Women and Men Are Different & That’s Great for Business, The Future Is Female!
By: Maggie Bergeron PT, Nataliya Zlotnikov MSc, HBSc ∙ Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
By: Maggie Bergeron PT, Nataliya Zlotnikov MSc, HBSc ∙ Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Perfect women
Men will apply for a job if they meet 60% of the qualifications. Women will apply for a job if they meet 100% of the qualifications. Women have been socialized to aspire to perfection and be overly cautious. Even when we’re ambitious, when we’re leaning in, this socialization has caused us to take fewer risks in our careers.⠀
We’re raising our girls to be perfect & our boys to be brave (Reshma Saujani, Founder of Girls Who Code).
Aspiring to perfection leads to giving up
In the 1980s, psychologist Carole Dwek looked at how bright 5th graders handled an assignment that was difficult for them.⠀
She found that bright girls were quick to give up. The higher the IQ, the more likely they were to give up.⠀
The bright boys on the other hand found the difficult material to be a challenge. They found it energizing. They were more likely to double their efforts.
What’s going on?
At the 5th-grade level, girls routinely outperform boys in every subject, including math and science. So it’s not a question of ability.⠀
The difference is in how boys and girls approach a challenge.⠀
And it doesn’t just end in 5th grade.⠀
Men will apply for a job if they meet 60% of the qualifications. Women will apply for a job if they meet 100% of the qualifications.⠀
Women have been socialized to aspire to perfection and be overly cautious. Even when we’re ambitious, when we’re leaning in, this socialization has caused us to take fewer risks in our careers.⠀
So, what would happen if women were socialized to be brave, instead of being socialized to be perfect? The possibilities are infinite.
We need to continue to break down the barriers that make the journey upward toward positions of influence more challenging.
Women are neurologically different and we need that perspective for better research and better products.
The barriers are cultural, not scientific.
These barriers can be overcome and we need to stand up, lead, collaborate, continue to push forward, and speak up. To ignore these events, among many others, is to do a disservice, not just to women, but to society as a whole. Women's issues are societal issues.
Gender inequality is a real issue
- World of STEM: Women represent the majority of young university grads but are underrepresented in science, tech, engineering, math & computer science (STEM). Men aged 25-34 with STEM degrees have lower unemployment rates, higher wages, and a lower rate of job mismatch.
- 2017 gender parity forecast: The World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender Gap Report found that gender parity is over 200 years away.
- 2020 gender parity forecast: Reviewing the same report for 2020, we observe a slightly improved, albeit still unacceptable, gender parity timeline of 100 years.
- Funding: Women-led companies in the U.S. received only 2.2% of venture capital in 2017 according to PitchBook. That figure dropped marginally to 2.1% in 2020.
Women-led businesses are less likely to survive
Currently, women-led businesses are less likely to survive despite often being highly successful.
Even though startups founded and cofounded by women actually perform better over time - generating 10% higher cumulative revenue over a 5-year period.
Often, these businesses are less likely to survive due to differences in access to financial support as well as limited access "to social capital" or support networks.
Analysis by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) indicates that if globally, men and women participated equally as entrepreneurs, global GDP could rise by approximately 3-6% boosting the global economy by $2.5-5 trillion (Havard Business Review, 2019).
Celebrating positive actions and progressive conversations
The issues go on, but we are making progress. And that is what International Women’s Day is meant to celebrate - positive actions and progressive conversations.
Balance is not a women's issue, it's a business issue. The race is on for a gender-balanced boardroom, a gender-balanced government, gender-balanced media coverage, a gender-balance of employees, more gender-balance in wealth, and gender-balanced sports coverage.
Gender balance is essential for economies and communities to thrive.
Balance drives a better working world.
Let's celebrate!
Every year, on the 8th of March, the Embodia team takes a moment to celebrate all of the incredible women we have had the opportunity to learn from and work with, including many of our most influential course instructors on Embodia.
On behalf of Embodia, we would like to wish you a Happy International Women's Day and extend our sincere gratitude to every man and woman who is actively working to close the gender gap in technology, healthcare, and all other industries.
More education for your business
We also invite you to take a look at some of our other business/private practice online healthcare courses such as:
- How Creativity Can Save Your Business
- Top Ten Strategies to Create Patients for Life and Boosting Profits
- How to Find the Right Marketing for Your Clinic
Happy International Women's Day!
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Date written: 25 May 2021
Last update: 17 July 2024