 2020, “taking action now to advance gender equality could add $13 trillion to global GDP in 2030, compared with no action.”
Ensure your salaries are fair & if they aren’t — FIX THEM.
Overall, women who were full-time, year-round employees made 82.3 cents for every dollar men made in 2019, based on median earning data. That means women are paid 17.7% less than men, earning an average of $10,157 less than men. -Census Bureau, “2019 American Community Survey”
There are millions of possible factors to consider when setting salaries. While experience, education, and skill set are obviously important facts to consider, it’s crucial that equality be considered in the process. For roles that have the same clearly defined expectations and standards, I have yet to hear a compelling reason why those individuals should be starting with different base salaries.
It is becoming more and more common for the new generations of workers (especially women) to encourage each other to disclose their salaries to their coworkers. Offering your salary range, and gathering information on others’ salaries, is (unfortunately) often the only way for employees to know if they are paid commensurate with their colleagues. Before unequal pay is brought to your leadership’s attention by an unhappy employee, best practices should include regular review for biased or unequal compensation trends — intentional or not.
For a great read on setting compensation and the other factors to consider when evaluating job satisfaction, see Prime Movers Lab Partner Gaetano Crupi’s article on Motivation Over Compensation.
Recognize men as equal caregivers.
Company profits and share performance can be close to 50 percent higher when women are well represented at the top.-McKinsey & Company
The scientific evidence is overwhelming. When a father takes time to bond with their children, takes ownership in their responsibilities as a parent, and plays an active role in their partnership or family units, their overall family success increases. While there are biological differences that have primed women to be the primary caregiver, society is increasingly seeing the benefits of men acting as equal or primary caregivers themselves.
In order to level the playing field, we must rewrite the societal expectations that dictate women as the family’s de facto primary caregiver. A current trend among top-performing, US-based companies is extending paternity leave. Taking it one step further, some companies have rebranded this benefit to “family” leave, an un-gendered term that encompasses every person — regardless of family structure — caring for a new, small human. While this benefit clearly doesn’t mandate that an employee take time off, it demonstrates sincerity in companies taking material steps towards a more equitable future.
Give critical feedback, critically.
Women receive 2.5 times the amount of feedback men did about aggressive communication styles. -Wall Street Journal
Look at any recent study focused on feedback in the workplace and you’re bound to notice a theme. Feedback given to women tends to focus on their personality, acknowledges the success of their teams, and generalizes what type of a worker they are. Feedback given to men, on the other hand, tends to focus more on their technical expertise, individual successes, and specific business outcomes. Studies also indicate that women are 20% less likely than men to receive difficult feedback.
Internally addressing the feedback gender bias comes in two parts: 1) taking personal accountability to ensure the feedback given is skills or outcome-focused; and 2) companies’ leadership providing further guidance and examples on identifying and avoiding gender-biased feedback. As investors, we must also be conscious of any biases in the feedback we provide externally. To this point, PML Partner Gabrielle Sloss looks at how sexism is a huge issue in Why Female Founders Aren’t Getting Candid Feedback?.
Long story short, closing the gender gap does not only benefit women. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate effect on women in the workplace. One in three mothers are considering leaving their career, and women in leadership roles are 1.5 times more likely than senior-level men to think about downshifting their role.
Remember that $13 trillion global GDP increase cited earlier? That’s only if we take action now to advance gender equality. If we let gender equality progress slip backward, global GDP is estimated to decrease by at least $1 trillion. Regardless of your gender, those economics aren’t good for anyone.
If you agree, you might just be a feminist too.
Prime Movers Lab invests in breakthrough scientific startups founded by Prime Movers, the inventors who transform billions of lives. We invest in seed-stage companies reinventing energy, transportation, infrastructure, manufacturing, human augmentation and agriculture.
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