A few months back I was filming some training videos and talked about the number of female, self-made, entrepreneur billionaires who have made various rich lists published online and in magazines.
At the time of filming, a scan of Forbes told me just 14 out of the 1200 odd billionaires out there were female.
Given women are only starting to really step into the role of mega entrepreneurship it’s good to see women making the list but still pretty dismal as a percentage of the overall figure right?
So, my heart raced a little with excitement as the latest Forbes Rich List was released last month and showed a 25% increase in the number of female billionaires in the world. Twenty five per cent! That’s massive!
Of the 268 newcomers on the Forbes list, 42 of them were women (15%) bringing the total number of female billionaires up to 172 (up from 138 in 2013).
But I was quickly disheartened when I realised the reality still facing billionaire gender equality: Women still only make up a little over 10% of the full list.
On top of that, the most disheartening of all for me is that of the 42 women who made the list, only five of them built their own fortunes as opposed to inheriting them from their parents or husbands. That means just 12% of such newcomers made their fortunes themselves.
Now I don’t want to rain on the fabulous female parade that’s swarming around the new rich list but let’s be honest. Why are women not stepping up more and reaching the heights of men in business and in wealth?
A few things to note:
Women are graduating from university at higher rates than men and have been since the 70’s.
Women are launching businesses at a faster rate than men right now in countries all over the world, including Australia.
The topics of feminine leadership and feminine business are being spoken about everywhere.
The ‘Female Economy’ has been touted as a significant force in global economics
There are endless programs out there to promote female leaders and female entrepreneurship
So why are women not showing up in the numbers at the same rate as men?
I understand that men will outweigh women on the rich lists for a long time yet. Let’s be fair, they have had centuries of a head start with business and money so this is not about competing against men.
This is about being aware of the unconscious biases that exist in our society when it comes to women and money. These might well be acting like an invisible brake on the entrepreneurial pursuits of women.
In my view, celebrating the women who have stormed the rich lists through their own pursuits is hugely important. We need to see more women stepping up into that bigger game and believing they can do it, all by themselves.