The list of challenges facing women in business is surprising long. Women must overcome obstacles by being strategic and working hard. Gender-based barriers can hinder women in a variety of ways, from finding satisfaction at work to getting small businesses loans. Take a look at the challenges that women in business face today:
Women still face gender discrimination and stereotyping in the workplace
Pew Research reports that over 42 % of women who work in the U.S. workforce report experiencing some form of discrimination based on gender. Pay disparities, demotions, and lack of advancement because of family or childbirth reasons are all examples. Women face discrimination more than men in the workplace, but only 22 percent of men have similar experiences. Discrimination is most commonly seen in:
* Women earn less than their male counterparts
Incompetence
* Repeated small insults
Receive less support from management
These challenges are often the result of stereotyping or long-held gender stereotypes. If you believe that women are better suited for certain jobs, this can lead you to assume that they won’t be as competent in other roles.
Women in business continue to face challenges due to gender biases. It can be very difficult to overcome these biases. Women need to perform well enough in order to overcome the stereotypes and assumptions people have about their role at work.
The pressure of balancing career and family priorities
Women in business face a common challenge: balancing their family and career priorities. Individuals have made significant progress in achieving gender equality and balance within families. In a separate Pew Research survey, 57 percent fathers and 58 % mothers said that parenting was extremely important to them. There is still a disparity between the amount of time that mothers spend on family-related activities and fathers. In 1965, the national average shows that mothers worked 9 hours a week, while fathers only spent 46. In 2016, these figures changed to 25 and 42 respectively.
In 1965, mothers spent an average of 32 hours per week doing household chores, compared with 18 in 2016. This is a lot more time than dads who only spent 10 hours a week on housework in 2016.
Women who work full-time still have to deal with a greater workload at home, despite the fact that there is more balance. It can be difficult for women to achieve a healthy balance between work and life.
Inequality by Industry
There are many industries that discriminate against women. Certain sectors are biased towards men due to prejudices regarding the work they do. For instance, jobs that involve physical labor like Plumbing Services and landscaping have traditionally been dominated by men. A Brookings Study found that men are more likely to hold high-level jobs requiring digital skills in the engineering field, whereas women tend to be favored for mid-level roles requiring these digital skills. Pay disparities are the most obvious indicator of inequality in an industry. Women in business face a number of challenges, including the pay gap between women and men. MSN analysed U.S. Census Data to determine the sectors that had the biggest discrepancy between median earnings and the pay of women.
Finance: The salaries of women are 60,4 percent lower than men.
*Â Women earn 65.8 % less than men in the business and enterprise sector.
* Professional scientific and technical services : The salaries of women are 67.4 % higher than men’s.
* Social assistance and health care : The salaries of women are 71.5% higher than men.
Support for Entrepreneurship
Women in business face a number of challenges, including gaining access to capital. According to a PitchBook report, all-female venture capital teams received only 2.2 percent of funding in 2017. A further 12 percent went to mixed-gender groups, but 79 per cent of venture capital funding went to male-only teams. A portion of the funding was given to teams whose gender composition is not confirmed.
It is not just an unbalanced state of affairs, but one that is even worse than the past.
Take Advantage of Opportunities
Women in business face a number of challenges. But several leading organisations are motivated to challenge the status quo. In 2017, 11.6 million companies were owned by women. They employed nearly 9 million employees and generated $1.7 trillion dollars in sales.
We at QuickBridge are committed to fixing the problems with small business loans. This includes providing more women with access to capital. Everyone deserves a loan tailored to their unique business rhythms. Do not let your challenges hold you back. Contact us now to get started.
