Female tech entrepreneurs face many challenges. But, you know what? It’s worth it.  There are some downsides: like being told “you’re not qualified” when you obviously are, or having to put up with sexism from people whom you would never expect. 

Women in male-dominated fields face gender discrimination, sexism, and other forms of prejudice daily. This is not to mention the lack of representation for females in leadership positions or as CEOs. The struggles can be discouraging, but there are opportunities for tremendous growth for women.

6 Unique Challenges Women Tech Entrepreneurs Face

1. The gender pay gap.

A study conducted by Hired showed that 59% of men were paid more in tech jobs than their women counterparts doing the same thing. When you translate that metric into entrepreneurship, women face even more of a challenge because they have to work much harder to get the pay they deserve from clients, customers, shareholders, and investors.

2. Women are less likely to be given a chance to speak at conferences or events.

Conferences and events are important for many entrepreneurs. When a female is part of the minority in a large crowd, her voice is less likely to be heard. This can make it difficult to get your business in front of the right people. I once sat through a meeting where I was the only female in the room, and I was amazed. When I spoke, they all listened; however, when anyone responded or asked a question, they would direct their questions to the men from my team.

3. Women are underrepresented in tech and entrepreneurship.

This is a big one. The fact that women are underrepresented in technology and entrepreneurship shouldn’t be common knowledge, but it’s important to keep talking about this issue because ignoring it won’t make the problem go away. It will only worsen with time if we don’t work together as entrepreneurs to change things for the better now. We need to encourage as many girls as possible to pursue education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and also become entrepreneurs.

4. Women often lack the confidence to pursue their dreams.

This one is huge. Women are often their own worst enemies when it comes to pursuing their dreams. This can be due to many factors, but overcoming this challenge requires you to take action and surround yourself with people who will encourage you along your journey.

5. There is a lack of female role models and mentors for women who want to start their own company.

This is a big one as well. When there are no female role models or mentors, it can be difficult for women to find the support they need to start their own company. Many women don’t have anyone they can talk to who can relate to their situation and help them navigate their business. A lot of time this leads to men being the dominant leaders, and women may leave behind their innate talent for leadership.

6. Many people don’t believe that women have the necessary skills to be successful tech entrepreneurs, but this is simply not true.

This goes back to the lack of female role models. When women don’t see other females in positions of power or leading their own companies, they may assume that this isn’t possible for them either and give up on pursuing entrepreneurship altogether. Or they may have the confidence and skills but find that they do not want to spend the time fighting what seems like an uphill battle. It’s been proven that businesses with a strong culture of inclusion and diversity are better at innovation, have better customer relations, and have lower staff turnover.

The rewards to being a female tech entrepreneur, despite challenges.

• You have an opportunity to make a real impact in the world and change things for the better.
• You learn how to be resilient and push through adversity.
• You become a powerful role model for other women and girls who want to pursue their dreams.
• You have an opportunity to create jobs and develop the economy in your area.
• It is incredibly rewarding work that you can be proud of, no matter what anyone else thinks or says!

Many female tech entrepreneurs are making waves, including Mary Lou Jepsen, who is impacting industries such as electronics and health care; to Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, an organization aimed to help fight the gender gap in technology.

Women’s fight for equality is a fight that will never end, but it is a battle we can win together! While there are still many challenges facing women tech entrepreneurs today, every day brings us closer to living in a world where our gender doesn’t hold us back from achieving anything we want to achieve – and hopefully, that world is just around the corner. There are so many highs and lows being an entrepreneur, although for the most part, there are more good days than bad, and you have the incredible opportunity to learn what you are made of.

This is just a glimpse into some of the struggles that female entrepreneurs face on a daily basis, but it’s not impossible! With grit and determination, anything is possible. Hopefully one day soon women will thrive without fear of judgment or ridicule.

Just remember. You are not alone in this fight and together we can make a difference.

References

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-19/gender-pay-gap-in-tech-male-job-candidates-paid-3-higher-than-women#:~:text=Men%20Got%20Higher%20Pay%20Than,counterparts%2C%20a%20new%20survey%20finds.


https://sternspeakers.com/speakers/mary-lou-jepsen/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/girls-who-code-founder-and-ceo-reshma-saujani-passes-baton-to-coo-dr-tarika-barrett-to-lead-organization-into-second-decade-301226349.html