3 easy ways to help women succeed in business
In professional settings, women are often ignored or pushed down when they try to climb the ladder to success. We talk about women empowerment throughout the year, but if we don't do anything about it to help women rise in their respective careers, the talk remains just that – talk. In order to empower women in their work settings, we need to start by giving them an equal footing in different aspects of personal life. We need to prove to them that they don't need to have a beard to acquire the corner office. But this is easier said than done. For starters, here are three ways in which we can help women make their own place in business.
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Make use of your established network to help women grow
If you've been in business for a long time, you are bound to have an established set of contacts and connections. Make use of your network to reach out to your female friends who are still finding their footing in the business world. If you have a great following on Facebook and Twitter or you have a lot of subscribers to your blog, make sure to promote your friend's business like you would promote your own. When you use your connections to introduce budding female entrepreneurs to vendors and potential clients, you give them a much-needed push in the right direction.
Make the voices of women heard
There have been times when women are spoken over or spoken down to during important meetings when they make a point. This needs to stop. What's even worse is when female colleagues contribute to a discussion with a brilliant idea and male colleagues steal their idea and pass it off as their own. Women and men need to band together to ensure that things like these never happen. When the voices of women begin to get heard, they will be able to make their mark in the corporate world as equals to men.
Take women up with you along the way
How many of you take time to find a woman in your office who could do with help in her career? The reason most top positions are reserved for men is because nobody has the inclination to advocate for a female colleague's promotion or to coach her through an important career decision. According to Nicole Faurot, partner at Marlowe partners, “Women in senior roles who are able to advocate for other gritty and talented women by giving clear and concise feedback as well as support at the key times in career paths have been some of the best advocates and mentors I’ve seen. Men can also pay this role and often do,” as stated in Entrepreneur.
From making pitches to constructing business models, women can benefit from the help of their male and female colleagues. Use the above mentioned methods to help female entrepreneurs rise up and build a successful business of their own.
