By Michele Drayton
As the fall season begins, it’s a good time to check the progress of how countries are faring in removing the hurdles that hamper women entrepreneurs from reaching their full potential.
Look no further than the 2014 Gender-Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (Gender-GEDI) funded by Dell. This one-of-a kind global study identified and analyzed factors that influence whether a woman’s business stays small to middling or expands into a powerhouse. That is, it becomes an integral part of a region’s economic fabric, creating well-paying jobs, sought-after products and cross-border trade opportunities.
For this second annual release of the GEDI, researchers studied 30 countries, up from last year’s 17, with respect to factors such as business climate, access to education, capital financing, and cultural attitudes toward women in leadership.
The Gender-GEDI showed that even the highest scorers could do better and like any good progress report, identifies strengths and weaknesses that government officials, policy makers and the private sector can utilize to help women entrepreneurs reach substantial scale.
The Grades
At the top of the class, based on a rating scale of 0 to 100, were the U.S. with a score of 83; Australia (80); and Sweden (73). The next highest-scoring countries, France and Germany, were tied at 67. The United Kingdom, Chile and Poland scored above 50.
Seventy-three percent or 22 of the 30 countries surveyed ranked below 50, and the lowest scorers included Uganda and Bangladesh, where women’s access to education and basic legal protections remain elusive.
Importantly, the GEDI emphasizes that even the countries ranked at the top of the scale can learn from countries with lower scores, underlining the fact that no country has arrived at the appropriate formula that multiplies high-growth, women-led businesses.
The Impact
Marsha Firestone, Ph.D., founder and president of the Women Presidents’ Organization offers evidence of the impact of such high-growth, women-led businesses. WPO members run multi-million-dollar enterprises and those attaining the highest membership-tier levels run businesses generating at least $10 million in revenues or up to $50 million in revenues.
Firestone appreciates that the Gender-GEDI study offers a framework for this level of success. She recalls a time when the phrase “women’s business” connoted very small organizations. No more. The WPO issues its own annual list of global entrepreneurial stars, the “50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies,” and those winners generated $4.9 billion in combined 2013 revenues and altogether employed 22,000 people.
“This study is very important because it clearly indicates that there are women who are succeeding who are not a small business, a young business or a microbusiness,” Firestone said. “Women are starting and growing substantial companies. We are seeing very substantial businesses grow and develop — and they are making an impact on the economy.”
Overcoming Barriers
How much more of an economic impact they could make with fewer barriers concerns Geri Stengel, author of Forget the Glass Ceiling: Build Your Business Without One. Her book uses the Gender-GEDI as a foundation to study the experiences of 10 women helming thriving businesses.
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Men Avoid Giving Feedback to Women — What You Can Do About It
Guest ContributionGuest Contribution by Anna Carroll, MSSW
Does your male boss treat you politely, but you notice he doesn’t communicate with you often?
Are you puzzled about what it takes to be promoted in your organization?
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Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Managing ChangeBy Robin Madell
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Voice of Experience: Doris Daif, Head of Digital Customer Experience, American Express
Voices of ExperienceWelcome to The Glass Hammer’s “Women in Tech” month! We will be celebrating successful women in technology all month long!
Doris Daif, Head of Digital Customer Experience at American Express, offers one important piece of advice for women. “Confidence and poise are two of your greatest assets,” she said. “When you possess these qualities, you will be able to articulate your point of view and make your voice heard.”
“You have to go through your own journeys in life to see what lies on the other side,” added Daif, “but if there is one thing I wish I knew earlier in my career, it would be how confidence is such a valuable career tool.”
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Capturing Innovation: How Can Companies Make Tech Teams More Diverse?
Women in TechnologyBy Cathie Ericson
And they are atwitter that it’s even slightly worse over at Twitter – only 10% of the tech employees are women.
But while people immediately tend to fault the company’s hiring practices, Karen Catlin, a former vice president at Adobe Systems who currently works to develop women leaders in the tech industry, maintains that the companies aren’t necessarily doing a poor job hiring women; they’re just not finding the candidates they need. And then, even when women are hired, they tend to leave the company earlier than men.
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Voice of Experience: Katrina Roberts, Vice President, Acting Head of Global Network and International Consumer Technology, American Express
Voices of ExperienceKatrina Roberts never envisioned herself having a career in IT, but now, after joining American Express over twenty years ago, she could never imagine herself anywhere else. Originally, Roberts planned on entering the hospitality business as a hotel manager, but after gaining some hands on experience in the industry while she was still a student, Roberts determined that was not the perfect career fit for her.
Although Roberts was still unsure of her exact career trajectory leaving college, she knew that she had a strong interest in travel and tourism. With some encouragement from her father, a Kodak employee, Roberts applied to work at American Express.
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Success, Perfection and Losing Our Happiness
Guest ContributionGuest Contribution by Yesi Morillo-Gual
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Making the Grade in Women Entrepreneurship: Gender-GEDI Shows Countries How
Industry Leaders, Leadership, Managing ChangeAs the fall season begins, it’s a good time to check the progress of how countries are faring in removing the hurdles that hamper women entrepreneurs from reaching their full potential.
Look no further than the 2014 Gender-Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (Gender-GEDI) funded by Dell. This one-of-a kind global study identified and analyzed factors that influence whether a woman’s business stays small to middling or expands into a powerhouse. That is, it becomes an integral part of a region’s economic fabric, creating well-paying jobs, sought-after products and cross-border trade opportunities.
For this second annual release of the GEDI, researchers studied 30 countries, up from last year’s 17, with respect to factors such as business climate, access to education, capital financing, and cultural attitudes toward women in leadership.
The Gender-GEDI showed that even the highest scorers could do better and like any good progress report, identifies strengths and weaknesses that government officials, policy makers and the private sector can utilize to help women entrepreneurs reach substantial scale.
The Grades
At the top of the class, based on a rating scale of 0 to 100, were the U.S. with a score of 83; Australia (80); and Sweden (73). The next highest-scoring countries, France and Germany, were tied at 67. The United Kingdom, Chile and Poland scored above 50.
Seventy-three percent or 22 of the 30 countries surveyed ranked below 50, and the lowest scorers included Uganda and Bangladesh, where women’s access to education and basic legal protections remain elusive.
Importantly, the GEDI emphasizes that even the countries ranked at the top of the scale can learn from countries with lower scores, underlining the fact that no country has arrived at the appropriate formula that multiplies high-growth, women-led businesses.
The Impact
Marsha Firestone, Ph.D., founder and president of the Women Presidents’ Organization offers evidence of the impact of such high-growth, women-led businesses. WPO members run multi-million-dollar enterprises and those attaining the highest membership-tier levels run businesses generating at least $10 million in revenues or up to $50 million in revenues.
Firestone appreciates that the Gender-GEDI study offers a framework for this level of success. She recalls a time when the phrase “women’s business” connoted very small organizations. No more. The WPO issues its own annual list of global entrepreneurial stars, the “50 Fastest-Growing Women-Owned/Led Companies,” and those winners generated $4.9 billion in combined 2013 revenues and altogether employed 22,000 people.
“This study is very important because it clearly indicates that there are women who are succeeding who are not a small business, a young business or a microbusiness,” Firestone said. “Women are starting and growing substantial companies. We are seeing very substantial businesses grow and develop — and they are making an impact on the economy.”
Overcoming Barriers
How much more of an economic impact they could make with fewer barriers concerns Geri Stengel, author of Forget the Glass Ceiling: Build Your Business Without One. Her book uses the Gender-GEDI as a foundation to study the experiences of 10 women helming thriving businesses.
Read more
Voice of Experience: Emmanuelle Rivet, Partner, PwC US
Voices of ExperienceWelcome to The Glass Hammer’s “Women in Tech” month! We will be celebrating successful women in technology all month long!
“Embrace the fact that you might be different and have a different way of approaching things,” said Emmanuelle Rivet, Partner at PwC US. “Focus instead on what drives you and find your internal purpose,” she continued.
This is just one key piece of advice that Rivet offered to young women starting out in their career, and it is something that helped her immensely when she was making an important transition in her own career; transferring from PwC France to pursue opportunities within the US firm’s Silicon Valley office.
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Voice of Experience: Elizabeth Nieto, Global Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, MetLife
Voices of ExperienceThe Glass Hammer is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by featuring profiles of Hispanic Women Business Leaders all week long!
“Women who have power can continue to push the envelope on women’s interests,” Elizabeth Nieto says. “We can complain about where we are or focus on what we’re achieving. Things may not be perfect in the corporate world, but we’ve accomplished a lot and we have to build from here. Our daughters are watching us and making decisions about their lives based on how we make decisions about our own lives.”
This perspective is what drives Nieto as she implements programs focused on building a diverse and inclusive workplace at MetLife.
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Voice of Experience: Sandra Aresti, Partner, PwC
Voices of ExperienceThe Glass Hammer is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by featuring profiles of Hispanic Women Business Leaders all week long!
Sandra Aresti, PwC partner, advises young professionals to enjoy the moment because time goes by so fast. “Don’t get caught up in the minute details,” she said. “Work hard, but also take the time to breathe, relax, and trust that your career is about the journey and not the destination.”
Career at PwC
“Despite an early interest in medicine, I knew in college that I wanted to pursue a career related to finance,” said Aresti.
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