Last week I shared my personal experiences of and reflections on race, justice, and inclusion and the broader social conversation around these topics. And all of these discussions got me thinking about a fundamental reality: that power and influence default to wealthy, white, men, and everyone else has to ask for or fight for permission to access the same.
If you are poor, or a woman, or non-white – or any combination of the three – even after being “given” these rights, you still don’t get to freely enjoy them. There is still a yawning gap between the legality and the reality. Between the equality we are told we have and the inequality we experience.
We face this every day as women and as founders in glaring and subtle ways: there is a vicious gender pay gap, women-founded startups get a paltry 2% of VC funding even though data shows our businesses perform better, women entrepreneurs are seen as exceptions while male templates define what a “real” founder looks and acts like.
And we are still too often asking men for permission. We are still too often trying to justify our seat at the Boardroom table (if we ever get there). We are still too often financially reliant on partners due to a range of factors (pay gaps, parental leave policies that penalize us, all of the unpaid work we do…). We are still too often kept small by media representations that under-report our successes or relegate them to “women’s” sections (almost every business magazine has a “Women” section, but not a “Man” section… Why? Perhaps another example of men being the default…).
But, my dear Entreprenoras, this isn’t the way it has to be. We shouldn’t need to ask for permission, we shouldn’t need to play in the sidelines, and we shouldn’t need to conform to any template other than our own. Each of us can and should demand more, expect more, and get more at home and in the wider world. The time for asking is over.
One of the reasons I started this community was to make sure we all get what we deserve, achieve what we set out to achieve, and become financially abundant and independent in ways that allow us to force change where necessary or BE the change we can. Our success is about more than just us. Our success is about showing the world different templates of what is possible and what a role model looks like.
So whatever your success looks like, whatever your dreams look like, whatever your goals look like, we are here to make sure you get there. Use our resources, get in touch, apply to join our Boardroom, get your voice heard by pitching your story for our podcast, or simply connect with each other at one of our events. Ladies, we are in this together.
No more asking for permission. Just succeeding, demanding, and achieving. Together.
