Passionate Women in Business- Remarkable in their fields

“An empowered woman is powerful beyond measure and beautiful beyond descriptions”

Being a woman should be one’s supreme achievement and not one’s deepest fear. Within a woman there is power to create, nurture, and transform. 

When Brigham Young said ‘You educate a man, you educate a man, You educate a woman, you educate a generation’ he couldn’t have been more right! There were days when being a woman simply meant giving birth, raising children, caring for the household, and living for others, But no more!

Throughout history, the status of women in society has evolved – now the fairer sex is not only raising children and looking after the house but transforming the world through her decisions and deeds as well. Extraordinary entrepreneurs, billionaire activists, visionary CEOs and pioneering philanthropists – women today are all of these and much more.

Women are winning in every battlefield all over the world. In the world of business, women-led companies are increasingly growing each passing year. Here are the statistics:

• There are 114% more female entrepreneurs in the US today than 20 years ago.
• 90.3% of women hold micro-businesses more frequently than 82.3% of men.
• The total global income of women will grow from $13 trillion to $18 trillion in the next five years.
• Women own 33% of Saudi business

There is a diverse range of advantages of women getting into business. But along with many opportunities available, there comes a few challenges along the way.

Advantages of Women in Business

1. A diverse workforce is an innovative workforce

With diversity, organizations tend to foster creativity and innovation. Even with the best of intentions, people tend to gravitate towards people of their type. However, it takes great courage to stand and say “I need someone to challenge me”.

Women and men, inevitably have different personalities, way of thinking, and backgrounds, which shape their approach to business. Challenging and collaborating with people with such different approaches yields more creativity and innovation.

2. Women excel at the soft skills needed for the business leadership

While technical skills and knowledge are core to career success, CEOs consistently site soft skills as the most desired professional attribute. Although soft skills can not be measured using a cardinal approach, still they possess high value and can make a great difference in the bottom line.

Soft skills and emotional intelligence may prove to be a key competitive advantage for women in business.

3. Women represent huge economic power and offer important consumer insights

Women account for 85% of all consumer purchases including everything from autos to health care. Moreover, it has been estimated that women contribute in excess of $20 trillion in consumer spending.

Despite this only 11% of creative directors in advertising are women.  With the power of the female consumer in mind, it’s evident that women are best placed to tap into that opportunity and bring valuable consumer insight to the table.

Tapping into the insight both men and women offer can make products and services more marketable and a business more profitable. In fact, recent research from McKinsey shows that gender-diverse businesses are 15% more likely to outperform financially above the industry median. 

Here are the women ruling the business world from all over the world:

Business Women from America

There are 12.3 million women-owned businesses in the US.  America has been home to some of the most powerful businesswomen in the world, be it as IBM CEO Virginia ‘Ginny’ Rometty or Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld, Facebook board of directors Sherly Sandberg or Disney Media Networks co-chairman Anne Sweeney, CFDA’s president and fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg or Sony Pictures Entertainment’s co-chairman Amy Pascal. Mind blowing, isn’t it?

Here are some of the exceptionally talented American business women:

1. Madam C. J. Walker

The Guinness World Records list Madame C.J. Walker was the first woman to become millionaires in the United States. Through her company, the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, Walker produced a cosmetics and hair-care line catering to black women. She was also the richest African-American businesswoman when she died.

2. Beyonce Knowles

Beyonce is a singer, song writer, and actress. Her net worth is estimated to be roughly $500 millions, making her one the richest singers in the world.

3. Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba, an actress, started her career at the age of 13. Today she has a net worth of approximately $200 million. She hit the jackpot when she founded the company Honest, which sells baby care products and household goods.

4. Sheryl Sandberg

Sandberg is the COO of Facebook and has served as the VP of global sales and operations at Google. She also founded LeanIn.Org and was the first woman to be on the board of Facebook. Named to Time 100, she has also written books and owns a charitable foundation.

Business Women from Middle East

Most of the women in the middle east are seen to be household women for years, but today they are coming out as great entrepreneurs, innovators, and great leaders, with all the potential they had. Forbes featured 100 power business women of the Middle East, out of which 79 are self-made.

Here are some of the women of steel belonging to Middle East:

1. Raja Easa Al Gurg

Al Gurg, an Emirati, is the managing director and vice chairperson of the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, which is one of the biggest conglomerates in the Middle East. The group consists of 27 companies ranging from retail to construction to a metal foundry. Al Gurg is also president of the Dubai Business Women Council and works to improve female entrepreneurship in the U.A.E.

2. Rania Nashar

Rania Nashar, a Saudi, is the first female CEO of Saudi commercial bank, Samba Financial Group. She became CEO in 2017, at a time when Saudi Arabia was just beginning to implement reforms to promote gender equality as part of its Vision 2030. Samba Financial Group is Saudi Arabia’s fourth-largest bank, with $63 billion in assets as of September 2019. Nashar previously served as a board member for Samba’s global markets subsidiary and has over 20 years of experience in the commercial banking sector. In 2019, Nashar was ranked as the 97th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

3. Wadha Ahmed Al-Khatib

Wadha, a Kuwaiti, is the deputy CEO of the Kuwait National Petroleum Company, which earned $30 billion in revenues last year. She is in charge of the Mina Refinery, which refines a third of the company’s oil. Al Khateeb has been with the company for 24 years and has held several positions, including Senior Processing Engineer in 2003, Environment Team Leader in 2005, and Technical Services Manager for the Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery in 2013. She moved into her current position as deputy CEO in 2019. She was the first woman to head the “Gas Processors Association” GCC Chapter. 

Business Women from Asia

Women of Asia are women of War and trade from centuries. They have not only ruled great empires and have fought in wars, but also they have proved themselves as great entrepreneurs and merchants. 

Some of the great business women of Asia featured by Forbes are: 

1. Zhao Yan

Since Zhao bought Bloomage BioTechnology in 2001, it has become the world’s largest maker of hyaluronic acid—used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food supplements—with over a third of global market share. The company went public on Shanghai’s Sci-Tech Innovation Board in 2019 after delisting in Hong Kong two years earlier. Since then, its share price has climbed by nearly two-thirds, making Zhao one of China’s richest women

2. Caroline Russell

BOH Plantations, founded by her grandfather in 1929, is the largest tea producer in Malaysia by output. Russell joined BOH’s marketing department in 1988 after earning a commerce degree from University of Edinburgh with honors. Taking the helm as CEO in 2003, Russell has expanded BOH’s range of teas and international sales. She also focuses on sustainable growth, including biodegradable products, recyclable packaging and partnering with environmental NGOs. Russell was named executive chairman after her father retired

3. Rachel Eng

Eng is a trailblazer in Singapore’s traditionally male-dominated legal profession. In 2010, she became the first woman to lead one of the largest law firms (by number of lawyers) in Singapore, WongPartnership. And in 2018, Eng shook the city-state’s conservative legal circles when she jumped to global professional services firm PwC, becoming the highest-profile lawyer in Asia to leave a traditional firm to join the increasing number of integrated legal services that combine legal services with related advice in areas such as cybersecurity and regulatory issues.

Business Women from Africa

In recent years, Africa has witnessed an increase in women-owned businesses in fields such as aviation, fashion, farming, IT, mining, manufacturing, oil, and more. The development has broken the gender stereotype where women are depicted as weaker and incapable.

These bold and fearlessly ambitious entrepreneurs are shaping the future of Africa, serving as mentors to millions of women and youths.

The following women who have defied all odds, ventured into the male-dominated sector, and made something out of their passion

1. Bethlemen Tilahun Alemu

Bethlemen Tilahun Alemu grew up in a poverty-stricken neighborhood where the community had artisan skills. She had a dream to turn these skills into a business and to change her people’s lives. Bethlemen founded SoleRebels in 2004, where she manufactures eco-friendly footwear and provides employment for hundreds of locals.

SoleRebels has grown to become a successful world-class venture with stores in many countries and continents.

2. Divine Ndhlukuka

Divine Ndhlukuka is the founder of Zimbabwe-certified security outfit Securico. She began her journey into the world of security with 4 employees working at her cottage, but today she is an outstanding entrepreneur in the country.

Securico has superb electronic features and a huge team of more than 3,500 employees, some of which are women. Divine has plans to expand to Mozambique, Zambia, and other countries in Africa.

3. Folorunsho Alakija

Folorunsho Alakija is a self-made Nigerian billionaire and philanthropist. Her journey began in 1974 as a secretary at Sijuade Enterprises, became a banker, switched to the world of fashion and now the oil industry.

Folorunsho has prowess in the world of fashion and has been using fashion and style to promote Nigeria. She serves as the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN) trustee.

After this successful journey in fashion, Folorunsho applied for an oil license. She is the owner of Famfa Oil Limited, which has become her source of wealth as well as real estate investments.

Business Women from Europe

The European Commission published a study on statistical data on women entrepreneurs in Europe. This data shows that women entrepreneurs constitute 29% of entrepreneurs (11.6 million) in Europe. It also illustrates that since 2008 there has been a slight increase of 3% of women entrepreneurs in the EU. In Europe women constitute the majority of one person enterprises (78%).

Conclusion

There is no limit to what women can accomplish. Today, even though it is still a male dominated era, yet women with a mix of design and practicality with a lot of passion in them are determined to change the world. And all of the above mentioned women are proof that World is changing, and women are the ones to contribute to it.