Women “May Just” Be The Best Thing That Ever Happened To The Business World

By Amanda Earley

It really wasn’t so long ago that the idea of women entering the workforce, let alone women in business or owning a company, was kind of a big deal. We were needed to fill entry level positions, and many industries acted as though they were doing us a favor, and men as if they were saints for dealing with us.

Imagine you are a young, unmarried woman in the 1940s, about to start work in a factory or office. There are a lot of things your mother might have said back then.

She might have told you that you were brave, courageous even. She may have mentioned how she wished she could have the opportunities you do, and she would have surely exhaled pride with every notion. She’d most likely be encouraging, but there would have also been an edge of “don’t get your hopes up” or “don’t fly too close to the sun.”

“This is a man’s world” is about as cliche as it gets, but in this situation, it applies, and your mother knows it. If you don’t know it yet, you are about to learn.

And what about those poor men tasked with supervising and employing you? Well, don’t worry, fellas. Women are patient! Women are kind! As long as you have a job breakdown, allow for her lack of familiarity with machine process, and “start her right” with kindly and careful supervision, she “may just” be useful to you.

She “may just” contribute somehow.

She “may just” be more of an asset then a burden…

Today, we don’t need any posters to suggest that females “may just” be an asset to business. The number of women in the workforce grew by 256 percent from 1950 to 2000, and now we’re out for more.

According to a 2014 Report by Babson college, the number of female entrepreneurs increased by seven percent since 2012, and the entrepreneurial gender gap shrank by six percent. So women aren’t only infiltrating the world of business, we’re taking it over.

But whoa, look out out world. It doesn’t stop there. Women in business are not just increasing in numbers and rising to the top more frequently. We are actually making things better. This infographic from Washington State University shows some of the many ways females in leadership roles are improving the business sector.

As you can see, women in leadership and managerial roles contribute to more productive meetings, organizational effectiveness, and higher returns. There are also a number of recent studies that show women in leadership positions are not only good for business, but yield better long-term results overall.

(Photos from Michigan Employment Law Advisor)

In 2011, Catalyst reported that companies with women on their boards had average returns on equity of 15.3 percent, while returns of companies without any female board members were 10.5 percent. There is also evidence that suggests companies with with females in c-suite positions yield more revenue overall. 18% more, to be exact.

In October, Girl Talk HQ said “The thing about feminism that should be most prominent, especially in the 21st century fight for gender equality, is economics. When women are empowered, economies become stronger,” and it appears this is right.

Gone are the days when women “may just” be good for the workforce. We’re slowly but surely branching away from the notion that females “may just” be able to handle high-stress and high-responsibility leadership roles, and good old science is busting through the door asserting that we no longer need to shrug our shoulders, tilt our heads, and skeptically say that female leaders “may just” be as beneficial as men.

We are saturating the workforce. We are rising to the top, and we are contributing value and bringing things to the table that benefit everyone.

We are demanding equality in every way, and we are proving that it is well deserved. The results speak for themselves.

Take a look at the infographic below, created by the Washington State University Carson College of Business, outlining some of the most successful business women in the world today.

Amanda Earley is a personal chef, freelance writer, and root beer float enthusiast from Boise, Idaho.