Nearly all modern businesses are confronted with daily challenges that can impact their ability to operate efficiently. This just doesn’t extend to dealing with customer-facing issues or differentiating themselves from competitors.
Many organizations, especially those working to establish a “women-first” business environment, are regularly faced with internal challenges associated with the acceptance of diverse leadership perspectives and available opportunities.
However, there are some effective strategies that every women-first business can apply to help them thrive in today’s business environment.
Common Challenges When Running a Women-First Business
Even though women-first businesses are often great examples of how businesses can embrace a positive vision and important core values, they still operate in a world dominated by outdated corporate traditions. Below are some of the common challenges these businesses face:
Confronting Stereotypical Expectations of Society
Even with the amount of progress we’ve made as a society, there are still many preconceived notions that exist regarding how a woman should prioritize both her personal and career ambitions.
The assumption that a woman should be focusing more on her family or even that the qualities she should manifest need to be “soft” or “nurturing” often leads to biases in how women are treated in professional settings.
Dealing with Business Funding Issues
Several studies have focused on evaluating the balance between men’s and women’s owned and operated businesses when it comes to receiving necessary funding. Unfortunately, there is still a considerable gap, with men receiving 63% more value and twice as much funding for their businesses.
Women entrepreneurs are often put in the position-whether consciously or unconsciously-of having to work harder for their business ventures and under heavier scrutiny just to receive fewer funding opportunities than men.
Working Around Certain Cultural Values and Traditions
Different cultures have varying opinions when it comes to women taking on certain roles in business. For women who represent certain demographics, it can be hard to allow themselves to experience the same opportunities as males without impacting how they’re viewed in light of cultural expectations.
This can make it difficult for women in certain areas around the world to get the same fair treatment as others in business settings.
Being Underrepresented in Leadership Roles
Unfortunately, there is a self-reinforcing cycle that can take place when fewer women are positioned in leadership roles. As younger women start entering the workforce, it can be hard to find role models to look up to, which often leads to less support when facing certain stereotypes within professional settings.
This lack of support can often lead many new aspiring female professionals to abandon their career goals, leading to even fewer role models for future generations.
Effective Strategies for Creating a Thriving Women-First Business Environment
Although running or working in a women-first organization has its fair share of challenges, there are some effective strategies you can apply to help you thrive.
Establishing a More Resilient Mindset
As difficult as many of the challenges mentioned might be on their own, one of the toughest challenges women will often face in their careers is their own self-doubt. Not believing in yourself, or worse, accepting the narrow-minded viewpoint of others, can be debilitating.
One way that you can help to avoid this is by establishing a resilient mindset when it comes tohow you face certain obstacles. The importance of resiliency is often showcased in trauma therapy sessions, where therapists will help their clients accept and respect the difficult moments in their lives but never run from them.
Resiliency teaches individuals to look deeper at the positive qualities and capabilities they have, giving them more strength to tackle certain challenges in life. When you’re able to successfully build more resiliency in life, the “bigger” setbacks in your career or personal life start to look little smaller every day, and you’re able to approach every new challenge as an opportunity to learn and grow.
Developing Important Leadership Qualities
Being a great leader takes time to develop and can require a wide range of both technical and interpersonal skills. Unfortunately, however, women are often scrutinized more than their male counterparts when it comes to how they showcase and prove their ability to take on larger roles in an organization.
But rather than letting this stereotypical mindset dissuade you from taking on leadership positions, use it to make yourself even better at driving and motivating your teams. Developing strong communication and conflict-resolution skills is a great way to showcase your ability to inspire others.
However, this doesn’t mean that women need to abandon their empathy just to prove a point. Showing that you truly care about those around you is a significant strength and something that should be encouraged in everyone.
Learning How to Effectively Negotiate
Finding Helpful Tools and Resources
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