The Great Feminine Advantage: An Exploration Of Female Entrepreneurial Privilege

I've been around the entrepreneurial block a few times, I can't help but laugh out loud at the "hurdles" women face in the business. My LinkedIn feed is filled with talk of gender inequality and barriers to success. But upon closer review, these challenges are often exaggerated.

First, I've seen these numbers floating around claiming the lack of VC funding for women owned businesses is "systemic patriarchy". Apparently, studies say women only get about 2.3% of funding. It sounds to me like these "Lady Bosses" just aren't very good at effectively securing capital. But sure, let's reward them with free "diversity" grants.

Then there's the issue of mentorship. There's so much whining about how women struggle to find mentors. There are hundreds of mentorship programs and networking events just for women. In fact, I did a Google search for mentorship programs and like the top 10 results were for women and minorities.  Meanwhile, nobody's handing mentorship to men on a silver platter. We have to man up and ask for the support we need. 

Listen, I know how this comes off. I've seen all the "cringe" folks getting cancelled for stating these truths, but that's what they are: Truths. We've created a culture of #GirlBoss bloviators, peddling participation trophies for any woman who ever dared to slap "CEO" on their LinkedIn bio. Meanwhile, men grind away in obscurity. 

Of all the bullsh*t I've seen, these "stats" are the most overblown. Stop me if you've heard this one. "Women of color start businesses at a rate 4.5 times the national average, yet receive only 0.2% of venture capital funding". I'm not buying it. Why would they keep starting business if the VCs are so unfriendly? How smart a business decision is it to start something you know won't get funded?

At the end of the day, even if I agreed that the playing field isn't even, I'd never agree with giving women things they haven't earned, things that men like me had to work for, just because they're women.

The Conflict

Obviously (at least I hope it's obvious) the letter above is satirical, but it's sadly not far off from what I see in the comments sections anytime I speak about uplifting women. The sentiments amount to the idea that women shouldn't be measured with a different stick where merit is involved. The problem is that argument lacks context.

The Context

It's common for people to conflate mitigating bias with lowering standards, even as research points to the opposite. It's a critical distinction to make.

We are all responsible for the same outcomes -full stop.

We are not all responsible for producing those outcomes under the same circumstances or with the same level of opportunity and support.

The causes for this vary from one intersectional identity to the next, depending on the extent to which they've been subject to systemic socioeconomic exclusion.

The Call

Within this context, to call for action in unseating these disparities is not an insinuation of blame, it is an appeal to the well documented facts and to the stated values of those who are resistant to change.

Further:

• It is a bad faith argument to suggest that the world engages with a Black woman in the same way that it does a White man. The numbers simply don't bear that out.
• It is intellectually disingenuous to assert that a single mother whose child care costs exceed her mortgage payment is facing an even playing field of challenges in terms of what is required of her to succeed in the same role as her male counterpart whose partner is a stay at home caregiver.

Ultimately, in order to truly foster equity and economic inclusion for women, we have to be able to call things what they are and seek clarity on what they are not.

P.S. If you're a female entrepreneur consulting corporate clients, I'd love to meet you and help you accelerate your business. join us at our upcoming conference, Women Consulting Corporate Live!