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5 Reasons Why There Are Less Women Entrepreneur In Business World What makes women lose, fail or get eliminated in the race of innovation, expansion and profitability? Here is the core reason why.

By Swati Sinha

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In such a huge nation which talks about Startups, development and progress, we have handful of women who are really making mark in the industry. There is something wrong and I definitely don't mean to list socio economic barriers and other factors which can be termed as pseudo feminism. I want to talk about those inherent reasons in a woman's personality which has become their own enemy.

I want to build my conversation on those strong reasons which if worked upon can give wondrous results. I know many such women who are really doing good work in their areas of expertise. But still this number is so less, so insignificant in comparison to the size of this huge nation.

I have been reading a lot of news after this startup thing came in the limelight since last year. How Entrepreneurs are changing economy and how they can impact it in a better way? But what about low female count in this arena. Why so less women are successful in the world of Business?

What makes them lose, fail or get eliminated in the race of innovation, expansion and profitability? Why we have so few stories of women success? I have listed few of the core reasons why this disparity exists and we can always add to the list.

They don't talk about themselves

Women hate to talk about themselves and their skills. They feel it's not so feminine to talk about themselves. It may root to their childhood memories where girls would ignore those who appreciated themselves. They would term it as selfish to talk about themselves, but this is one such strong reason why society fails to acknowledge your presence. Because it's you who don't acknowledge your own presence. You need to talk about your strengths, your skills and your capabilities and equally portray them through your work. It has nothing to do with your feminism.

They are less assertive

Confidence is a overhyped word, it is present in everybody. Its significance lies in its proper use and not actually holding oneself back for wrong reasons. We belong to a society where sacrifice is glorified and we are made to believe asking for anything or taking a stand is not at all a womanly act.

This stays with us when we quote our rates in our business proposal, when we negotiate our terms with our clients, when we propose our idea to an investor. Every time we need to be assertive, we step back and accept what is being offered, knowing its less than what we deserve. We just don't like to assert our thoughts, views, our rates openly. And then we suffer to scale, expand and empower ourselves and many others like us.

They hate to tell stories

Stories, anecdotes, narratives are big way to connect with people. I would anyway prefer a real life expert in comparison to facts and figures presented in a pie chart to impress my listeners. Women believe stories are fiction and it may make them less credible. Truth is juxtapose, Stories helps you to connect with your listener. It helps you open up and build that trust factor on which whole business runs. They would like to know more about you, your passion, your understanding of complex issues and your original first hand experience of many things you did while building your business. Women need to be better storytellers.

Self-doubt is the biggest hurdle in a woman's path

Can I do it? Am I worth it? how will support me? What if I fail? We are groomed to be excellent and that is the biggest road block in our success. We just don't take it easy. It's okay to fail, to cry, to repent, to regret. But it's not okay to never try.

Every woman goes through this stage of self-doubt and most of us stop there. That is end of our wonderful journey towards achieving our full potential. No matter if we fail or success but we must always keep a clear vision and try to achieve small goals toward our final destination. Self doubt only kills our aspirations.

Women are scared of success

This is one such strange reason why women fail. Our society has been successful in imbibing these thoughts in women since tender age that Ambition makes you less womanly. If you are ambitious you would lose focus of your family and home. Such incidences are very common when a woman avoids a promotion for fear of more responsibility. She is scared how will she manage all this? But dear ladies if you have managed this far, you would manage that too.

It's just a matter of time and now seems to be out of your comfort zone will only widen your comfort zone to a great extent. Don't shy away from a promotion, a raise or a new assignment. Success is good to taste and that too when you have worked so hard for it.

It's not easy to fight back these reasons, but we can always try towards a better road map of success. Our biggest enemies our own thoughts and these reasons are just cemented thoughts of our society which can be broken by our grit and passion.

Swati Sinha

Founder & Principal Advisor, Savanna HR

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