John Greathouse: Women – Where Are You?

JOHN GREATHOUSE: That a gender gap exists in the startup world is beyond debate. The reasons for its persistence however, are less clear. I do not believe there is a nefarious plot by investors to minimize the ranks of female or minority entrepreneurs. Yes. Structural issues do exist, many of which are self-fulfilling, such as investors’ proclivity to pattern match against the “type” of entrepreneurs who have succeeded in the past.

A Plea For Help

One obvious method to encourage women and minorities to become entrepreneurs is to expose them to successful people with whom they can relate. To this end, I strive to bring entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds into my University of California, Santa Barbara classrooms.

Knowing how difficult it can be to encourage women entrepreneurs to tell their story, a recent email struck me as particularly poignant. This is an edited excerpt of an email written by Summers Mckay, an entrepreneur and alumna of the University of California, Los Angeles’s Anderson School of Management. She was recruiting mentors and speakers for the EDGE summer entrepreneurship program that she was heading up:

Subject: Women – Where Are You?

Ok ladies… this is going to be one of those emails that offends a number of you, and I am sending it anyway. It matters.

As you all know by now…. I have been looking high and low for people to mentor for our undergraduate summer program and the response has been absolutely generous from Anderson Alums. We have had CEOs, consultants, entrepreneurs, financial gurus, brand execs, media execs, and other phenomenal contributors. I am incredibly grateful for the 19 alumni that have given their time and energy to the program and to mentoring the next generation as they enter the work force.

Now…. here’s the part that you won’t like. Of those 19 people that have volunteered to help, I have received one offer from an Anderson woman to participate. We have worked hard to bring in other female speakers and have succeeded in getting a whopping four of them, all personal friends and none of them Anderson alumni.

Ladies, we can do better. We send an unintended and awkward message to the young women in our classes and they are our legacy. You know it. I know it. Anyone who is mad at me for this email also probably knows it too. I understand you all have other commitments. We all do.

Ladies, please raise your hands to volunteer and to mentor the next generation of the work force. Please.

We deserve to have your voice in the dialogue, and you deserve to share your experiences. They are valuable.

I followed up with Summers and was pleased to learn that her email generated an additional 15 female and five male volunteers. The only negative response was from an alumna who complained that, “… most women barely have time for their careers, their kids and themselves.” Wow. One would think that fellow women entrepreneurs would be a bit more supportive of Summers’ passionate call to arms.

Academic Research

UCSB professor Sarah Thébaud researches gender equality. She writes, “A major problem has to do with our very subtle cultural biases… from people in their everyday networks. For instance, women are less likely to talk about their ideas with peers, family members and faculty members, and in turn, these individuals are less likely to strongly encourage them to pursue this sort of a career.”

Thus, powerful and public role models are important, but a significant impact can also be made by creating forums by which young, female entrepreneurs can interact with startup peers. In Sarah’s words, “One way to break this cycle might be for entrepreneurship programs to set up a sort of peer mentoring program that works from the ground up. Each prospective program participant would be matched with at least two other current and/or past program participants, ideally of mixed genders.”

Sarah underscores the importance of male and female mentors in the lives of women entrepreneurs. Validation from members of both sexes is more impactful than feedback which only comes from other women.

In My Humble Opinion

Unlike Sarah’s learned thoughts, my opinions are simply based on my experiences and discussions with women entrepreneurs. It seems women leaders are often reticent to speak at startup events and volunteer to mentor young entrepreneurs for the following reasons:

Value - As the author of the email plea notes, the voices of women entrepreneurs are valuable. One could reasonably place a premium on such insights, given the scarcity of credible female role models.

Not About You - One way to overcome excessive modesty is to remind yourself that speaking events are not about you. The true purpose is to inspire both men and women to have the courage to follow their startup dreams. You are merely the messenger, so get over yourself.

We’re All Busy - Female entrepreneurs sometimes feel that the domestic burdens they take on, in addition to those imposed by their career, leave no room for extracurricular mentoring. Although it may be a hassle, the rewards gained by the next generation of entrepreneurs are more than offset by the inconvenience caused by missing a few hours from home and work. In response to the negative comment generated by her email, Summers addressed the issue of busy moms by stating, “Women constantly say they don’t have time for anything other than their careers, families and barely themselves and it’s sad. The notion of ‘busy’ isn’t productive. Women must continue show them how to raise their hands and to both take and give at work. Your daughters need role models and so do the women sitting in classes. Let’s try to figure out a way as a community to make it happen!”

Children Welcomed - Some women shy away from speaking because they are their children’s primary caregiver and many events are held in the evening. No problem. If they are an appropriate age, bring your kids with you and let them see “mommy” in a new light.

No Good Deed - As anyone who has ever done any public speaking knows, one good talk leads to a number of subsequent invitations to speak elsewhere. Because of the relatively small number of effective women speakers, this effect is amplified when an entrepreneurial female gives a great presentation. The avalanche of invitations can feel overwhelming, learn to judiciously and politely say, “No” to events that you think will have a minimal impact.

Although the above issues are real, woman must take greater leadership to provide inspiration and guidance to the next generation of female entrepreneurs.

Twitter: @johngreathouse

blog: johngreathouse.com

Source: The Wall Street Journal