Demanding inclusion in the boys’ club is a long and arduous path. Nowadays, smart women are building their own instead……
Get your sunglasses, grab your beach towel and imagine the following scene of children playing in the sand:
Seven boys, ages five to eight, are engineering an intricate series of dams and rivers by the water’s edge. They even build a small hot tub and are enjoying their time in this mini spa when along come the girls – first one, then two. As the third attempts to find a seat in the tub, two boys protest. “No girls allowed.” The girls argue but eventually move along. Minutes later the mothers arrive and demand equal rights for the girls. The boys protest, but the mothers stand guard as the girls are begrudgingly allowed in the tub.
Clearly everyone is having less fun. As soon as the guards leave, the chanting begins anew, “No girls allowed.” The scene repeats several times. Eventually, the mothers become distracted and the girls grow tired of trying. Then one lone girl starts to dig a short distance from the boys. She is far enough to maintain respect for the rule of separation but close enough for the engineers and construction workers to see her. Other girls join in. They build elaborate scenes creatively using beach flora, fauna and debris to make bridges, houses, trees and people.
A curious boy inches his digging project closer to the girls’ scene. Within minutes he connects his trench to their landscape. Other boys take note and edge closer. They build connecting roads as well. Soon the groups’ combined engineering and creative talents result in a complex and ingenious landscape filled with people, cars, pets, trenches, dams and a bigger coed hot tub!
This thought provoking story of boys and girls at play on a summer’s day is an excerpt from an article written by Dr. Anne Perschel which features in the Huffington Post. Anne is the founder and president of Boston based Germane Consulting and is a highly respected leadership and organizational psychologist.
This story while sweet and endearing has a serious underlying message. The girls on the beach quickly turn from the waiting game – waiting for some adult to demand an invitation on their behalf to the boys hot tub – to figuring out that there is a smarter way– and like the girls on the beach, many Irish women today have worked out that demanding inclusion to the boys club is a long and arduous path, so why not create a better, more attractive club? Instead of trying to force issues or crack the glass ceilings (a term which tends to trivialize the issues), many women are taking their assets and creating their own sandboxes. In fact in 2010 nearly 800 women in Ireland every month are constructing their own solution by starting their own businesses and although this is down from a high of 1,050 per month in 2007 (versus 1,650 for men), it’s still an impressive number in a seriously challenging economic climate.
This growth and success of women owned enterprises is one of the most profound changes affecting the global business landscape. International comparisons highlight that the world’s most entrepreneurial economies have a high representation of female entrepreneurs. In the US women are the majority owners in 50% of all privately owned firms in the US, these businesses produce $1.9 trillion in turnover, employ 12.8m employees and grow at twice the rate of all US firms. Women entrepreneurs are expanding into non-traditional businesses like biotech, pharma, construction, manufacturing and transportation. These trends are consistent throughout the world, however, women are the largest under-represented group when it comes to enterprise in Ireland, just 15-18% of entrepreneurs are female, one of the lowest rates in the developed world, this represents an enormous pool of untapped potential.
Government and smart businesses all over Ireland have recognised that from kitchen table entrepreneurs to international CEOs, women wealth creators in Ireland can be an important new engine for Irish economic development over the next decade. A key element of the government’s drive to increase entrepreneurial activity is supporting more women to become involved in business and business start-up to unlock their wealth creating potential, indeed to date through the Enterprise Boards 77,380 women have availed of training and business development programmes and have accessed €33.3m in grant aid.
The biggest challenge for many female entrepreneurs and one that is the focus of a new Government funded initiative called *Going for Growth is to successfully transition female entrepreneurs from early stage entrepreneurs to established entrepreneurs (usually a 3.5 year timeframe) and establish the necessary change in focus from survivalist and sole trader mentality to growth and company building mentality. Women in business need to think about structuring a business with the necessary physical, human, financial and information resources that will enable it to survive and thrive without 100% of their continued time investment. The bottom line is that unless the business is scalable (and ideally saleable) then the cumulative time investment can become difficult to justify. Quite frankly, for all the entrepreneurial effort that goes into launching and growing a successful business versus what you could have earned in employment over the same period with better terms and conditions, the final payoff must be worth it.
Going for Growth’s Paula Fitzsimons believes that “There is a need to move beyond just starting into growing. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report (GEM) tells us that of the 800 women setting up new businesses in Ireland each month, only about 70 have substantial growth aspirations and expect to be employing more than 20 after five years. My mission in Going for Growth is to support women entrepreneurs to achieve their growth ambitions and to get more women entrepreneurs into a growth frame of mind.”
Female entrepreneurs often start a business with different experiences, aspirations and motivations from their male counterparts. Particular issues include the impact on family life, a lack of high profile role models and a lower perception by women that they have the skills to set up in business. These differences need to be appreciated and understood if more women are to be encouraged to start a business and be involved in entrepreneurial roles here. The most recent GEM report states that women are 5 times more likely to set up their own business as a result of meeting other women entrepreneurs. Networking initiatives spearheaded by Cork County and City Enterprise Boards like NEW (Network for Enterprising Women) www.sceb.ie and networking forums like www.networkireland.ie and www.networkcork.com along with events like National Women’s Enterprise Day www.nwed.ie and on-line forums like www.irishwomeninbusiness.ie in addition to a new initiative by the European Commission – The European Network of Female Entrepreneurship ambassadors, of which there are three in Cork, are all extremely beneficial to those starting out.
Cork’s entrepreneurial women come from a variety of backgrounds and are involved in a range of sectors and each has a remarkable story to tell. ThinkTank has met with many of these enterprising women in Cork in the course of doing business. Like one woman we met recently who is in the process of developing the prototype for what is a high potential business idea that could translate into an innovative international company, while at the same time attending MBA classes and rearing four children under ten to boot, phew, it’s exhausting to even think about it but incredibly inspiring for other women and creates an “I can do it” mentality. Like another woman who quit a high finance job to develop a world class gluten free product range. Like so many highly educated women who are returning to Cork having gained international, corporate experience and are now looking at ways to leverage their skills and contribute to the re-generation of the economy – in new and different ways. These enterprising women help develop positive perceptions about entrepreneurship in Cork and inspire and encourage other females to take up the challenge and just “Go for it.”
ThinkTank’s vision is that in the new sandboxes, men and women play well together, honoring each other’s strengths and gifts. Maybe it is time we quit trying to break down the old structures. Instead, let’s create our own jobs and companies to be so attractive that all the most competent people will want to play with us, it could be one of the ways that we can Transform Cork and will be a driving force in accumulating the intellectual capital and diverse perspectives Cork needs to remain competitive in local, national and global markets.
*Invitations are now being issued to women entrepreneurs who would like to be considered for participation in the Going for Growth initiative www.goingforgrowth.com, many Cork based female business owners have participated in the programme and found it to be extremely beneficial.
At last a refreshing new look at the old dilemma: Should we women try to break the glass ceiling by becoming one of the boys or should we stick with what we do best, do things our own way even if that means ruling ourselves out of the traditional career path, lined with own its successes and rewards?’
Great to see a new approach and interesting to read all of these fascinating statistics about women in business.
Looking forward to hearing more about Femtrepreneurs – and you know we have those up the ‘Pale’ as well as in Cork ThinkTank!
I think all the agencies out there supporting female entrepreneurs is great. However, for me the most powerful source of support is from us helping each other. Forming relationships and partnerships where skills and experience can be shared, ideas can be brainstormed, problems can be solved and so on.
I think it is time to stop focussing on “how we play with the boys” and just keep focussed on what we want to create for ourselves, our businesses and our families.
Personally I don’t want to play someone elses game – I prefer to design my own.
Superb. This impressed me as a really rich piece of elaborated thinking.
We need more of such sustained, well-argued case making. Just reading this has been an education in itself.
It made me thing of the women entrepreneurs I know. The point about the difference between starting up in your own business and moving on to constructing a sustainable business is so well made.
Made me think about the tricky business of building something fit for handing on, selling on, the making of an inheritance…
Perhaps like Ali, I’m suspicious of agencies – I don’t have enough experience of being helped by them. However, because you recommend them, I’m going to become more open-minded about their potential.
Like Roisin, I found your angle refreshing – but what I loved about it was the substantiating information you provided.
NetworkCork invited me to two meetings – I was ever so pleased, honoured to be one of a few men there. It was great to feel the atmosphere of mutual support there.
As for your linking work and play, that’s what we need more of. Thanks again, keep it up.
Thought provoking & powerful stuff Lisa! Thoroughly enjoyed the read
The goal posts have shifted over the years there’s no question of that but I do still think women of our generation were misled when we were growing up in that we were told we could achieve anything we wanted to when we wanted to but this does become increasingly difficult when kids come along and family vs. work committments come into play no matter what anybody says – especially here in Ireland where we are still light years away from the kind of support our Scandinavian counterparts receive. But the various network groups out there are a great help and I have to agree with Ali in that us helping one another without feeling intimidated or compromised is very powerful. I for one am really looking forward to seeing more and more women take the leap and to helping them along the way in whatever way I can 
The Women Pillars of Society is a group geared at the unity and development of female individuals not only in Cork but globally. Women Pillars of Society have joined hands with Action Aid to reach out to underprivileged children all over the world.
The mission of the group is to embrace diversity and culture within the women in Cork while also creating a platform where females can meet once a month and share their skills and expertise. People from assorted backgrounds such as Doctors, Lawyers, students, refugees and Writers will be invited to display their wealth of knowledge and experiences. The group is also working on a mission to help children all over the world by raising money for the disadvantaged as well as also working for the community by bringing diverse women together. As part of our agenda we will be taking a day every month to volunteer in the community and give out our service where it is needed.
Our monthly meetings will provide other females the opportunity to ask general questions and integrate with other diverse females in Cork. Professionals such as Psychiatrists and Social workers will be also invited to our monthly meetings. At the end of our meetings artists will be invited to wind down the evening with light entertainment. Entertainment will range from Spoken words, Poets, Singers, Musicians and so on. Our 1st meeting will be taking place at The Imperial Hotel, Duchesse Suite on the 15th of January 2011 from 6:45pm till 8:30pm.
Women Pillars of Society is a reflection of novelty and innovation in Cork; determined to make a difference in the lives of many people in the community. Join us in our journey by taking time out to come and particpate at our monthly meetings.
Feel free to get in contact for more info:
womenpillars@gmail.com or 0851436814
I would love to come to one of your meetings and share my discovries with you I am writing to introduce the smartvision method.Young people can achieve anything when they put their minds to it.The smartvision program is designed to block out any distractions helping the student to use their dominant-eye to focus their attention without interruptions.I would be very interested in meeting with you to discuss this further.