Entrepreneurship!

It’s been called “The New Women’s Movement”.

It certainly feels like a movement and one that is gathering exciting pace.  While the corporate world is celebrating the ‘lean in’ philosophy and feminine leadership is the latest buzz word, quite a lot of women are turning their backs on it all and saying to hell with that, I’m going my own way. I know because I am one!

Women are starting businesses at a faster rate than men.

In some countries, like the US, it’s twice the rate of men.

Isn’t it ironic to think that something as traditionally masculine as entrepreneurship with all its apparent risk taking and nail-biting decision making would end up being such a natural home for the next stages of feminine evolution?

It’s a good job too when you look at the state of the world!

The entire global economy is scrambling around looking for new growth and new ways to create prosperity after the carnage of the 2008 financial crisis.

Entrepreneurship is one of the greatest ways to lift any economy out of the doldrums because it fosters innovation, creative thinking, creative destruction and pushes things forward.

Men have done a wonderful job in this arena for a very long time and continue to do so. This is not a men versus women debate but more a realisation that more people, be they men or women, stepping into entrepreneurship is a great thing for all of us.

During the first stages of the feminist movement when women started to enter the workforce in a meaningful way, the impact on growth was huge. According to the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report, the US has experienced 11% growth over the last 40 years as a direct result of the increased participation of women. That’s $3.5 Trillion to put it into a financial context!

What’s more amazing is the developing nations that have added more to global growth than the mighty China by investing in women.

Now that’s something!

It looks like the next stage of this is the rise of the ‘femtrepreneur’. With women really stepping up now, getting savvier and slowly showing up on the self made billionaire lists I think we are onto something.

The world should feel very good that the rules of the game are changing and the rise of the feminine in business is striking a pose.

Why do you think I want to be a part of it ……..?