Feminine management: feminine entrepreneurs give ideas for reaching success in male markets

On a panel at the event “Agora é que são Elas”, female entrepreneurs talk about challenges and share lessons to lead businesses in male-dominated sectors

Even at the helm of numerous businesses, women continue to face structural challenges on their way to success. On entrepreneurial journeys, this challenge is often even more visible. An example of this is the fact that the Brazil is the seventh country with the most female entrepreneurs in the worldbut to continue to give strokes to overcome gaps in terms of gender and wage equality.

To discuss the challenges of undertaking in Brazil, especially in predominantly male sectors, four executives with some experience in the subject participated in the panel “Gaining space: They in predominantly male sectors” during the event “Now it’s them“, by EXAME in partnership with the Aladas Movement.

According to Jessica Rios, founder of blackwin, a network of angel investors made up of black women, the inspiration for creating the business came from a personal annoyance. “I always believed that the paradigm of Brazil, a country predominantly black and so extensive and that at the same time had these peoples so poorly represented, never made sense”, she says.

The numbers that prove gender inequality in the sector gave impetus to the idea of ​​founding a network dedicated to encouraging women to unite by signing checks for promising startups. “Only 16% of the angel investment market is made up of women, and only 3% of black people,” he said.

In addition to Rios, the panel also included Heloisa Passos, CEO of the game development studio Trexx; Auctioneer Mariana Batochio; Ingrid Barth, COO of Linker and Fabiana Tchalian, founder of the startup Água na Caixa.

How to undertake in male sectors

Auctioneer since 1999, Batochio stated that she had no benefit from being a woman in her branch, traditionally male — according to her, currently only 30% of the segment is represented by women. “I remember being very nervous in public in the past, so I invested in education, in myself and in improving myself professionally,” she recalls.

For her, the search for continuous improvement is the most obvious answer to overcome gender challenges in entrepreneurship. “We are who we are at the end of the day, and that depends on where we want to go and how much we invest in ourselves and dedicate ourselves to being better”, she concludes.

Barth, on the other hand, states that the answer lies in not letting yourself be shaken by the “no’s” along the way, trying to consider only the positive points of the journey. “It will be difficult and there will be many no’s”, he jokes. “But try to focus on the “yes” and the opportunities that arise from there,” he says.

The entrepreneur, who 1 year ago sold her startup to Omie in a transaction of BRL 120 million, explains that leading businesses in male sectors (such as finance) also involves a constant challenge to avoid masculinization.

In common, all entrepreneurs recognized the existence of certain essential skills in women that collaborate for a good performance in the business world. Among them the daringa understanding leadershipa strategic vision long-term performance and the ability to multitask.

For this last point, however, Barth recommends finding a balance to avoid burnout. “It’s great to be multitasking, I particularly love it. But as long as they are for activities that arouse interest and not fatigue, ”he said.

Source: Exam