No, this post isn’t about gender identity—it’s about how arbitrary I find the labels “female entrepreneur” and “woman entrepreneur.”
People like to create two categories for business owners: entrepreneurs and female entrepreneurs. I have never understood why the two have to be separated. Haven’t we reached the point in our society where we’ve stopped delineating between the capabilities of each gender? (Watch the videos in the Always’ #LikeAGirl campaign for tear-jerking examples.) Can’t we just focus on the subject of entrepreneurship without breaking it down further?
I need no home court advantage
While there’s nothing inherently wrong with resources directed specifically at women who own businesses, I fail to see the point. Don’t we all need help writing a business plan, networking with other business owners, and finding funding? Why is it specific to women? You don’t see “male entrepreneur” resources.
I certainly don’t speak for all womankind, but I don’t want special treatment because I’m a woman. I want to succeed—and have, over the 13 years I’ve owned my marketing firm—based on merit and my ability to kick a$$ at what I do.
Being a mother and business owner isn’t notable
I absolutely detest the term mompreneur. Recognizing a woman who both raises human beings and runs a business is like congratulating a man for walking and breathing at the same time. It’s not commendable; it’s life. And where are the men who are doing the same? “Dadpreneur” is much less of a popularized term because it just comes with the territory.
Mothers who work as employees aren’t “momployees.” So why do we point out the combination of the roles if they run a business?
Years ago, I knew a divorced woman who would complain every chance she got about how hard it was to be a single mom. It made me crazy that she wore that label like an albatross. Now that I find myself a single mom, I refuse to embrace the label as an excuse for things being hard sometimes—they’re hard for everyone.
I rarely think to call myself a single mother. I’m just a mother (and business owner) who happens to not have a partner. That doesn’t make my life tremendously difficult because I refuse to let it. I’m still 100% capable of doing what needs doing. It’s the same for running a business.
Men are from Mars . . .
There’s a lot of talk about the differences in how men and women work professionally and how they’re wired. A lot of it is cultural, I believe. When you hear about women being less assertive in the workplace, I suspect that’s more because historically women haven’t been as easily heard as men when they voice their opinions. It’s not that we have something lacking in our brains that keeps us from being self-confident; it’s experience.
I’d love to move the trend away from women acting more like men. I do recognize that many of us came up in a work environment surrounded by males and that we adopted behaviors that we thought would get us ahead (and maybe they did). But it’s like an artist copying another artist’s style. You’re better off coming up with your own.