Exploring the realities, resilience, and remarkable contributions of women who continue to redefine success in male-dominated industries.

Having worked with many women throughout my career as an entrepreneur development consultant and business mentor. I have noticed very similar traits that most women entrepreneurs possess and some aspects of business that they do differently from other male business owners that I’ve interacted with.

Firstly, the nurturing nature of women plays a big role in how they do business. Women are generally nurturing; therefore, this results in them caring about more than just financial growth and profitability. The majority want to grow their businesses beyond themselves and see others grow along-side them. This could be their staff members, suppliers or even other small businesses around them. Through women entrepreneurs we can achieve greater impact on society as a whole.

Secondly, the unique ability to multitask is a trait that many women possess. We see many successful women being able to juggle building their business, raising children, building a family and still playing an active part in their communities. This makes women exceptional entrepreneurs because they do not focus on just one role, they are able to manage the responsibilities of all their roles. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a lot of women in business having to work from home, looking after their families while still getting their businesses to stay afloat during this difficult period. I myself had a funny encounter that I would never forget during that time, my 3-year-old son was hanging on my back while I was frantically trying to complete a report; my husband walked in the room and couldn’t understand how I could continue working unbothered whilst my son was on my back. I turned to him and said ‘’we as women find it very easy to multitask’’. This incident was a reminder for me of how women have been able to run their households, raise children while still building their businesses; this is an incredible superpower that should not be understated.

Thirdly women are resilient, despite the prejudice, barriers and challenges faced in the business and sometimes personal environment there is still a desire to grow, learn and help others around them to do the same. This resilience is not necessarily unique to women only; however, it is a trait that keeps many women going despite the inherent challenges of being a woman in business.

Although there are positive traits of women in entrepreneurship, this is sometimes accompanied by weaknesses that are not helpful to the growth of women in business. There are similar characteristics that hold back many women from achieving their full potential in business.