The Edit / by Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa
As women entrepreneurs, we know how important it is to our own business journeys to have successful women role models to inspire us - women who have built great businesses, often against the odds. And for the next generation of young girls, it’s equally important that they have role models to inspire them to consider entrepreneurship as their future. Yet, a new research study in the UK by Santander found that a staggering 81% of 11-18-year olds in the UK are unable to name a single female entrepreneur. It shows that visibility of women entrepreneur role models for young girls is key, especially on the African continent.
The Santander study into the importance of women entrepreneur role models for young girls has some interesting learnings about the work that still needs to be done to address some key challenges. The study found that children today are nearly four times as likely to think of a man than a woman when they hear the word ‘entrepreneur’ (37% vs. 10%). Over six in ten – 63% – of girls aged 11-18 said they have never thought about starting their own business, with the main reason cited that they don’t know anything about how to begin (43%). You only have to look at the percentage of women creating businesses (for example only a fifth of businesses in Britain are currently run by women) to see the knock-on effect the lack of visible female role models is having on the next generation.
Susan Davies, Managing Director at Santander Business, the company who undertook the study, commented: “It’s shocking that as we enter the 2020s some parents continue to believe that boys are somehow more naturally suited to business than girls. These findings clearly show that as a nation we need to do much more to encourage and support young women to become entrepreneurs. It’s vital that we harness the huge potential of young women to drive economic growth and shape the country’s future through new business ideas.”
The research also suggests that the family and community environment in which young girls grow up also plays a huge part in influencing their thinking about entrepreneurship as a viable future path for themselves. If there are no women entrepreneurs in the extended family or community, or if they are not talked about through the school curriculum, then this lack of visibility perpetuates this entrepreneurship gender divide, The study found that just a third (35%) of girls interviewed stated that they had been encouraged by their parents to become an entrepreneur, versus 42% of boys. The study also found that almost half – 46% – of parents believe entrepreneurship is largely male-dominated, with a quarter (27%) saying it’s because ‘men are more business minded.’ This is a worrying finding as it just perpetuates the entrepreneurship gender divide. Santander’s research also revealed seven out of ten (70%) children claim they have never been encouraged to consider entrepreneurship as a career choice at school. Among those who have, there is a further gender disparity – with just 20% of girls saying they have been encouraged to become an entrepreneur in school (versus 24% of boys).
Another fascinating insight emerging from the Santander research study was that when asked to name successful women entrepreneurs they knew about, only a small number of the children interviewed could actually recall names. And those that could suggest actual names of women entrepreneurs they had seen or heard of mentioned only women with high visibility in the media or entertainment business. For example, Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce Knowles and JK Rowling. So the problem seems to be that there is a distinct lack of visibility of women entrepreneur role models from within the family, the community, the country and certainly in individual industry sectors. It should not come as a surprise then that the number of young girls considering entrepreneurship as their future career path remains small.
Without successful role models to look up to and learn from, it is very hard for young girls across the globe, and especially in Africa, to believe that they too can build a good life for themselves and their families through entrepreneurship. Taking the plunge and deciding to build a business from scratch is hard enough for any woman in Africa, or elsewhere in the world for that matter. But for young girls who do not have the right access to learning, development, training and mentorship, it can simply be just too daunting. Without role models who are visible in their own countries and communities, it can just seem like an impossible dream. That’s why at Lionesses of Africa, each day we make visible women entrepreneurs who are out there building and growing businesses each day. We share their stories, their experiences, their advice so that other young girls who look to follow in their footsteps can feel their own entrepreneurial dreams and aspirations are possible.
Let’s get more visible Lionesses! Our future generation of young, aspirant women entrepreneurs are depending on us to inspire, motivate and help them to contribute to Africa’s socio-economic success.