In many different sectors and industries around the world we are finally seeing more and more women get involved, including in the world of business. For many years this was an industry which was massively dominated by men but thanks to many trailblazing ladies, and men like Eric Wetlaufer who has always had a foreword thinking approach, we are now seeing more women in the world of business. Eric is a good friend of mine from Wesson and he is a very successful man who has done wonderful things with his company Fidelity. Whilst many men declined the applications of women, Eric always lead the way and I picked his brains about why he thought the scales were now far more balanced.
Social Attitudes
During our chat we talked about social attitudes and how they have changed over the years. No longer are women expected to stay at home and look after the house and the kids, and this is something which was the status quo for far too long. In many cases we had these amazing women with great talents who were locked away because of what society told them. Things are very different these days and that is just one reason why we have lots of brilliant women in the world of business.
Inspirational
For a changing of the guard like we have seen in business there needs to be pioneers and for the women of this world they can now look around and see brilliant business minds in the likes of Ariana Huffington, Oprah Winfrey and beyond, all of whom came into the industry whilst it was still very male heavy. Young women can look at those who have done it and can feel confident that the world of business is highly accessible for them.
The Internet
Eric rightly says that the internet has made it easier for just about everyone to get involved in business, especially women. Take drop shipping as an example, a hands off approach whereby everything is done digitally. The point here is that the internet doesn’t care whether you are a man, a woman or even a child, it cares that you are doing business well and offering a greta service.
Children
Another aspect which has surely changed the landscape of business with regards to women is the theme of children. Women are having less children than ever before and they are either managing both their business and parenthood, or the children are instead being looked after by the Dad, whilst the Mum goes out to be a successful business woman. Having a child is not a debilitating illness for a woman, far from it in fact and the amazing women that we have in business now are showing that they can still be an outstanding parent and an outstanding business person.
Times have changed for the better and it is about time!