Listening to Women's Lived Experience Is Essential to Economic Empowerment

We all agree.  Issues come and go, but the speed at which diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has dropped down the business sustainability agenda in recent months is extraordinary.

One influential voice pushing against the “anti-woke” tide is Cherie Blair, a leading British barrister and, most famously, wife of former UK Prime Minister (1997-2007) Tony Blair.

As a feminist, the 71-year-old international trade and human rights specialist is focused on what she sees as business’s systemic bias against women. “Business was built by men, for men, on the assumption that a lot of other things were being done by somebody else; (i.e.) women,” she says.

Blair compares female economic exclusion to an airplane flying with one engine; companies will eventually get to their destination, she says, but they would get there much quicker with two.

She concedes that philanthropic approaches can only go so far: Companies need to think harder about how women’s lived experience can be designed into their digital products and services. Her goal is to empower one million women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Learn more about Cherie Blair, her program and how she encourages women to back themselves.

The Funding Gap Continues For Women Entrepreneurs

While many female founders are addressing social good, they still are denied resources.

Female entrepreneurs are on equal footing with their male counterparts in creating businesses with a societal impact. But there is still a colossal gap in startup funding between women and men who prioritize social issues alongside corporate profit. That is in danger of growing even larger as DEI policies are increasingly removed.

Lead With Compassion

Compassion, the cornerstone of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), isn’t always afforded to women entrepreneurs, who often face barriers to progress in the workplace — and in other aspects of society. 

Women entrepreneurs perhaps know better than most how essential compassion in the workplace truly is. Cultivating a compassionate environment not only helps women entrepreneurs manage their own businesses and personal life with more balance and ease but also fosters an environment of diversity that helps other women and under-represented groups succeed.

Discover 4 types of compassion women entrepreneurs can cultivate to navigate trying times in business and in life.