The Price of Excluding Women

Inspired by Deborah Benton 's post and the Forbes article Women Rule Advertising. Fintechs Need to Keep Up.

“Some estimates place the economic cost of excluding women at close to $800 billion.”

We’ve seen these call outs so many times and yet we are still here. And what’s most frustrating is that this type of behavior continues to torment women in both their professional and personal lives.?

(Side note: not to get too personal on here, but I’m single and 33 — please send thoughts and prayers because the vibes are devastating)

Now onto the topic of women’s sports that this article beautifully calls attention to. Many of us watched in pure horror when Simone Biles’ own husband behaved as if she was not in fact THEE Simone Biles. While he was notoriously dragged for this, I find that it is a perfect example of everything we’re talking about here.

In the beauty industry, we’re seeing a rise in recognition with new brands developed to cater to their specific needs. We see you, Medalist Skin .

“2024 will be the year of the female athlete,” Medalist founder AnnRagan Kearns announced earlier this year. And she’s been spot on.?

PARITY | A Group 1001 Company describes women’s sports as the next billion dollar industry in their article here.

They shared a new report from Deloitte predicting that “women’s elite sports will generate $1.28 billion in global revenue in 2024. Which means, for the first time in history, annual global revenue for women’s sport will surpass the $1 billion mark.”

It’s confusing when the data is right in front of us, but many choose to behave as if they simply do not see it.?

“Antiquated views about women’s sports as fledgling “causes” or “charities” have kept the industry confined to a restrictive corporate social responsibility box.”

Parity also shared the following stats on what exactly women’s sports have received:

• 15% (as of 2023) of total media coverage
• 1% of sponsorship dollars
• Significant inequities in almost every aspect of the game - like pay gaps, exploitation, lackluster facilities, inadequate medical support, and more.

Back to Forbes.

“This gap persists at all levels of the competitive landscape, with women-led startups receiving a mere 2.3% of all venture capital funding in 2020.”

When you work with startups and female founders on a regular basis, you have this memorized.

Professionally, I cannot tell you how many times I have been underestimated, failed to be taken seriously, talked over, ignored, discarded for a man who knew less about the subject matter, hit on during trade shows, hit on via LinkedIn DM, told to change my voice ( Aurora James I felt so seen when you touched on this in your memoir).?

I could go on, but let’s consider the founders I work with… their brands are phenomenal, the products are needed, the innovation is on point, and furthermore – they just feel special. Women would press “add to cart” so fast if only they had more awareness of them.?

I often joke that I’m an emotional support marketing consultant. Because let’s be real, if you’re a woman in any sort of entrepreneurial venture, you’re going to need it.

These business owners have shared horrific stories of sexual harassment, failure to receive payment, ghosting, disrespectful meetings (ex: the recent bagel article going around), shocking phone calls and emails.?

Women writers I know have received r*pe threats, death threats and I’ve personally had an online stalker for YEARS in response to writing I’ve shared.

If you’re a woman with a voice, a business or a brand, this “comes with the territory” of having the audacity to exist. And god forbid you advocate for yourself and are deemed “defensive” or you’re taking yourself “too seriously” or “it was just a joke, I think you may not like humor.” (yes, an actual quote said to me)

And perhaps some men will view all of this as an annoying feminist rant. So let’s put it into terms that actually matter to those types of humans, using fintech as an example from this particular article.

IFC - International Finance Corporation data has concluded the following benefits of catering to women:

• Higher loyalty
• Higher customer lifetime value (CLV)
• Lower default risk?

Forbes recommends the following too bridge the gap:

“Lending, savings, and insurance products are a few categories where fintechs can utilize differentiated insights to better design products that appeal to women. Knowledge, research, and technical assistance are critical components in effectively tapping this market. Research on use cases and pain points, in particular, continues to be a significant need.”

And for VC’s and founders looking to partner with them, it can be tempting to female founders to opt for only fellow women VC’s to support their business. We’re all girls’ girls at the end of the day. But this is something that Harvard Business Review discourages as “mixed-gender coalitions tend to outperform single-gender ones in advocating for gender equity. There is a lot to be gained by ensuring a diverse set of perspectives on the cap table.”?

Full Article Here: For Female Founders, Fundraising Only from Female VCs Comes at a Cost by Isabelle Solal and Kaisa Snellman

In conclusion, this means that for everyone to win, we have to work together.?

It should be easy, right??

It SHOULD be.

I also recommend checking out this article from the World Economic Forum for some hopeful data and findings: Gender Inequality: Women Founders and Venture Capital