Sure, we live in the 21st century or modern age, but female entrepreneurs face major challenges. Compared to men, women in business have more obstacles on the road to success they truly deserve. In this post, we are going to focus on those obstacles i.e. the most common challenges that female entrepreneurs encounter when trying to take their career to the next level.
Some businesses have investors that finance their ventures, but others are not so lucky. A vast majority of businesses have no investors at first. They struggle to secure financial support without which they can’t even survive as a newcomer on the market. Women-owned businesses face major difficulties in this department.
You see, women tend to have limited funding options and have more challenges than their male counterparts. In fact, women’s businesses are leading ventures that lack financial support. The reasons for that are numerous!
Banks tend to refuse giving loans to women based on their gender and cultural biases. Many institutions prefer funding male-owned businesses and are more inclined to help them financially. In other words, women have a difficult time just to raise enough money to start their business let alone everything else that comes their way.
2. Being expected to act like a “man”
What every female entrepreneur knows is that the business world isn’t really used to women in leadership. If you walk into any conference or networking event you’ll see only a few women there.
Business is considered a male-dominated world. That’s exactly why female entrepreneurs are expected to act like a “man”. It’s not just men who expect that, but the society in general. If you enter a man-dominated world you need to act and think like a man, that’s what women hear all the time.
The expectation to be someone you’re not just to survive in this competitive world can be particularly challenging for women. Thankfully, we witness the rise of businesswomen who are refusing to play by this rule.
3. Difficulties to be taken seriously
It’s not uncommon for women to face the same problem at the workplace – nobody takes them seriously. Generally speaking, when a man and woman have the same idea the female input may be completely disregarded while a man’s notion is widely praised. Women usually have to work twice as hard to be taken half as seriously as men, and it can be disheartening for female entrepreneurs to face this injustice. That’s why you always need to bring your “A” game, read a lot to keep up with the latest developments and use the best detox drink to stay focused.
A strong support system is crucial for business success, but the fact is that women don’t have enough encouragement. Women who decide to start their own business or make a major career move often face negative comments where people persuade them not to go down this road. “It’s too difficult.”
“Many women tried and failed.”
“You’re risking too much.”
These are some, of many, statements that female entrepreneurs deal with, especially when they’re just about to start their business. Somehow, society has less faith in female entrepreneurship than in males.
Lack of support is the biggest reason why many women struggle and even fail. Unlike men, women face challenges such as lacking the relevant connections to other problems such as financial issues, not being taken seriously.
5. Fear of failure
In all honesty, men and women alike have a fear of failure. However, this fear is more pronounced in women and the reason is simple – society expects them to fail. Female entrepreneurs work hard to beat society’s expectations and pave the way for other women.
They do it with little support and make it work. It can be overwhelming to be guided by the desire to prove others wrong. You’re motivated to keep going, but at the same time, it’s too stressful.
6. Work-life balance
Female entrepreneurs have more than business on their plates. They also have families, children, significant others. Balancing work and life can be particularly difficult because of high expectations.
Successful businesswoman is expected to run errands, go to PTAs, help with homework, go on date nights, and do pretty much everything else. Many women decide to leave the corporate job because of the inability to set up a work-life balance that allows them to have a healthy quality of life.
This post focused on six major challenges that businesswomen face. Many of these challenges stem from the inadequate support system from society in general. Female entrepreneurs have limited funding options, aren’t taken seriously, and are expected to act like men. Although we live in a modern age, society still has a lot of work to do to support women in business. We need to create opportunities for women in business, pave the way for others, and inspire little girls to dream of becoming successful entrepreneurs. To make that happen, we need to change the way we think about women in business and appreciate the effort.
Author Bio
Kathrin Garner is an enthusiastic journalist and writes an article on social issues. As an activist, she takes part in the FMA Health program, which is a discussion platform on the relevant medical cannabis topics. So, if you want to know the best how to detox your body in a short time, feel free to contact her. Also, she is a volunteer at Global Advances in Health and Medicine. She searches for current issues and writes about it to a wide range of readers.
