I first started blogging
(at Road To Forbes)
because there are issues
only female business builders deal with.
One of these issues
are male-dominated
and male-controlled industries.
There are some industries
in which
it is almost impossible
for a woman to succeed.
Skylar Diggins-Smith
talks about this situation
in basketball.
“Players in the NBA
get about 50%
of the revenue.
For women,
the percentage is in the twenties.
So before we even talk
about base salary
or anything like that,
we don’t even get paid
the same percentage of the revenue
that we bring in,
which is kind of unbelievable.
People try to hijack this issue
and say that women’s basketball
may not be as interesting a game,
because they disparage women in sports,
period.
But we don’t even make
the same percentage of revenue!”
There are some genres of fiction
that are the same way.
The women writing in them
have to hide
that they are women
to have the same level of sales.
When I was younger,
I would fight the good fight
in these industries.
I had to prove myself
again and again,
starting from zero
over and over.
Just getting to an equal setting
with male counterparts
required perfection
and all of my resources.
F*ck that.
Today, I either play
outside of these industries
or
I play in industries
where women are almost equal
(the 70% or higher)
or have an advantage.
I no longer compete
in spaces
where simply being female
gives me the disadvantage.
I still work all out
but now my efforts make me stand out,
not merely fit in.
Build businesses
in industries
where you don’t start
at a disadvantage
for simply being you.