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5 Female Entrepreneurs Talk Empowerment and Gender Roles
Is it empowering or tokenising when we single out businesses and organisations set up by women? To find out, we spoke to five female entrepreneurs in Hong Kong.
Only about 11 percent of start-ups are founded by women. And during the Covid pandemic, the funding for female-founded companies saw a 28.1 percent decrease than before the outbreak, while male-led businesses saw a much smaller fall of 5.4 percent. Such statistics reflect the indisputable correlation between opportunities and gender, and pose the question whether the term âfemale founderâ is empowering or tokenising.
To some, it seems a perfectly valid way of acknowledging that women are capable of succeeding as much as men, in spite of their journeys generally being more difficult. Others regard it as a double-edged sword that, at best, is a temporary necessity until the world is in a place where all founders and CEOs can be celebrated equally for their accomplishments, regardless of gender.
To discuss the term âfemale founderâ, along with the issues faced today by women entrepreneurs, I spoke to Genevieve Chew and Jacqueline Chak of Edit and Editecture, Ariane Zagury of Rue Madame, Dorothy Chau of Botanic Pretti5 and Harmony Ilunga of HarmonyHK, all of whom set up and own their businesses in Hong Kong.
âIn a sense, I do feel that itâs tokenising and somewhat patronising,â says Zagury, who more than 10 years ago was responsible for bringing some of the most revered French luxury brands to Hong Kong with her company, Rue Madame. âBut as women founders are so under-represented, they need to be highlighted and supported to provide more visibility and inspire other women. I hope in the future it will be something that need not be mentioned, and that we can look at all founders based on their abilities and what they create rather than their gender.â
Chew and Chak, who pioneer sustainable practices in architecture and interior design with Editectureâ and in fashion with Edit â believe that âfemale founderâ is a term of endearment that signals recognition. âI donât mind it. I think itâs a compliment and acknowledgement for a female nowadays that weâve worked to this stage that men acknowledge us being a female founder,â says Chak.
âI think it takes so much of a man to acknowledge that, which I find quite charming,â adds Chew.
The workplace and gender
If we dreamed of a society in which the gender roles are blurred, we might question the importance of acknowledging gender roles in the workplace. For Dorothy Chau, founder of the skincare brand BotanicPretti5, thereâs no difference. âWe still have to show that weâre capable of doing the job, so the gender acknowledgement doesnât mean anything in terms of the job title or whether it brings a certain halo effect in the corporate world,â she says.
Harmony Ilunga, founder of HarmonyHK, a refugee-curated social enterprise and modelling agency, has a unique perspective on the issues of diversity and equality in the fashion industry and entrepreneurial space in general. To her, gender acknowledgement in the workplace shouldnât matter, so long as there are codes in place to ensure that everyoneâs voice is heard.
âI wonât say that itâs bad, and I wonât say that it matters that much, as long people are being treated equally,â she says. âThereâs been a lot of men in decision-making and, at certain times, they tend to forget about the female perspective. If weâre fighting for equal rights, itâs important to hear both genders, to see how both of them can lead.â
How to empower?
Empowerment can take many forms, from corporate policies to something as simple as sharing stories. Even in heavily male-dominated fields, such as banking, there are examples of corporations taking steps to empower women. For example, Goldman Sachs recently pledged US$10 billion in direct investment to address gender and racial bias as a part of its One Million Black Women initiative.
According to HarmonyHKâs Ilunga, support and stories told by women can certainly inspire change. âObviously, with HarmonyHK, which I founded, I provide a platform for other young people to come in, saying that even though I was in certain circumstances, I was able to create this,â she says. âThatâs how we can show how we can overcome certain circumstances. These are things we can do: provide a platform, listen and get as much support as we can.â
Often, stories inspire compassion. Compassion is what creates an environment in which everyone can succeed. Since the dawn of history, women have been subjected to much crueller scrutiny than their male counterparts,
so that today, female founders and CEOs are still expected to meet ridiculous expectations of âhaving it allâ.
âSociety is constantly pushing an unattainable ideal of perfection, especially to women â to be the perfect mothers and career women â and all while looking immaculate,â says Zagury. âThis is unrealistic and it also provides no room to make mistakes.
âMistakes, I believe, are essential to success. If weâre too afraid to make mistakes, weâre less likely to take risks or try something innovative, which is key to every successful entrepreneur,â Zagury adds.
Long live the girlboss?
The year 2020 saw an outbreak of negative reports concerning prominent female CEOs whoâd previously been regarded as pioneers in their respective industries. They eventually led to the dethronement of prominent figures such as Refinery29âs Christene Barberich, Man Repellerâs Leandra Medine Cohen and Reformationâs Yael Aflalo. As once-promising women whoâd supposedly epitomised the word âgirlbossâ stepped down, it inevitably posed the question whether that era was over. In other words, is it possible for women to remain empowered without making the mistakes associated with patriarchy?
Zagury believes the key is collaboration. âThere are so many positive aspects of women leadership and management,â she says. âThe Harvard Review found that women excelled and ranked higher than men in 12 out of 16 aspects of leadership â and they showed a higher proclivity for out-of-the-box thinking and resilience.
âWomen can bring so much to the table and, for me, I think the importance lies in the genders working alongside each other collaboratively, rather than instilling an âus and themâ mentality, both in a corporate environment and at home.â
Ilunga adds an argument on self-accountability. âYou donât have to be confined by patriarchy, as long as you know what your standing rules are and why you came here,â she says. âYou know your goal. As long as thereâs equality in the workplace and women know their key role and know what brought them into that place and why they do what they do.â
As for Chak and Chew, they envisage a future where true equality exists, and that the journey towards a world free of gender discrimination has begun. âIt will be even more equal in the coming future that we can see. I think itâs because, with the respect that men are giving to two females, we have more confidence to do better,â says Chak.
âAnd I want to give credit for that to the men of today,â says Chew. âA lot of articles talk about how thereâs still a little bit of a taboo about women. But I want to say that weâve moved on quite a lot. Men these days are understanding and theyâve come far.â
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