Women Entrepreneurs - take action and give them the space they deserve

Even though women are half the population, they are still a minority in the entrepreneurship and startups world. And it doesn’t matter the country, the figures are very similar: they represent 17% of startups founders in Europe, 24% in Latam, and 21% in North America or 17% in Turkey.?

The reasons for these differences aren’t that they are less capable or talented, actually, it is just the opposite as their projects usually are more successful and generate benefits earlier. And no, the answer is neither that there are just a few women that want to be entrepreneurs, but that we don’t make space for them.

I think whoever that has asked themself why there are fewer women knows that the answer is because the ecosystem is more hostile to them. Most of the professionals in the entrepreneurship world are aware of the situation, but are we acting to change it? Here I share with you some ideas that we can do:

#1 Give them visibility

Have you ever been asked to join a panel where every speaker is a man very similar to you? I think if we are really looking for diversity and the benefits that come with it, we should start asking, ‘hey, why don’t you contact this or that women expert or leader to go in my place and avoid having an all-men panel?,’ for example.?

The same purpose should pursue journalists in a piece or an event: interview them, and ask them their professional opinion on any kind of field, not just for a report about women CEO on the 8th of March.

#2 Finance their projects

It is astonishing the little percentage of annual investment in startups that is dedicated to women’s projects. And usually are other women that work in Venture Capital or that are business angels who give that money to their peers (even though the women in VCs are still really few). What’s going on? Are we so unconsciously biased for just finance those who are more similar to us, in other words, other men entrepreneurs?... I believe we should think twice before rejecting giving funds to a woman's idea (remember that, according to the numbers, they make it work more often). Against this background, yesterday was the establishment of the first women entrepreneur focused VC funds in Turkey, “AryaVC” - congrats to everybody being part of this fantastic initiative.?

#3 Do they want to be mothers? That’s good

We can still hear in some places how they don’t think a woman with the ambition to be a mother will be able to manage a startup at the same time. People that believe these women won’t give enough time to the company they funded and it will end headless… Contrary, women themself say that combining both responsibilities has made them better administrators and managers.

But, apart from that, aren’t we men fathers of a family too? Can’t we combine both roles? Maybe something that we can do to verify that it is possible to do both things, is to be as responsible with the tasks at home as women are. In other words, share that responsibility for real. That will save us from asking women as we will know the answer.

If you have still any question marks about this, you just have to look at real examples. Ana Villanueva is the CEO Iberia and cofounder of my company, Tiko. She is not only a great leader and friend but a mother of 3, and if, in some years, I ask their sons, if they are happy with their mom (they are still small today), I am sure they will answer the same as I do: “Yes, I am.”

Today is November 19 and it is “Women’s Entrepreneurship Day”.?

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