On the Starting Blocks

In the age of the entrepreneur, women still have many obstacles to overcome.

- Heidi Armstrong

In today’s society, entrepreneurship is more prevalent than ever. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2015 more than 400 million people globally described themselves as an entrepreneur.

This wasn’t always the case. In the past the word “start-up” was virtually unheard of and a “garage” or “bedroom” business was seen as a euphemism for being practically jobless. How times have changed.

That’s thanks largely to the internet, where the resources available to budding entrepreneurs are seemingly limitless. For example, the accessibility provided by platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter have made it easier than ever to network with people who previously remained out of reach.

So with women being natural communicators, you’d think that the landscape would be ripe with those who are striving to “lean in”, as described by Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook fame, and “thrive”, as encouraged by Arianna Huffington, the co-founder of The Huffington Post. Sadly, this isn’t the case. It seems we haven’t yet fully laid the groundwork to help the female entrepreneur succeed to the dizzy heights of equal representation.

Uneven landscape