Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs in the Better normal - Nayomi Handunnetti

Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs in the Better normal

How do we support the female Entrepreneurs? A widely discussed topic in the current context while we battle a Pandemic. There is evidence women-led businesses are most likely to survive and their startups often will be highly successful. The Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) new analysis shows if women and men across the globe equally participated in Entrepreneurship, the global GDP has the potential to increase by 3%-6%, boosting the world economy by $ 2.5 trillion to $5 trillion.

Let’s embrace the better normal as women leaders in business

Let’s embrace our greatness as female leaders as more than ever before, are taking their rightful places in business as global leaders. Women hold 29% of senior management roles and 87% of global businesses have at least one female in the senior management positions. (2019 Grant Thornton research). A highly successful businesswoman should strive to achieve the following on behalf of the people she serves.

-       Breakdown taboos that treat women differently in organizational structures, Company practices that create better work environments.

-       Strive to challenge social norms by resonating the message that patriarchy is an old concept and that a strong and intelligent woman isn’t a problem but an integral part of society.

-       Create a positive legacy by living on purpose with compassionate understanding and fueling social change.

-       Seek emotional and financial fulfillment

-       Feel greater intimacy with yourself and others

So how do we support female entrepreneurs?

-       Focus on improving access to credit facilities

-       Provide training to building new skills

-       Creating access to networks

-       Accepting the dual role of a female entrepreneur with a family and as a business owner

-       Buy from shops owned by women

-       Promote their business on social media

-       Invest in women-owned companies

-       Donate to women business owners

-       Learn more about female entrepreneurs

-       Mentor other women

-       Send a supportive and motivational letters

Better normal after Covid-19 for women and girls

With the covid-19 pandemic, women spent an average of 4 times longer than men on unpaid domestic chores and taking care of children and family. Unpaid work has increased drastically for men and women both, However, women still have more burdens compared to a man.

Year 2020 Covid-19 pandemic brought us health, social and economic issues however, the year 2021 is already promised and associated with a better normal.

The needs of women and girls have been prioritized for a better and a more egalitarian normal by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and UN Women. There is inspiring and concrete evidence from our Region in Asia how the better normal will support achieve gender equality when gender equality is integrated into investments, Policies, and strategies. Governments across Asia are taking decisive and proactive decisions to mitigate short-term effects and to make way for a better normal for women and girls.

 Why should we accept women in the workforce?

It is now accepted in the society of many parts of the world regarding the support from a woman towards contribution to the family income. Further, the economic uncertainty in the world has led women to join the workforce. Many have taken up an entrepreneurship journey as they can balance their work and family life better. 

Covid-19 has helped businesses to rapidly adopt digital means to run the existing business as well as expand their businesses. Customers now look to purchase goods online and suppliers seem to cater to the demand. Hence, employees can work remotely.

Women have more access to become Entrepreneurs than ever before. The shift towards virtual and remote interactions creates more room for women to do business. Women face competing responsibilities managing a household and running a business therefore, the accepted virtual and remote interactions will help making the post-Covid era a better normal. 

Personal experience

I have personally faced many challenges in my entrepreneurial journey. My personal experience is that with the sudden non-existence of tourists, short term I adopted strategies to encourage local tourists and I was able to pay my staff without letting them go. Further with the loss of jobs in the corporate sector due to the pandemic, I have launched a platform for women professionals who have left the corporate sector to still contribute to the economy. Our economy needs the most skilled and productive labor force it can find to meet the demands of the world. This same labor force reproduces itself to care for their children who are the future workforce. Especially women leave the corporate world and often take a step back to look after their children and elders. We professionals value family and business and they are increasingly loggerheads. Therefore, we give opportunities to lady professionals who left the corporate world to look after their families. When you choose “The Siren” to be your consulting partner you are not only investing in the future of the labor force but also giving these lady professionals another chance to shine.  

About the author – Nayomi Handunnetti

Nayomi Handunnetti is an Award-winning - Entrepreneur & Marketing specialist, Fitness Enthusiast, Speaker, Blogger, Global Goodwill Ambassador & Mentor @ Women Empowered Global. 

Linkedin - https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/nayomihandunnetti/

Email – [email protected]

References

 ·       Putting all our ideas to work women and entrepreneurship, https://www2.deloitte.com/xe/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/women-entrepreneurs-report.html, Accessed February 19th, 2021.

·       Sobhan Nawreen., & Hassan Abeer. How the COVID-19 pandemic will affect female entrepreneurs from different informal sectors, https://www.eauc.org.uk/how_the_covid-19_pandemic_will_affect_female_en/. Accessed January 12th, 2021

 ·       How women entrepreneurs are adapting their businesses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana, https://wusc.ca/womens-entrepreneurship-in-ghana/. Accessed January 12th, 2021

·       The trillion dollar opportunity in supporting female Entrepreneurs, https://hbr.org/2019/10/the-trillion-dollar-opportunity-in-supporting-female-entrepreneurs. Accessed January 19th, 2021

 ·       Embracing the new normal as women Leaders in business, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2020/01/14/embracing-the-new-normal-as-women-leaders-in-business/?sh=3f536ad17a7e, Accessed January 19th, 2021

 ·       7 WAYS TO SUPPORT FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS AND SMALL BUSINESSES DURING COVID-19, https://www.hermoney.com/earn/entrepreneurship/7-ways-to-support-female-entrepreneurs-and-small-businesses-during-covid-19/, Accessed January 20th, 2021

·       A Better Normal for Women and Girls After COVID-19 - Bambang Susantono and Anita Bhatia, https://www.adb.org/news/op-ed/better-normal-women-and-girls-after-covid-19-bambang-susantono-and-anita-bhatia, Accessed January 20th, 2021