There was once a young girl, around the age of 12, who started a photo distribution business from her house, wherein she would order posters for her friends and sell it to them, so that she could get hers for free; this was done only because she wanted posters of beautiful places, but unfortunately or not, couldn’t afford them.
Later on in life, she went on to work with Elle- one of the biggest lifestyle magazines in the world- as a photo editor, after which she realized the following and we quote:
“1. I wanted to be the boss.
2. I had a lot of ideas, and my bosses didn’t necessarily agree.
3. I wanted to change the world”
And so, she did. She today, is the growth architect and founder of “The Women’s Code”, a company that focuses on helping women entrepreneurs grow their businesses. While nurturing and encouraging the idea of “women empowerment” in the best way possible, Beate Chelette continues to help womankind prove and improve their business related skills, thus becoming a boss to many, something that she always desired.
This was the example of one woman, but with changing trends and the acceptance of women being as “capable” as men are when it comes to being a leader, the world today definitely sees a lot more and will hopefully continue to witness the power of women, in more ways than one.
Since the idea of women being restricted to taking care of their spouses and children is long gone, it is fair to say that even though not completely, the world is finally progressing towards totally achieving gender equality.
Unlike a few decades ago where hearing about a woman entrepreneur was appalling to many, today we get to see very few people with such a reaction. If not anything else, the idea is certainly being normalized which is why some of the top entrepreneurs in the world are women. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, more than 250 million entrepreneurs worldwide are women. Apart from that, roughly 153 million women are operating already established businesses. Even though it may be two-thirds the rate of men, it is still a huge number.
Let’s Go Through The Traits Of Women That Prove Why They Make Great Leaders!
Multi-tasking is an inbuilt characteristic
From managing home duties to office work, today’s woman definitely has her hands full. It is not uncommon to see single moms swinging around from place to place in order to keep everything together, without complaining at all. A person who goes through a handful on a daily basis is definitely very likely to be able to manage quite a few things when taking her workplace into consideration; and over there, she can definitely manage the show.
Temper Control is a Plus Point
The average woman is definitely known to be a sympathetic if not an empathetic person. This trait is very important for any leader to possess, considering the amount of stress and problems everybody goes through today. If one doesn’t reach targets on time, or an employee is having a bad day, it’s important to keep things together without losing your head and in such situations, a woman with a good temper is certain to do wonders. When delegates from countries can resolve issues with a mere pen and by avoiding war, it is very important for a leader to follow the same. It is important to ‘explain’, not to ‘scream’.
EQ is as favourable as IQ
Without a doubt, a woman who is able to manage a whole company all by herself, is definitely high on IQ. But what about emotional intelligence? Well, let us tell you that according to Wikipedia, “Current literature finds women have higher emotional intelligence ability than men based on common ability tests such as MSCEIT and the newer Test of Emotional Intelligence”.
EQ is a very important factor when it comes to boosting employee morale and being sensitive towards their issues while being a good listener. Starting a company and hiring staff for it is definitely commendable, but ensuring that your employees are kept happy and stick around for a long period of time is also important and that’s where a woman’s emotional intelligence comes into play.
An Added Benefit: Inequality Is Looked Down Upon
With our women blooming in every sector today, it is definitely fair to give credit to those who perhaps were in power when women taking up entrepreneurial roles had just kicked in. Yes, we’re talking about the men who stood up for gender equality. Even though they weren’t the ones initiating the whole idea of a woman being a leader, they weren’t afraid of the idea of the opposite gender doing as well or better than them in professions other than “home makers”. Even today we thankfully get to hear things like “Our women ministers will disprove the old adage that women can’t lead,”said by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, or sentences like “If she’s not paid the same as the men, I’m not doing it.” by our very beloved Benedict Cumberbatch a.k.a. doctor strange.
With such support from people today and the confidence in our women, it won’t be surprising at all once they reach the same percentage as men when it comes to being entrepreneurs. It is important to continue educating, supporting and helping our women and most importantly- treating them equally.