Celebrating Women Entrepreneurs

Despite a lot of emphasis being placed globally on achieving gender equality, being a woman entrepreneur is still measurably harder than being a male entrepreneur. Today, we are celebrating the valuable role that women entrepreneurs play in society and explaining why it is well worth investing in them!

We are very proud and grateful to have talked with so many women entrepreneurs. And though we believe that you can be a successful entrepreneur regardless of your gender, it’s important to remember that the reality is way more challenging. And it’s our goal to bring more diverse voices to the Beyond 8 Figures podcast and give our listeners remarkable role models with can be proud of.

Women entrepreneurs are vital for economic growth

Entrepreneurs make a valuable contribution to a country’s economic growth because more people working means more money circulating in the economy. Not too long ago, women were largely excluded from the working world. Still, the number of women-owned businesses has been steadily growing over the years, increasing revenue and employment levels.

Just over the past year, we had so many inspiring women entrepreneurs on our podcast who have shared their unique paths to success. Chloë Thomas of eCommerce MasterPlan, Kanessa Muluneh, the founder of Mulu, Mollie Eastman (McGlocklin), founder of Sleep Is a Skill, Renee Dua of Together by Renee, Samantha Kempe of IMMO, and so many more have all illustrated the pivotal role that female entrepreneurs play in diversifying the business landscape and driving economic growth.

That said, despite the progress made in the entrepreneurial space, women still face more significant barriers to success than their male counterparts, particularly when gaining access to capital. According to Credit Suisse, all-male tech company founding teams receive 93% of the capital invested in Europe. There are many reasons for this, including gender biases, lack of financial knowledge, and confidence in their abilities.

Women entrepreneurs enhance innovation

It has been measured and shown that diverse teams perform better (e.g. improved performance that results from having more gender-diverse teams) and having a more diverse workforce would also help to fill the industry’s talent shortage. It also just makes logical sense - most people come up with innovations that solve the problems they themselves have. If we don't have diverse perspectives among those innovating (in tech) then we won't be solving diverse problems. But what truly drives and concerns us at imagi goes beyond the health of the industry itself. We believe including women in tech is about economic fairness. The tech industry creates some of the best paying jobs. Women need to have the opportunity to pursue careers that will help them achieve financial security and independence.

Dora Palfi, imagiLabs Share

Diverse perspectives are not just a catalyst for innovation, they define its direction and scope. Traditional gender roles and experiences shape how we view and interact with the world. As such, the markedly different life experiences of women and men often inspire uniquely focused solutions to everyday problems.

Take the revelation from the World Economic Forum that underlines this point: women are reportedly 47% more likely to sustain severe injuries in car accidents due to safety protocols influenced by male-centric models. Issues like these underscore the importance of inclusive innovation – the kind that emerges when women, previously underrepresented in entrepreneurial spaces, leverage their perspectives to fill gaps in the market.

Renee Dua also touched on a profound thought in this arena during her appearance on our podcast. For her, success isn’t merely in the commercialization of an idea — it’s in its utilization and impact. She dreams of making healthcare more accessible and person-centric via her innovations. Her goal extends beyond profit; it’s about creating a product that becomes an integral, beneficial part of the consumers’ lives. This is the essence of what it means for women to enhance innovation: creating solutions that directly and meaningfully improve lives, especially in areas traditionally marred by a lack of diverse input. It’s not just about inventing; it’s about purposeful innovating — bringing forth products and services that help, heal, and harmonize with the needs of all, particularly those who have been overlooked.

Women entreprenuers are role models for future generations

If you’ve never seen someone who looks like you in a leadership position, you may internalize the idea that you can’t be a leader yourself. However, when young girls see women running businesses, they become aware that it is possible for them to do the same.

So, if you ever feel like giving up because the challenges that you are facing are too significant, remember that you are an inspiration to the next generation. There are no barriers that we can’t break.

Women entrepreneurs have a beneficial leadership approach

Women usually have an improved ability to read other peoples’ emotions, and when they read other peoples’ emotions well, they are able to provide the kind of compassion or empathy or support that helps people deal with their emotions. So women’s ability to read emotions often makes them really great leaders.

Annie Hyman-Pratt, Leading Edge Teams Share

Research has shown that soft skills, like communication, collaboration, and integrity, are key determinants of good leadership. Additionally, research has shown that women outperform their male counterparts regarding most of these skills.

Leadership skills are not just nice-to-haves; they “can make a real difference to the bottom line” because when people feel heard and valued, they are more likely to produce their best work. A good leader can improve the quality of a workplace, and since we spend so many hours of our lives at work, they are improving the quality of life of their employees, too.

"I think this is pretty common across most entrepreneurs. You’re never sitting still. You’re never truly satisfied with what you’ve built, and you’re always hungry and eager to keep improving. And whether it’s improving the business or improving yourself personally trying to be that better leader for the business, it never really stops.”

Samantha Kempe of IMMO Share

As leaders, women entrepreneurs are changing workplaces and redefining leadership, perpetuating quality, and fostering a continuous hunger for growth. A successful woman leader not only improves the quality of a workplace but directly enhances the quality of lives around her.

Entrepreneurship allows women to balance work and family life (if they wish to have both)

I don't believe that work and life will ever be perfectly balanced. I subscribe to a work/life harmony. Some days my family needs me more than work, and other days, work needs me more than my family. There isn't perfection on a day-to-day basis, but there is a good partnership between the two.

Michelle Penczak, Squared Away Share

Balancing work life and family life is a challenging task at the best of times. When you’re working on someone else’s schedule toward someone else’s goals, it can be an even more significant challenge. Entrepreneurs work extremely hard, but entrepreneurship’s beauty is that you can choose when, where, and how you work. This means that you also control the time you dedicate to family, friends, and leisure.

Entrepreneurship gives freedom

I think success for me is the fact that I can do whatever I want. Yes, freedom is cool for myself, but the best freedom is really when I can fly in my parents whenever I want to. I can go to them. Sometimes, I just get a call from friends, and they're like, oh, we're in Tokyo. And I'm like, okay, I'll come. And I'm on the next flight to Tokyo. And it sounds silly and it sounds maybe teenage-ish, but it's really fun to do. That's my kind of fun. And my friends are not necessarily as successful. So the fact that I am always able to take them with me and I feel responsible to share my luck with them

Kanessa Muluneh, Founder of Mulu Share

Entrepreneurship can open up extraordinary freedoms for women, as Kanessa demonstrates. Success for her means enjoying life’s spontaneous moments, like flying to Tokyo on a whim, but more importantly, it’s about sharing that freedom with loved ones. Whether that’s bringing family together whenever she chooses or ensuring the best care and education for them, Kanessa’s entrepreneurial journey underscores that true success is the ability to enhance not only your own life but also the lives of those around you. Entrepreneurship isn’t just a career—it’s a path to a liberated and shared life experience.

We have come a long way in gender equality, but we still have a long way to go. We hope everyone takes the opportunity this Women Entrepreneur’s Day to support and show appreciation to the women entrepreneurs in your lives.

More often than not, women entrepreneurs make the world a better place, so if you are one, today we are celebrating you!