The Growing Trend of Women Entrepreneurs

An NPR story on June 20th, 2017, featured DIY girls, an organization for girls from low income communities in L.A., who – with the help of a $10,000 grant from MIT – created a solar power tent in response to an increase in homelessness.

This story was short, but it is another big example of how far women have come, especially in the realm of entrepreneurs.

Women have always been strong, intelligent leaders. But their work has a history of being left unacknowledged. Women were often credited as “anonymous” in the past, overshadowed by their male counterparts, or trapped by female stereotypes. One example is Hedy Lamarr, the actress who invented the “frequency hopping” theory behind cell phone technology and Wi-Fi who was remembered primarily for her beautiful face.

Executive director of DIY girls Evelyn Gomez told reporters, “It’s important for women and girls to get comfortable with science and tech.” In reality, more women in the past were very comfortable with science and tech, but their work was unrecognized. Now that those women are finally being acknowledged for their work, they’re inspiring others to step forward and fueling the growing trend of women entrepreneurs. This belated acknowledgement is due, in part, to media.

A new report from San Diego State University found that 2016 saw a 7% increase of women protagonists in films. Many of these films portray women who were forgotten before, such as Katherine Johnson, the great mind behind the math that sent Armstrong to space, in Hidden Figures, and those in Equity, a film portraying the strong women of Wall Street.

The increase of women in media is contributing to the atmosphere of women empowerment. Look at Hilary Clinton; Sara Blakely, the founder of SPANX; Weili Dai, cofounder of Marvell Technologies; Arianna Huffington, creator of the Huffington post; and don’t forget Oprah Winfrey and J.K. Rolling, two women at the head of the movement.

Women hold the key of discovering untapped markets and the beginnings of new sensations. Consider Liane Jackson, business woman and founder of Free Range Office in Chicago who stands at the forefront of the work revolution towards coworking.

For young girls just discovering passions for STEM, there are shows popping up like Annedroids, about a clever girl named Anne who creates robots to help her with more science experiments in the back yard. Girl Starter is a recent TLC reality show for girls who compete to get funding for a new business. The organization behind it aims to empower women by providing them with the tools, resources, and keys to becoming successful entrepreneurs.

From the DIY girls in L.A. to girls all over the world, the traditional walls holding women back have been broken through completely, and a river of strong women flows out of it that there’s no stopping.