Women in Business: Creating The Next “She” EOs
- Rasya Ramakrishnan
- Mar 11, 2022
- 3 min read
Growing up, I watched Shark Tank religiously, longing to be on the stage, revealing the next big product on the market. However, between Kevin Harrington, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary, Barbara Corcoran, and Robert Herjavec, there was one female in the midst of five decision-makers. The female population of Shark Tank accounted for only 20% of the final decision. This originally didn’t matter much to me, but as I got older I started to notice it. Even the entrepreneurs were unable to reflect the 49.6% of the population that were women.
However, as I grew older, I witnessed firsthand how women were standing their ground. Lori joined the show, and Emma Grede, the first black woman on Shark Tank, made her debut as a guest shark last year. Despite the fact that the world is still plagued by racism and sexism, we cannot deny that, as a society, we are becoming more and more inclusive every day.
If there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that I want my children to see equality on shows like Shark Tank. I'd like to see more female entrepreneurs, female sharks, and young girls venturing into the field of entrepreneurship.
According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021, closing the global gender gap will take 135.6 years, and this is only if we continue to stay on the same track of growth. We’re hearing all these statistics, but it all comes down to one question: why is there even a gap for women in the business field in the first place?
While researching for my article on the STEM gap, I came across evidence that showed women outperform men in three crucial areas: governance, problem-solving, and ingenuity. However, the main reason why women aren't able to succeed in this area is that investors are hesitant to invest in someone who has a life outside of work. Many female entrepreneurs, for example, have children to care for, and investors may view this as a distraction from what should be their primary focus: the business.
These investors fail to realize that this ironically helps females learn how to be multitaskers. It stimulates our problem-solving abilities as well as our creativity. We are confronted with issues in so many areas that we can quickly adjust and bounce back.
Last week, I attended a leadership workshop at a business conference, and I was thrilled to see that there were a decent amount of young females also attending it. At the workshop, we were told to take a personality quiz and group with others that don’t have the same type as us, and this led to the conclusion that having people with diverse personalities, skill sets, and ideas allows a team to grow immensely in multiple areas.
Having female representation in the business field, or any field for that matter, brings in diversity and a new set of ideas for the business to grow. Studies also show that having this sort of gender representation increases a company’s revenue and overall emotional intelligence. 136 years may seem like a long time to close this gap, but if we work quickly as a society, we can bridge the gender gap in the business field in no time. Next time you come across a female with a vision to transform the world, don’t discourage her because she could be your next CEO.
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