Gender Equality and Women in the Workforce Mini-Series: Blog 2

Blogging is not my favorite thing in the world, much less talking about topics to which I feel like I have not dedicated enough time to fully develop a compelling position. So with that as a caveat, I will own it. I do have something to say about my own journey as a female entrepreneur in the male dominated space of private equity. I sit at the intersection of a lot of spaces: private equity, economic development, impact investing, angel investing, Africa, and entrepreneurship. I’ve seen efforts that align with my sense of true north related to female economic empowerment and equality and also efforts I find infuriating, such as well-meaning but poorly branded development efforts that lump female and youth entrepreneurs together, for example. What the hell? As if I, a female, can’t have a world changing, scalable idea. Offense aside, let’s focus on the opportunity side of being a female entrepreneur and maximizing our unique strengths in the private equity space.

– I’ve learned so much about the role of women and economic empowerment within the context of these very diverse cultural situations. In the United States, we have a tendency to see the genders as equal and the same. In Afghanistan, it was, unfortunately, clear that the struggle is often a belief that the genders are different and unequal. Some females there encouraged me to flaunt my Western freedoms. But I had a job to do, so I decided to do my best to adopt the cultural norms. Here in Ethiopia, at least among the educated, it feels like the prevailing thought is more aligned with my own belief about gender: We are different and equal. That being said, I am not naïve enough to think that this would be my reality if I was a rural female farmer in Ethiopia. No matter the prevailing cultural norms, my advice is to respect the cultural context and choose your battles wisely.

– Once, as I was lamenting a female entrepreneur falling off our radar (discontinuing responding to emails and calls), someone here in Ethiopia warned that I had “no idea the circumstances that might be on the entrepreneur’s shoulders”, and that I should give her another chance. I think she was right. Here in Ethiopia, and frankly in most parts of the world, certain family obligations fall more completely on the shoulders of wives and daughters, and it is our duty to keep these cultural nuances in mind as we conduct business internationally. I still think about this encounter, and hope this plucky, gutsy young female entrepreneur comes back on my radar. I think she may have what it takes to be a world changer.

– It’s so easy as humans, no matter our gender, to dwell on our disadvantages. My own experience as a female entrepreneur has proven we provide certain advantages that men in this industry generally struggle with. For example, entrepreneurs initially tend to be more comfortable sharing about their businesses with me than some of my male counterparts. Another is that my “female intuition” is usually spot on when it comes to assessing a person, or situation, or investment opportunity. Us women just have that sixth sense, if you know what I mean. However, some days I can still get discouraged in the unique challenges I face as a woman, but when I can stop myself and persist through the challenges, the outcomes our powerful and rewarding. I plan to continue leveraging my voice for all it is worth. Regardless of gender, that’s what winners do!

In summary, finding a position and supporting efforts that support gender equality and female economic empowerment are great. But in my opinion, we all walk a fine line in developing efforts that bring dignity and enlarging the issues we are trying to overcome. I am not sure we have it quite right yet, but some of our current efforts at RENEW include: