We should honour the plain Janes of business
When it comes to celebrating female entrepreneurs, we celebrate looks more than anything else.
Flick through a ladies' magazine and you'd think feminism never happened. And I don't mean because of the endless features about make up and fashion. I mean because of the articles about female entrepreneurs.
Take the piece in last weekend's You magazine. "They say that when the going gets tough the tough get going" announces the headline. It then goes on to tell us the story of a group of (weirdly good-looking) women who have "launched new business ventures and made brilliant successes of them."
But what are these businesses? Well there's a cupcake company, a children's clothes company, a line of natural skincare products for mothers and babies, a "professional gifting company", and an accessories company (bags and jewellery). Out of the lot there is only one business that doesn't fit into the 'lady business' stereotype an online DIY website-design service (wizz-it.com).
Article continues belowTry 6 free issues of MoneyWeek today
Get unparalleled financial insight, analysis and expert opinion you can profit from.
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
There is nothing wrong with any of these businesses, and I dare say their founders work very hard to keep them going. Some of them might even survive. But it often seems that, when it comes to celebrating female entrepreneurs in print, we celebrate looks more than anything else.
Knickers and sweet treats are all very well, but where are the businesses that will really drive the UK economy forward? The software developers, the biotech entrepreneurs, the publishers, the solar power geniuses and so on
They must be out there (I hope) and, even if their female founders don't fit into the same size clothes as their more glamourous sisters, the likes of You should surely be celebrating them too.
