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Sophia Amoruso’s best-selling autobiography, #GIRLBOSS was adapted into a television series by … [+]
The meteoric rise and fall of the women’s fashion retailer, Nasty Gal, founded in 2006 with an eBay account by Sophia Amoruso from her small San Francisco apartment is the subject of a case study at Harvard Business School. Within a decade the online fashion retailer had achieved $300 million in annual revenue, earning Amoruso a spot on Forbes’ list of the Richest Self-Made Women.
But in November 2016, on the day Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, Nasty Gal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. HBS has since revised the case, Nasty Gals Do It Better which serves as a fascinating learning curve for aspiring MBA entrepreneurs.
Sophia Amoruso’s best-selling autobiography, #GIRLBOSS was adapted into a television series by Netflix, and Amoruso launched the GIRLBOSS Foundation to inspire women to take their career into their own hands. The term GIRLBOSS has gone viral, usually plastered on striking Instagram feeds – often pink – and has created a community of women who are finding success on their terms.
These women should be proud of their success. Still in 2022 they continue to confront numerous challenges and tackle dispiriting stereotypes. Whether in the Fortune 500 or the metaverse, a recent McKinsey report indicates that less that 10 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, only 17 percent of venture capital (VC) dollars go to women led and women co-led companies, and just 15 percent of VC general partners in the United States are women.
But are the phrases ‘female entrepreneur’, ‘female founder’, and ‘girl boss’ contributing to the problem? Do we need to refer to a women’s gender and occupation when the same is not done for men? No one talks about the male co-founder of Apple or the male CEO of Tesla – though admittedly Elon Musk has been given many other adjectives, including his own description as Chief Twit.
Dr. Inès Blal, Executive Dean and Manging Director of EHL Hospitality Business School, believes that women deserve to have the reminder of how hard they have worked for their achievements. “Research by Harvard Business Review shows that managers use more positive words to describe men than women, so a woman that reaches this level of hierarchy in this current environment has often had to deploy a higher level of commitment, sacrifice, and competence.”
“A woman that reaches senior levels of hierarchy in this current environment has often had to deploy … [+]
In Dr. Blal’s opinion, the term female entrepreneur could for many be their way of highlighting their success. Aimee-Louise Carton, founder of KeepAppy and a graduate of the MSc in Entrepreneurship at Trinity Business School in Dublin, echoes Blal’s thoughts, “the decision to be defined by a combination of gender and occupation is a personal choice, and one I choose to claim as I often call myself a female founder.”
Carton understands how many see the term as belittling. “It can be seen to reduce the work of a women to their gender when they are so much more than that. However, I am more proud of what I have overcome and accomplished because of my gender because of the patriarchal society we exist in and the challenges that female and underrepresented founders face.”
At EHL, the world’s top-ranked hospitality management university whose graduates hold countless leadership positions in the industry, Dr. Blal can see both sides of the argument. The phrase alludes to the fact that, because the person is a woman, it will be different from what we consider the norm, “it is like it’s an anomaly that’s worth mentioning.”
So how does the perception that a woman in a leadership position should not be considered an anomaly but as the norm actually change? Antonella Moretto, Associate Dean for Open Programs at POLIMI Graduate School of Management in Milan believes that gender should not have any connection with ability, and the only difference between a male leader and a female leader is just their gender.
“Today, we still have fewer women occupying leadership positions, and this is not due to a matter of merit, but because women often are not believed to be adequate enough for these positions,” says Moretto.
Progress has been made in the two decades since Sophia Amoruso launched Nasty Gal, but there is more to do. Karina Collis, founder and CEO of innovative software platform Dialllog CRM, and an Executive MBA graduate from ESCP Business School in France says that, “society has gone from absence to awareness, and from awareness to action. We are trying to fix an imbalance that has been harmful to women in society at large for too long.”
“We’re making good progress, but the job is not finished. That is why I am still a female … [+]
So, what’s next to ensure that more women fill leadership roles? POLIMI’s Antonella Moretto believes that this should not be done through female mentorship, or through training courses devoted to women. “In my view, this should be promoted first of all through examples. Secondly, the focus for each woman occupying a leadership role is not that she is a woman, but of her value and why she deserves to be in this position.”
Anna Comas, entrepreneur and winner of the Best-Start-up in the G-Accelerator at GBSB Global Business School, emphasises Moretto’s point. “At the end of the day, what we want to be highlighted for is our impact as entrepreneurs and the success of our companies, rather than the fact that we are women.”
To achieve this, Wenda Linthorst, founder of neuromarketing firm Consumatics and student of the year at Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands, advises people to “stop seeing barriers because of the difference. No matter if you’re old, young, male, female, or whatever, just follow your dreams and work on your passion.”
We often focus on the things that make us different from one another, when the reality is that in business there are many similarities united by the same goal: success.
“Too often women believe they need to be exceptional to accomplish their business,” says Carton, “and they will often fear that asking for help is seen as a personal failing.”
Women in all sectors, at different levels, are leading the change. From grandmothers who decided to work in a time where they were expected to be a stay-at-home mother, to the latest generation of STEM graduates; from politicians and publicists to hospitality and health care staff, whether or not they make the front pages.
The argument of whether or not we should use the phrase female entrepreneur comes down to individual preference, many see the term as belittling and others see it as a way to highlight the success of women. Perhaps Karina Collis aptly describes the stage society has reached.
“We’re making good progress, but the job is not finished. That is why I am still a female entrepreneur today, hoping just to be an entrepreneur tomorrow.”
[ad_2]
Sophia Amoruso’s best-selling autobiography, #GIRLBOSS was adapted into a television series by … [+]
The meteoric rise and fall of the women’s fashion retailer, Nasty Gal, founded in 2006 with an eBay account by Sophia Amoruso from her small San Francisco apartment is the subject of a case study at Harvard Business School. Within a decade the online fashion retailer had achieved $300 million in annual revenue, earning Amoruso a spot on Forbes’ list of the Richest Self-Made Women.
But in November 2016, on the day Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, Nasty Gal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. HBS has since revised the case, Nasty Gals Do It Better which serves as a fascinating learning curve for aspiring MBA entrepreneurs.
Sophia Amoruso’s best-selling autobiography, #GIRLBOSS was adapted into a television series by Netflix, and Amoruso launched the GIRLBOSS Foundation to inspire women to take their career into their own hands. The term GIRLBOSS has gone viral, usually plastered on striking Instagram feeds – often pink – and has created a community of women who are finding success on their terms.
These women should be proud of their success. Still in 2022 they continue to confront numerous challenges and tackle dispiriting stereotypes. Whether in the Fortune 500 or the metaverse, a recent McKinsey report indicates that less that 10 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are women, only 17 percent of venture capital (VC) dollars go to women led and women co-led companies, and just 15 percent of VC general partners in the United States are women.
But are the phrases ‘female entrepreneur’, ‘female founder’, and ‘girl boss’ contributing to the problem? Do we need to refer to a women’s gender and occupation when the same is not done for men? No one talks about the male co-founder of Apple or the male CEO of Tesla – though admittedly Elon Musk has been given many other adjectives, including his own description as Chief Twit.
Dr. Inès Blal, Executive Dean and Manging Director of EHL Hospitality Business School, believes that women deserve to have the reminder of how hard they have worked for their achievements. “Research by Harvard Business Review shows that managers use more positive words to describe men than women, so a woman that reaches this level of hierarchy in this current environment has often had to deploy a higher level of commitment, sacrifice, and competence.”
“A woman that reaches senior levels of hierarchy in this current environment has often had to deploy … [+]
In Dr. Blal’s opinion, the term female entrepreneur could for many be their way of highlighting their success. Aimee-Louise Carton, founder of KeepAppy and a graduate of the MSc in Entrepreneurship at Trinity Business School in Dublin, echoes Blal’s thoughts, “the decision to be defined by a combination of gender and occupation is a personal choice, and one I choose to claim as I often call myself a female founder.”
Carton understands how many see the term as belittling. “It can be seen to reduce the work of a women to their gender when they are so much more than that. However, I am more proud of what I have overcome and accomplished because of my gender because of the patriarchal society we exist in and the challenges that female and underrepresented founders face.”
At EHL, the world’s top-ranked hospitality management university whose graduates hold countless leadership positions in the industry, Dr. Blal can see both sides of the argument. The phrase alludes to the fact that, because the person is a woman, it will be different from what we consider the norm, “it is like it’s an anomaly that’s worth mentioning.”
So how does the perception that a woman in a leadership position should not be considered an anomaly but as the norm actually change? Antonella Moretto, Associate Dean for Open Programs at POLIMI Graduate School of Management in Milan believes that gender should not have any connection with ability, and the only difference between a male leader and a female leader is just their gender.
“Today, we still have fewer women occupying leadership positions, and this is not due to a matter of merit, but because women often are not believed to be adequate enough for these positions,” says Moretto.
Progress has been made in the two decades since Sophia Amoruso launched Nasty Gal, but there is more to do. Karina Collis, founder and CEO of innovative software platform Dialllog CRM, and an Executive MBA graduate from ESCP Business School in France says that, “society has gone from absence to awareness, and from awareness to action. We are trying to fix an imbalance that has been harmful to women in society at large for too long.”
“We’re making good progress, but the job is not finished. That is why I am still a female … [+]
So, what’s next to ensure that more women fill leadership roles? POLIMI’s Antonella Moretto believes that this should not be done through female mentorship, or through training courses devoted to women. “In my view, this should be promoted first of all through examples. Secondly, the focus for each woman occupying a leadership role is not that she is a woman, but of her value and why she deserves to be in this position.”
Anna Comas, entrepreneur and winner of the Best-Start-up in the G-Accelerator at GBSB Global Business School, emphasises Moretto’s point. “At the end of the day, what we want to be highlighted for is our impact as entrepreneurs and the success of our companies, rather than the fact that we are women.”
To achieve this, Wenda Linthorst, founder of neuromarketing firm Consumatics and student of the year at Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands, advises people to “stop seeing barriers because of the difference. No matter if you’re old, young, male, female, or whatever, just follow your dreams and work on your passion.”
We often focus on the things that make us different from one another, when the reality is that in business there are many similarities united by the same goal: success.
“Too often women believe they need to be exceptional to accomplish their business,” says Carton, “and they will often fear that asking for help is seen as a personal failing.”
Women in all sectors, at different levels, are leading the change. From grandmothers who decided to work in a time where they were expected to be a stay-at-home mother, to the latest generation of STEM graduates; from politicians and publicists to hospitality and health care staff, whether or not they make the front pages.
The argument of whether or not we should use the phrase female entrepreneur comes down to individual preference, many see the term as belittling and others see it as a way to highlight the success of women. Perhaps Karina Collis aptly describes the stage society has reached.
“We’re making good progress, but the job is not finished. That is why I am still a female entrepreneur today, hoping just to be an entrepreneur tomorrow.”
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