As technologies become more powerful and accessible, women are beginning to harness them to enable themselves to compete on a more level playing field
One of the reasons that Steve Jobs found computers fascinating is that he likened them to being a “bicycle for the mind.”
This idea arose when he learned that, when compared with the rest of the animal kingdom, the human is one of the least efficient creatures at transporting itself, while the condor is the most efficient. However, when a human rides a bicycle, the human surpasses not only the efficiency of the condor, but even the efficiency of an automobile.
Humans are remarkable at using tools and technology to overcome obstacles in nature, and now in the business world as well.
Women have been met with obstacles in their professional lives for centuries. Compensation disparity and lack of access to opportunities and resources persist. And no matter how far we have come, there always seems to be work to do.
But as technologies become more powerful and accessible, women are beginning to harness them to enable themselves to compete on a more level playing field.
Vancouver-based Thinkific recently launched WE Online, a digital summit for women entrepreneurs. The company also shared that at least 55% of its top online course creators are women.
Online business might be the “bicycle” that women have been searching for.
In 2012, just over one-third of all self-employed people in Canada were women, and these women are not only less likely to be approved for debt financing, but also receive only 4% of venture capital. This unequal access to capital puts women at a disadvantage.
However, online business turns this reality on its head. Many online businesses require little or no upfront capital, so women can be liberated from this obstacle. And even when upfront capital is required, there is an increasing array of online options. Cha-zay Sandhriel is the founder of Core Freedom Academy, and she uses Kickstarter to launch and fund her course creation. This allows her to reduce the risk involved in each new project and eliminate the need to deal with financial institutions or investors at all.
Online business also removes women from male-dominated corporate culture, which is one of the biggest reasons that women leave the workforce or do not advance.
But despite women often going unheard in corporate boardrooms, they tend to be more frequent users of social media. And for online businesses, this natural social media savvy is a great advantage, making it easier to reach potential customers digitally.
Finally, online entrepreneurship offers the flexibility to care for one’s family more easily. Dana Malstaff, founder of Boss Mom and WE Online speaker, chose to start an online business when she got pregnant and left her corporate job. She now makes a six-figure income working from home and never has to answer to anyone if she needs to stop working to pick up her sick child from school.
By escaping the financial, social and psychological barriers that women face in traditional business, women are thriving and even building support systems online to help other women succeed. Communities such as Boss Mom and conferences such as WE Online are being created to enable women to teach each other how to succeed with the tools available.
So, women are not only using online tools to help themselves, but are also using them to help others to discover their own versions of a bicycle for the mind.
Brittany Whitmore (@BritWhitmore) is the founder of Exvera Communications.
