DEEP DIVE
Paving a Better Path for the Next Leaders
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ccording to the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, women own 13 million businesses across the country. The National Association of Women Business Owners states that one in five firms with revenue of $1 million or more is woman-owned and that woman-owned firms account for 39 percent of all privately held U.S. firms. It’s no secret that there are significant barriers to entry, and eventually success, for anyone starting his or her own business, but the stakes are often higher for women. Sexism, ageism, and racism can be magnified for women at all levels of the economic hierarchy. Indeed, the gender pay gap between women and men in the U.S. has held steady for the last two decades—in 2022, according to the Pew Research Center, women earned roughly 82 percent of what men earned. For many women, one solution is attaining a leadership position that allows them to effect change. “What I continue to see is that there’s just an increase of women and particularly women of color deciding, I want to create my own work culture, I want to start my own business,” says Patrice Borders, a Cincinnati-based board-certified executive coach. “I think a driving force is wanting to really shape a culture of belonging, starting for themselves. That, in many ways, is an absolute testament to confidence versus the messaging sometimes we get about imposter syndrome.” To receive woman-owned business certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, a business must have at least 51 percent female ownership. Some 950 firms in the Cincinnati region are woman-owned, accord22 REALM SPRING 2023
WOMEN BUSINESS LEADERS EMBRACE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO NURTURE A YOUNGER GENERATION IN WAYS THAT WERE UNAVAILABLE TO THEM. BY LEYLA SHOKOOHE PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SARAH HANSON