Why patriarchy is holding women back from being top business leaders?

From the moment we're born, we're socialized to believe that certain things are "women's work" and others are "men's work."

Women are supposed to be good at interpersonal relationships and nurturing others, while men are supposed to be logical and competitive. As a result, women often don't consider entrepreneurship a viable career path because they think it requires these masculine traits—and women who become entrepreneurs face additional challenges.

A lack of female role models

We live in a world where women are underrepresented in the media and business, but even more so when it comes to startups. The only female entrepreneurs you might see on TV are those who have been successful without their own money (think Shark Tank), while men dominate the startup world. It’s no surprise that many girls and young women don’t know what it’s like to be an entrepreneur because they don't see other women doing it.

To make a change as an entrepreneur and startup founder, you need to look at yourself and ask: What can I do today? How can I help change the narrative around me?

Skewed networks, including in the media

The media, the entrepreneurial community and your peers, are still largely male-dominated. That means there's not enough positive female representation in entrepreneurship. This can be especially daunting starting out because everyone looks to their networks for guidance and support. If you're a woman who has no other women to look up to—or worse, if you feel like women around you don't believe in what you're doing—it makes it all the more difficult for them (and, by extension, for you) to take risks on something new and unknown.

The good news? Women have started creating their own spaces online, so the playing field is getting levelled there as well. On social media platforms like Instagram or Pinterest, women entrepreneurs have found communities where they can share advice with each other and get inspiration from one another's experiences.

Lack of access to capital

As a woman, you're less likely to receive funding for your business idea. A study by the Harvard Business School showed that women are twice as likely to get rejected for loans or investments than men and that they are less likely to be able to raise money from family and friends.

In fact, although there has been an increase in venture capital funding for female entrepreneurs in recent years (up from 7% of total VC deals in 2012 to 16% in 2017), this is still vastly lower than for male entrepreneurs (which makes up 63%).

Lack of confidence and self-doubt

One of the most common reasons women entrepreneurs don’t succeed is their lack of confidence and self-doubt.

Women are often more aware of their challenges than men, which can lead to high levels of stress and anxiety. This heightened awareness can lead to women entrepreneurs doubting themselves when making decisions or taking action.

Women are also more likely than men to experience imposter syndrome, meaning they constantly feel like frauds even though their achievements might suggest otherwise.

Imposter syndrome is linked with perfectionism, so it makes sense that many successful female entrepreneurs have been criticized for being too “perfect” by their peers and themselves (e.g., Sheryl Sandberg).

Self-sabotage and perfectionism

You’re a woman, and you’ve got big dreams. You want to be an entrepreneur, but you’re scared that it won’t work out. Maybe your friends have been telling you that this is the best idea they’ve ever heard, but they make it clear they don't think you can pull it off.

Maybe your family thinks this is just another one of your crazy ideas that are never going to amount to anything. Maybe even some people in your life think success would be nice for you, but not so much themselves—so why should they put any effort into helping you get there?

But even if everyone around them is supportive of their goals, many women still hesitate to start businesses because they don't feel confident enough or skilled enough yet—and that hesitation can cause them self-sabotage before they even get started!

Women are more likely than men to self-sabotage because perfectionism is an issue for us, too: we want everything about our new business ventures (and ourselves) to succeed right away! When something isn't working out as we'd planned on paper, then suddenly, all those doubts start creeping back into our minds: "Maybe I'm not cut out for this." "Maybe nothing ever will go as planned." "Maybe I should just give up now before I go bankrupt!" Self-sabotaging behaviours like these prevent us from moving forward with our goals and doing what needs doing next; instead, we stay stuck where we've always been: safe but unhappy inside our comfort zones.

Lack of support networks and peer groups

When you’re a woman in business, finding like-minded women with whom you can share your experiences and ask for advice can be difficult. Many women feel isolated in their work and don’t have access to the same types of networks that their male counterparts do.

For example, when I started working on my own as a freelancer, I didn’t have anyone else who understood what I was going through in terms of making sure my invoices were paid on time or submitting projects on time.

These are things that every freelancer deals with, and yet when you don't have someone else who has been through something similar, then it can feel like an uphill struggle even though everyone has experienced these sorts of problems at some point or another.

I would love for there to be more support groups for female entrepreneurs so that we can all share our experiences and learn from each other how best to overcome challenges such as this one!

The view of entrepreneurship as risky and career-damaging

Given the significant risk of failure and career-damaging consequences, many women with interest in entrepreneurship worry that they won’t be able to take on their own company. They believe that only those who are willing to sacrifice their careers should go forth, even if this means sacrificing the opportunity for themselves and other women.

However, there is something else at play here: patriarchy. We live in a society where the male narrative is considered true by default, traditional gender roles are reinforced every day, and stereotypes about men being more competent than women abound. As a result, it has become easier for people to believe that entrepreneurship is not for everyone (i.e., women).

Lack of encouragement or support at home

Because of patriarchy, most women don’t get the encouragement to start a business. According to a study by the Center for Women and Business at Bentley University, 84% of men said they had been encouraged to start their own businesses, whereas only 54% of women reported receiving similar support. In addition:

• Men are more likely than women to have been told they were good enough (72% vs 48%) or smart enough (77% vs 51%).
• More men than women also report receiving help from their parents with starting a business (24% vs 17%) and were encouraged by other family members or friends (47% vs 37%).

The need to rely on unpaid labour

First, women are expected to do most of the housework. This can include cooking and cleaning up after dinner every night, doing laundry regularly (or having it done by a service), and caring for children and elderly relatives when needed. Even if you hire help to come in once or twice a week—which many of us don’t have time for—the rest of it is still on your shoulders as the primary caregiver.

Second-wave feminism did a lot to open up opportunities for women outside the home; however, these gains may have been lost in recent years due to workplace sexism and harassment—and because many men seem content with letting historical gender roles persist rather than challenging them head-on as their forefathers did back then!

Fear of being disliked or judged

One of the biggest reasons women are less likely to pursue entrepreneurship is the fear of being disliked or judged. Women are more likely than men to be judged by their appearance, age, race, class and gender/sexuality. This can severely impact how they see themselves and what they’re able to accomplish in life.

Most people think that women are simply less comfortable taking risks than men—and in some cases, that certainly plays a part—but it’s important to remember that fear is not always rational or logical.

Studies have shown that even when presented with evidence showing them exactly how much work they will need to do for something (e.g., launching a new product), there are still many women who won't do it because they feel like it might somehow reflect poorly on them if things don't go well after their launch date arrives.

Though many things stop women from becoming entrepreneurs, patriarchy is one root cause.

Patriarchy is the idea that men are superior to women. Patriarchy is a system of oppression which works to the detriment of women and the benefit of men.

Patriarchy is an ancient system that has been around for thousands of years. It’s been passed down from generation to generation, trapping us all in a cycle where we accept its rules without question. It’s everywhere you look—from politics to entertainment, from religion to education, and even in our daily conversations about gender roles at home or work. For example: when you hear someone say “men should be providers” or “women shouldn’t make more money than their husbands because they don't carry their family's financial responsibilities like men do," these are examples of patriarchy talking!

Final thoughts

Ultimately, these are all issues that need to be addressed. We need more female role models, more networks that support women entrepreneurs, and better access to capital and funding options for them.

We also need to stop seeing entrepreneurship as a risky career option and encourage our children from an early age so they can have a more positive outlook on it. Only then can we start tackling some of these other root causes of why women aren’t starting businesses in the first place.

Hopefully you will agree with my views. I'm not a woman who has faced all these problems myself. However, many women around the world do. For more such insightful posts and ideas follow and subscribe to inContext.