# 110: The Digital Gender Gap and Women Entrepreneurs
Story behind the Passage
It is such a joy to be able to participate in a conference in which women entrepreneurs and researchers from around the world are meeting online. Yes, there are many really tragic things about Covid but organizing conferences has definitely become cheaper because of the fact that you in a virtual room. For sure, it is tedious to be sitting in front of the screen for almost a day but this is what it is right now. Especially entrepreneurs are trained in accepting whichever circumstances they find to then turn them into opportunities.
The reason why I am writing about this is because I have had the privilege of participating in such a conference today (and will do so tomorrow as well). It simply thrills me to spend time with such a diverse group of women who are connected by their common interest in entrepreneurship. There are women from Africa, Arab countries, Europe, and the UK (yes, not EU anymore…). Whenever I find myself in such a circle, I feel comfortable. Since I had the privilege of living in some of these countries, all the images and stories come up while they talk about their experiences and insights. In other cases, I learn so many new things about countries that I have not visited. In any case, in such an environment of open-mindedness, nomads like me feel at ease.
In such an environment, nobody has time for the usual bullshitting that you find in other academic circles where sometimes, it is more important how expensive your designer belt was or how many sophisticated MBA terms you used in your presentation. People who have traveled to many countries and/or migrated have been through things that make you focus on what is really important. And that simply feels nice, in spite of the fact that entrepreneurs are a special kind in and of themselves.
But I am getting off topic here.
What all this made me think about today is how much magic there is to digital technology. But it also made me aware that technology can turn into a huge disadvantage, especially for women. I am not saying this because the women today were not able to handle technology — far from it. Especially the academics among us have managed two semesters of online teaching already and all others have also basically moved their business communication online. Still, for me, this is a different group of entrepreneurs than my usual “crowd.” Since I have been surrounded by startups for the past 2.5 years, technology is so “normal” to me. No, I am not a techie (yet) but today I simply realized that there still is a digital gender gap that can hardly be ignored.
This is why I searched for some current data on the topic for my post today. And the OECD study “Bridging the Digital Gender Divide: Include, Upskill, Innovate” gives a great overview of the status quo. I have to stress, I am not an expert on the digital gender gap. I just did some basic research on the issue last year, I think. But now, I am much deeper into the different aspects that are related to entrepreneurial success. There are so many issues that one could talk about in this context but I am simply showing the summary here and will dive deeper into some issues that particularly move me right now.
My Learnings
“Digital technologies offer leapfrog opportunities and help empower women.” We also started talking about social media today. I am quite surprised about the fact how much I have learned in the past years as an entrepreneur. No, I will never be the typical MBA person who thinks in dollar notes and business models only (yes, sure, not every MBA does that…). Still, my thinking has become a lot more value-driven in a way and because of all the (peripheral) tech encounters I have also learned much more about the real power of networks. This is exactly why this sentence is so important. There is so much potential that women can waste without even being aware of it.
When talking about the digital gender gap, there are, of course, so many things that need to be done globally to close it. Many of them are so encompassing and complex that it takes political solutions on the highest governmental levels. The actual outcomes of these efforts will become visible in many years — or not. But I will not be talking about these because they are out of reach. Maybe it is my coaching training even more than my entrepreneurial role but whatever it is: Increasingly, I try to focus on those things that are in your sphere of influence. All these other things on the meta level are important, for sure, but getting things done means you need to focus on the smaller things that you — and only you without any additional resources — can control and therefore change.
Social media presence is exactly such a thing. I am really worried that especially women from more ‘traditional,’ i.e., analog businesses are underestimating the power of these networks to create “leapfrog opportunities.” I am not saying that I am an expert on social media or network effects. But I can definitely say that, since I have always had networking DNA in my blood, the digital means were an intuitive tool for me that made networking even easier. They are like an ‘extended arm’ to shake more hands. But I know that for many people, including women entrepreneurs, the benefits of social networks are not that clear. There is often the question: “What is really in it for me? What are the benefits? Do I really need this?”
I totally support these questions and the skepticism because as an entrepreneur, I know that business is not about being popular — it is about making money. There are many people who have 50k followers and media attention but still zero income. So, being famous does not necessarily help. What helps, however, is a certain degree of visibility — not just in branding terms but also with regard to personal visibility. We should never forget: digital media are tools. They make it easier to connect with many people and among the many, there are a few that might actually end up doing business with you. That in and of itself maximizes the chances of making business at all.
In addition, realizing “leapfrog opportunities,” from my perspective, is not only about making business. It is also about simply gaining inspiration. And that is the same for researchers and entrepreneurs alike. Sometimes I see some content posted by someone in my network and I get inspired to do something for my business that I would never have thought of without this inspiration. So, there is no immediate relation between the content someone posts and my conclusion. Still, if you do not join the network, you have zero possibility to accidentally get this “leapfrog opportunity.” Eventually, this also means you are making less money, in the extreme case. Money that you never actually saw because it has remained invisible in a way. But it could have materialized.
“Women have much to gain from boosting their use of digital tools.” This issue is important for me to highlight not only because of the social-networking issue described above. My fear is that many women, because they have completely analog business models (e.g., handicrafts, trade, consulting and coaching), do not think about adding digital components to their business or even changing the business model into a digital one. Again, I am not saying that just because the digital world offers many opportunities, we all need to be 100% digital now. Still, not dealing with the issue as far as hardcore value creation is concerned can turn into a really difficult issue if, all of a sudden, your old business model gets disrupted by new competitors.
This is also what makes me so worried about the lasting gender gap because I am not seeing how we can close it that soon. There is a vicious cycle that emerges if women do not integrate digital solutions in their businesses because they will automatically end up being less efficient than those that do. This can seriously risk their economic health and survival. If this is the case, they lose their status of women role models. I mean, of course, as women who started new ventures, they will always be role models for others. But the point is, financial stability is crucial for people, especially if they have families to support. Hence, unsuccessful business women will not inspire others to follow their path. And then, it might not even be that visible that missed digital opportunities were actually the cause of the failure.
“Raising awareness about education opportunities is key for women and girls.” Someone just texted me a status quo of a business issue and I happened to respond with the sentence:
“My knowledge has always been my life insurance. So, we will figure out the best way, I am sure.”
This might sound overly self-confident but it is actually the opposite, I think. Entrepreneurs are learners and researchers by nature. Learning is the only way how you can reduce the high uncertainty that goes along with entrepreneurship. And I think, especially children from non-academic family backgrounds try to prove to themselves and to others that they can learn at least as much as anybody else. So, when I am saying that knowledge has always been my life insurance, this does calm me down a bit but I also know that I have learned so much simply because I always tried to escape the risk of not knowing enough; of ending up with no job or no money or both.
The problem with the digital gender gap is that many women who have been learners all their lives (in practice and theory) are not transferring their learning habits to the online world. Otherwise, these figures telling us that women do not participate that much in MOOCs would look different. And that is very sad because there are great opportunities online. I am not saying that I am truly convinced of the quality of all these offerings. Still, what is the risk? You can always learn something new. Remember — even the shittiest teacher might have taught you something valuable for your life, right?
So, it is extremely important for women to explore these online learning opportunities, especially if they are not connected to any bigger institutions of higher or civic education. Community is everything. Usually, I do not advertise anything publicly but today, I simply googled which offers some online academies make in the field of entrepreneurship. As it turns out, most of them have courses that are relevant for entrepreneurs in any business. They even have special courses on women’s leadership and management. For those of you who are not at all familiar with MOOCs and online learning platforms, here are some really famous ones: udemy, udacity, treehouse, coursera.
There are many more and I have personally only tried two of them. And, of course, the reason was because they are affordable. You can get courses for only 20 EUR — and they are not bad. And, of course, most of these platforms started with a definite tech vision in mind. So, you can learn everything about the new technologies and you can do so on various different levels. I do think that this is a wonderful achievement of humanity, even though it does challenge traditional institutions of higher education. Again, this knowledge might not make you rich but at least it will make you part of the digital crowd and, naturally, you will improve your tech skills by exploring new platforms and new means of communication and interaction. Just think of your Zoom or Teams skills now — did you ever actually use these tools before Covid?
Again, one could write endlessly about this issue. The point is: I am personally noticing my own journey that is bringing me closer and closer to technology. I would never have thought this because my most important strengths are quite analog, so to speak. I never imagined myself to become interested in tech stuff and algorithms. Still, maybe even because I am a story lover, I am simply curious to dig deeper into the stories that technology can tell me. I want to learn more about how it is possible that we can sit together in a virtual room for two days, sharing our knowledge, bringing in new ideas. I want to learn more about what is underneath the letters I see on the screen, I want to learn about the future of technology. And maybe, if I succeed, I will be able to bring this knowledge to those women around the world who do not live in countries in which the gender gap is closing already.
It does not matter where you start — as long as you start somewhere and discover everything with joy. You can still outpace all others. Technology might help you win your entrepreneurial race.
Reflection Questions
1) How would you describe your personal relationship to new technology?
2) Think of three possible advantages that digital technology might bring to your business/research. What about trying one of them?
3) Is there something that you would really like to learn but you never managed to get started? Are there offerings in this field by the online academies?