Smashing Boundaries: An Epic Story of Female Business Founders

“In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will be just leaders”.

– Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Meta (Facebook’s new name, remember?)

Female business founders and women leaders are constantly inspiring their people to transform their organisations and make a real difference to the world around them. Yet they still face real, practical disadvantages every day of their lives – from receiving lower pay for doing the same work to outright sexual harassment.

But women in leadership never gat up. They moved past the barriers and impressed everybody with their often candid, direct and caring approach. So, below, we’ll look at some of the women who are smashing boundaries and succeeding as leaders, CEOs and founders – inspiring all of us to do the same thing.

The stats of women in leadership in Australia

Despite the fact that women are now progressing into management roles faster than men, there is still quite a divide when it comes to the number of women in leadership positions around the country.

Women are still underrepresented in what are described as the key decision-making roles in all just about industries across the Australian workforce. It is reported that women in Australia occupy:

• 32.5% of key management position
• 28.1% of company director
• 18.3% of CEO positions
• 14.6% of board chairs

Suppose the current growth rates for women in decision-making positions continue. In that case, it will take around twenty years for women to have equal representation in full-time management positions.

In comparison, it is anticipated to be closer to 80 years until there are equal women as CEOs. And while many big organisations have strategies in place to change the statistics about women in leadership, there’s still work to be done to recognise the value that women leaders bring.

The unique skills of women leaders

Although the idea is hotly debated, back in 1990, Judy Roesener asserted that men and women have different ‘leadership styles’. She found that men tend towards a command-and-control style, while women favour a transformational style.

The transformational leader helps an organisation to evolve, grow and innovate. Transformational leaders help people understand the need for change and commit to greatness. They work with a sense of urgency that inspires and capitalise on any opportunities that come their way.

Examples of inspiring women leaders

The history and the present is not without some of the most inspirational female leaders this world has ever seen. Let’s look at some of them below.
 

Özlem Türeci – cofounder of BioNTech

You might not know the name, but you surely know the product. Along with her husband, Türeci is the owner of Germany company BioNTech. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Türeci and husband Ugur Sahin decided to rapidly change their focus and pivot the work of their 600 employees. They began working on a COVID-19 vaccine before the WHO had declared a pandemic. Their work was critical in the development of the Pfizer vaccine.

The daughter of a Turkish physician, Türeci overcame discrimination and prejudice to co-establish the medical research company to which she is highly dedicated. It is said that she was found working in the lab on her wedding day. In part, it was thanks to Türeci that BioNTech halted their cancer treatment research and focused on the emerging COVID virus. It was a proactive decision that hurtled her onto the world’s stage.

Women leaders often employ their skills related to intuition, assessing and considering the situation beyond the immediate and apparent. Women in management roles have been found to outdo men when it comes to taking the initiative at work.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala –Director-General of the World Trade Organization

The role of Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is pretty high profile and is currently occupied by Nigerian Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. This trailblazing woman is both the first woman and the first African to lead the WTO. Her credentials include an economics degree from Harvard. She took a stand against corruption in her country, with her critics calling her the “trouble woman” because she was determined to address systematic power issues. She made a point of challenging the status quo and encouraging new ways of thinking, being and doing.

Although economics has traditionally been a male-dominated field, Okonjo-Iweala asked the Nigerian people to think differently about the roles that women can play. She said “Investing in women is smart economics, and investing in girls, catching them upstream, is even smarter economics.”

Women leaders may often be told they are too caring to be leaders, but women do much better at establishing an emotional connection with their people. Validation, appreciation and empathy are all wonderful skills that women leaders bring to the fore. Women leaders are much more likely to coach, mentor and seek to develop the people that report to them. Through compassion and care, they can unlock the potential of others and elicit cooperation and participation.

Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw – Chairperson of Biocoin

We probably think of beer as a bloke’s business, but India’s first female brew master Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has proven that profiting from beer isn’t just for the boys. After studying brewing, Mazumdar-Shaw founded her company Biocoin in 1978. In 2014 it became India’s first bitotech company to be publicly listed- they began with a focus on treating illnesses like diabetes and auto-immune diseases. Fast-forward to 2020

and she was named on Forbes’100 Most Powerful Women 2020 list and was also conferred with EY’s World Entrepreneur of the Year award. She is the fourth richest woman in India, with a net worth of $900 million.

Mazumdar-Shaw is a remarkable leader because she has time and time again stood up against expectations and proven that women are just as capable as men to lead large companies. This has been all the more startling given the general bias in her home country against women in leadership roles- especially in the scientific industries.

Men tend to describe their leadership as somewhat transactional, viewing leadership as an ongoing exchange for services. Men tend to focus on the routines, and within the realm of expectation and standards. Women on the other hand tend to describe their leadership roles in inspirational and transformational ways. They often describe their ability to lead as related to their charisma and interpersonal skills; they motivate and inspire. The transformational leader motivates individuals to perform beyond their own interest, for the good of the group, business or community.

Whitney Wolfe Herd – Founder of Bumble

Wolfe Herd took her future into her own hands when she left her role as vice president of marketing at Tinder. When the company was faced with allegations of harassment and a discrimination lawsuit, Wolfe Herde wanted to do something to give the power back to women- so she founded Bumble. The Bumble dating app, which allows women to make the first move, is publicly listed. The app has made Wolfe Herd the youngest female self-made billionaire.

Under her proactive leadership style, 70% of Bumble’s board is female and she works with them closely. This makes great business sense. It has been found that companies with women on their boards have 42% higher sales returns, 66% higher return on invested capital, and 53% higher return on equity.

Another area in which there are perceived differences between male and female leaders relates to how they perceive their board and staff. Women tent to perceive their employees and directors as “family”- meaning they are more like to want to establish caring and nurturing relationships within the organisation.
 

Joey Wat – Chief Executive of Yum Cha Holdings

Joey Wat’s rise to CEO of a Fortune 500 company is worth remarkable and inspiring. Wat began work at a plastic flower factory in a small Chinese village and is now CEO of the largest restaurant company in China that operates more than 10,000 restaurants.

Her commitment to people has seen her rise through the ranks to leadership positions. During COVID-19 she fought to keep her staff employed and had them deliver free meals to over a thousand hospitals and centres.

Her people-first approach has not let her company down- Yum China made a profit of $97 million in the March quarter of 2020. She is one of only 37 women on the Fortune 500 list. Wat has been recognised as a brilliant public speaker- her words are always clear and deliberate, and she speaks with an empathetic tone. She uses both speech and gestures to draw in her audience, every time.

Women leaders are often seen as more genuine and compassionate than men. They are usually better communicators than their male counterparts. Women tend to use spoken communication more for building relationships and providing emotional support, while men tend to focus on disseminating information and demonstrating competence. It has also been found that women often speak less than men but can make their point succinctly and clearly, using fewer words to convey their idea. Women in leadership also tend to display more emotional intelligence; they listen attentively and help people strive for self-fulfillment.

Paving the way for future generations

These five women have all worked to break through gender barriers and blockages. They have proven they have a clear point of view and have risen to the top using their own attributes and strength to propel them. These women have challenged stereotypes, defied stereotypes, reached higher and fought harder. They are opening doors and shining a light on the path for the women of future generations who will become transformational leaders. Each leader has different skills and each leader and founder will be an entrepreneur and innovator in their own way. So what kind of leader will you be?