Women are a force to be considered with in the business world. In Pakistan we have the world’s lowest rate of women’s entrepreneurship with only 1% of female entrepreneurs as compared to 21% of male entrepreneurs said: World Bank.
Our country is vastly talented with very hardworking and successful women who are working both at home and outside the country making Pakistan to be proud. They are fully using their potential by the use of their aptitudes in given opportunities. But the fact is most of them had to go through a lot of hurdles, hardships and difficulties to get in business world.
For the last 20 years, more women have decided to start their own businesses than ever before. The reality is that women can, and should, have the potential to be in the business world. They just don’t rely only on luck to get success. Women have optimistic approach to begin the entrepreneurial activities because of having a personal motivation i.e. they want self-accomplishment in life. Experts conclude that a woman of Pakistan has a strong desire to get self-achievement. So why are women still subject to low rate in business world? Following are the five most prominent myths still making the rounds today and affecting the number of women entrepreneurs.
Myth 1: Women are bad at negotiating:
This old chestnut needs a very important revision. Research shows that women are very effective negotiators and ask for pay raises just as often as men. In return, when women are able to harness so-called feminine traits that are typically used against them, they can be just as effective as men.
Myth 2: Women with kids will not have time to meet leadership obligations:
In terms of representing leadership skills and the ability to make effective decisions, the quality matters more than the quantity of time a person spends at the office.
Myth 3: Women lack the confidence to lead:
In fact, women and men have similar levels of ambition and equivalent career objectives in workplace in spite this fact; women can be more confident when business world provide them the equal opportunities to progress in workplace.
Myth 4: Women executives are not supportive of other women:
This myth is predominantly dangerous when it comes to empowering females in the corporate world. And there are numbers of facts to prove that it is false. In fact, studies show that 65% of women who received career development support are now actively working to develop new talent — while only 56% of men are doing so.
Myth 5: Women are bad at numbers:
There is nothing wrong with the female biology when it comes to math. Instead, , international studies have repeatedly shown that cultural factors need to be changed to eliminate math-gender gap where it exists.
Women must be considered seriously in business, be it as executives or entrepreneurs. They can convey different viewpoints to the legendary table and tend to be more strategic. It will take time to achieve workplace equality, but women in business are a trend that can, and should, be rise up. The trend for women in business is still growing. It is driven by women determined to “lean in” and get into the big business game. Women Entrepreneur must defy the stereotypes myths and don’t let the misconceptions and biases of others hold them back by following this remarkable saying: “someone else opinion for you is none of your business”.
This trend needs special attention by the governments and influencers of business to removes barriers (myths) to women entrepreneurship. We need a drastic change in mind set of our society. This means that social revolution and faith in leadership of women from all groups and classes of society are required. And the governments and businesses should consider strategies to support women entrepreneurs in a way to boost country’s economic condition also.