Gemini
Recovering Beta

Posts: 162
Joined: Dec 2012
Reputation: 1
|
Lack of Women Entrepreneurs
Just read this article in the Globe & Mail (Canada):
"Where are all the female founders and investors?"
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on...e11578041/
Discusses why there aren't very many female entrepreneurs out there, and how women don't really help each other out in the start up fields (no wonder!) and what to do about it (why do we need to always do something about it?!?). It's like they wanna take every single last field out there, analyze why there is not exactly 50/50 male/female participation in it and then find ways to "level the playing field" in order to remove an actual or perceived "gender gap". Fuck that. Maybe there is a good reason why there is a gap. Maybe , on average, women can't handle the risk and commitment and toil involved in starting a new company and that is why it is so.
A bit of truth from one of the entrepreneur women at the end of the article:
“If you want to be an entrepreneur you can’t easily do motherhood at the same time, and nobody wants to hear that because it’s politically incorrect,” said Ms. Gilligan when asked to offer advice to other female entrepreneurs. “Women can have it all, they just can’t have it all at the same time.”
Ms. Gilligan did by waiting until age 37 to have her first child, once she established her first company.
"Bitches ain't nothin' but hoes and tricks"
(This post was last modified: 04-29-2013 03:19 PM by Gemini.)
|
|
| 04-29-2013 03:18 PM |
|
The following 1 user Likes Gemini's post:1 user Likes Gemini's post
cardguy
|
Menace
International Playboy
     
Posts: 4,074
Joined: Sep 2010
Reputation: 56
|
RE: Lack of Women Entrepreneurs
Where are all the female coal miners? Where are all the female plumbers? Where are all the female garbage collectors? Where are all the female oil rig workers?
|
|
| 04-29-2013 03:30 PM |
|
The following 16 users Like Menace's post:16 users Like Menace's post
scorpion, Veloce, durangotang, Matt3B, cardguy, 2Wycked, Gemini, haywire, Lucky, Kingsley Davis, Atlantic, Dillon, WanderingSoul, kosko, bojangles, Hooligan Harry
|
scorpion
True Player
    
Posts: 2,467
Joined: Sep 2012
Reputation: 254
|
RE: Lack of Women Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship is an inherently masculine endeavor, in the sense that it requires bold action and extreme confidence. It's comparable to being an explorer in an earlier era. You are going out and attempting to make something out of nothing. It requires an external creative focus, and is comparable to other masculine creative pursuits that are focused externally, like sculpture, painting, music, architecture, etc... which create something outside of oneself to be placed in the world.
In contrast, the female creative urge is focused internally and most often realized through the birth and nurturing of her children. Failing that, her internal creative focus will manifest itself through a narrowly focused, solipsistic outlet like a personal or family memoir. The common theme is that the female creative urge is essentially incapable of offering the world anything but that which already exists - namely, herself - either in the form of her genes (her children) or an account of her existence (memoir).
Of course this doesn't mean that women can't successfully become entrepreneurs. We just shouldn't expect them to do so nearly in the same numbers that men do, for the same reason that men aren't lining up to be pre-school teachers.
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” - Romans 8:18
|
|
| 04-29-2013 03:44 PM |
|
The following 9 users Like scorpion's post:9 users Like scorpion's post
Katatonic, Emancipator, Teedub, Kingsley Davis, LibertarianBootyHunter, Dillon, Benoit, kosko, bojangles
|
Katatonic
Chubby Chaser
 
Posts: 571
Joined: Jul 2012
Reputation: 6
|
RE: Lack of Women Entrepreneurs
(04-29-2013 03:44 PM)scorpion Wrote: Entrepreneurship is an inherently masculine endeavor, in the sense that it requires bold action and extreme confidence. It's comparable to being an explorer in an earlier era. You are going out and attempting to make something out of nothing. It requires an external creative focus, and is comparable to other masculine creative pursuits that are focused externally, like sculpture, painting, music, architecture, etc... which create something outside of oneself to be placed in the world.
In contrast, the female creative urge is focused internally and most often realized through the birth and nurturing of her children. Failing that, her internal creative focus will manifest itself through a narrowly focused, solipsistic outlet like a personal or family memoir. The common theme is that the female creative urge is essentially incapable of offering the world anything but that which already exists - namely, herself - either in the form of her genes (her children) or an account of her existence (memoir).
Of course this doesn't mean that women can't successfully become entrepreneurs. We just shouldn't expect them to do so nearly in the same numbers that men do, for the same reason that men aren't lining up to be pre-school teachers.
Exactly. There's no safety net when starting a company. Every venture I've gone in to, I realize that although I'm taking calculated risks, there is a very real chance of failure and losing all of my money. That is generally just too much for most people to handle(especially women).
I have lost everything before, and I know that I may lose it all again. That doesn't deter me however, from pursuing what I believe is the correct path for me.
My reasoning is that: Afterlife or not, you only have this one life on earth. Why waste it by trading your very finite amount of time in life for a 9 to 5 job that pays a comparatively paltry wage(in regards to your time)?
A lot of people will disagree with me on this, and that's fine. We all have different roles we're suited for in life, and I really am thankful for those who are content taking the "safe" route.
|
|
| 04-29-2013 04:28 PM |
|
|
lurker
Banned
Posts: 756
Joined: Jan 2013
|
RE: Lack of Women Entrepreneurs
(04-29-2013 10:33 PM)Blaster Wrote: Just want to point out that entrepreneur is a fairly general term that encompasses anyone who starts a business on their own. But there's a substantial difference between founding a small business and founding a startup. The key difference is scalability. You can start a successful cupcake shop but it's not a startup unless or until there's a legitimate ambition to turn it into a regional or national chain (a few additional locations doesn't count).
I'm going to disagree with your second point. Startup and entrepreneurial business are essentially synonymous, with the one real difference being that startup has the connotation of being associated with the tech industry.
The legitimate ambition to turn it into a regional or national chain makes you a prospective franchisor.
Also, a lot of you guys are keeping your blinders on. Yeah, there aren't a lot of female tech entrepreneurs, which is where our current zeitgeist is focused. However, there are plenty of women starting other businesses in industries that you don't give enough of a fuck about to ever realize they exist. Makeup companies. Cupcake stores. Restaurants. Clothing lines. Hell, Spanx... there's a woman entrepreneur success story right there. Are they entrepreneurial at the total rate men are? Probably not, unless you want to count "woman-owned businesses" really run by the husband. But they exist in decent numbers.
|
|
| 04-30-2013 02:14 AM |
|
The following 1 user Likes lurker's post:1 user Likes lurker's post
Saladin
|
Blaster
True Player
    
Posts: 1,903
Joined: Oct 2012
Reputation: 26
|
RE: Lack of Women Entrepreneurs
Quote:I'm going to disagree with your second point. Startup and entrepreneurial business are essentially synonymous, with the one real difference being that startup has the connotation of being associated with the tech industry.
The legitimate ambition to turn it into a regional or national chain makes you a prospective franchisor.
A franchisor is much closer to a startup than most small businesses. Also franchising isn't the only way to scale a business. A local BBQ restaurant might become more like a startup when they decide to scale to mass-market production of their BBQ sauce recipe. But there is a substantial change in leadership orientation between a startup and small business owner and there is a substantial difference in the business's effect on the economy as a whole. Different risks, rewards, pressures, etc. Of course, there are companies where the line between startup and small business is blurry, just like there are instances where the line between alpha and beta is blurry. My point is that despite all those differences BOTH count as entrepreneurship.
The reason most startups are technology startups has to do with the meaning of the word technology. Technology is about developing tools to solve new problems or solve existing problems more efficiently. Short of discovering a new, abundant supply of a natural resource, or implementing a simple first-order banking/lending/stock-market system where one does not exist, technology is the most fundamental way to achieve real economic progress. It makes sense in an economy saturated with national retail chains operating on razor-thin profit margins and highly optimized organization of resources (including human), the most disruptive companies involve new technology.
Internet startups get lots of attention, but there are lots of other technology startups. Biotech, for example: startups founded by biological scientists to develop and patent new drugs.
|
|
| 04-30-2013 07:30 AM |
|
|