Challenges Faced by Women Entrepreneurs

Women struggle with a wide range of challenges in business. Here are some of the challenges women encounter — and some of the larger-than-life female entrepreneurs who overcame them.

Things looked way better on the paper for female entrepreneurs. In 2017 more than 11 million U.S. businesses were owned by women. But this is only one side of the story. However, the truth is that women-owned businesses are still a minority.

No one talks about the hurdles and challenges every woman faced in the business world. Let’s talk about a few challenges faced by women.

Challenging social expectations

In the business world, you have to attend networking events. Females can relate to this scenario that when you walk into such events you can easily count the females present in the crowd. In such a situation, women are expected to behave as stereotypical males: aggressive, competitive, and harsh.

But that’s not true. Successful female CEOs have entirely different mindsets. They believe that staying true to yourself helps you achieve success and rise above preconceived expectations.

“Be yourself, and have confidence in who you are,” said Hilary Genga, founder, and CEO of Trunkettes.

Struggling to be taken seriously

Female leadership qualities are not valued in male-dominant workplaces. Alison Gutterman, CEO, and president of Jelmar had this experience early in her career.

“As a female entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry, earning respect has been a struggle,” she said. Because Jelmar is her family’s business, she faced presumptions that she was living off her father’s and grandfather’s reputations.

“I was more than willing to put in the work to create my reputation for being a hardworking, honorable businessperson in my own right,” Gutterman said. “To overcome this, I have had to learn to build my confidence and overcome my negative self-talk.” To combat them, she has joined a variety of women entrepreneur groups.

Building a support network

A robust support system is essential for entrepreneurial success. However, a lack of advisors and mentors limits professional growth. The high-level business world is dominated by men, so it is hard to find connections.

Finding the right support network isn’t always easy. Some good places to start are women-focused networking events — such as WIN Conference, eWomenNetwork, and Bizwomen events — as well as online forums and groups created specifically for women in business, like Ellevate Network.

Once you find your network of supporters, don’t be afraid to ask for what you need from them!