WHEN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS ARE HARASSED

Women entrepreneurs see the world through a different lens and, in turn, do things differently where they are crucial to economic growth, around the world.

However, unlike the woman in the kitchen (housewife) whose dream is to have a plus from her kids for her meals, the woman entrepreneur is another with her ideas, dreams and target. For the woman in the kitchen to be publicly harassed, it takes a stronger hand or the biggest say to get her story rolling in the graphics, TV ads, and social media etc.

The woman entrepreneur, on the other hand, has a lot to lose both emotionally and physically- where her business becomes her soul. And mind you, women are more available to the media.

Here are five things women entrepreneurs face when they are harassed

·        EMOTIONAL STRESS (PSYCHOLOGICALLY EMBARRASSED)

Women in nature tend to be more depressed as compared to men when they are harassed. Their ability to put together forces that operate around them to rise up, dust off and get going is simply ignored in their first quarter of agony. They need much time to clean their tears and set the enthusiast spirits to work again. Entrepreneurship has a hallmark of stress where persistence must be constant. With women entrepreneurs, stress has a part to play in their quest to work for someone, a man. Building their own businesses is more challenging. Predispose to a world of struggles and impossibilities, before they join the entrepreneurial world, was that well-accumulated emotional gesture, derived overtime to tame and get her business running. If a woman entrepreneur is harassed in public, she spends time to whip the picture off. If she is the media type, she’d have to stay indoors or probably go the office empty-headed. Sometimes, some women bring out their villain selves.

·        DECREASE IN SUPPORT NETWORKS.

One study found that nearly half of women business founders suffer from a lack of business advisers and mentors who could facilitate their professional growth. It is, however, pathetic that after doing hard errands to getting a network that sponsors their business, another hitch comes to destroy everything. Sometimes harassment stories caused to women do not have the views of these women published. Here there is no consideration because the majority of industries and high-level businesses remain dominated by men. It can be challenging for women to work their way into “good business-minded boys’” networks again. But without meaningful connections, it becomes really difficult to gain traction back in an industry or access resources that facilitated/ is facilitating their business development. All the evidence from studies, investing in women entrepreneurs and many others, suggest the need to address societal factors when attempting to enable female entrepreneurs. Addressing the hard skill deficit can only go so far without combatting the typical domestic and societal pressures that continue to plague women in the developing world. Accomplished female entrepreneurs, in turn, can potentially generate a greater impact on their environment by channelling their success into helping their children and communities.

·        PUBLIC RIDICULE.

Women entrepreneurs face public ridicule when publicly harassed. Where the world sits on their shoulders causing overwhelming pressure. And this is a major devastating effect on every business person or owner. Many times, the investors’ firms and colleagues ignored or played down what had happened when the situations were brought to their attention. Saying anything, the women were warned, might lead to some sort of ostracism. Culprits who cause such predatory behaviour had often been murmured about but rarely exposed and this leaves blame on the victim.

·        FEAR OF CONTINUATION

The chain of events has emboldened more women to talk publicly about the treatment they endure from people with upper hands. And then you would realize that there is such a massive imbalance of power that women entrepreneurs often end up in distressing situations. Fear of losing to the masses eventually begin to eat them up slowly. Often, she may feel guilty of building up unreal scenarios in her head when the incident persists coming to her. And then this guilty feeling would be amplifying a problem that wouldn’t even come to exist -- all because of fear. The ultimate crash comes when people start thinking for her, where it is likely she loses her cravings for her own startup ideas.

Losing all the sailing on her entrepreneurial journey, the thought of having to go back and work in a traditional job can seem crushing. And that’s what usually happens if she loses the creativity she’s staked her business on. To continually foster creativity, women entrepreneurs have a wide range of ideas compared to men entrepreneurs. But they easily lose these ideas to fear. So managing this fear, creating space to allow herself to recharge, can be as difficult as deadly.

Article by Collins Scott A. (CSANYOMI)