4 More Forms of Leverage For Women In Business
For better or worse, trying to find success in business for a woman can be more difficult than it is for a man. Humankind has still not evolved to a point where the gender gap has closed down altogether, which means that women still have to find ways to leverage their position to achieve their desired goals.
A few different ways to achieve this leverage might be to work business opportunities from a veterans angle, utilize motherhood as an advantage, find out how to play through cultural norms, and figure out how to ensure that gender equality is applied from a legal standpoint.
The Veteran’s Angle
Veterans have certain benefits. There are veterans housing allowances, equal opportunity employment benefits for veterans, and health benefits for veterans. As a woman and veteran, you can figure out how to leverage the military service angle to prop up your opportunity for certain business inclinations. Regardless if you’re male or female, it makes sense to apply for different benefits using your veteran status, but especially for women in business, this puts you in a particularly unique category. If you are having financial worries, you may want to take a look at this article, for example, to see how you can be assisted with this, and if it is applicable to your situation as a veteran.
Motherhood As an Advantage
In some cases, motherhood is a business advantage. Women who start businesses geared toward women automatically have a captive audience when it comes to specific topics. If a company sells products specifically that are looking for an audience of mothers, it makes sense to have a woman in charge of the business! There is just a natural advantage to selling things or being part of a company that relies on mothers if the manager or the primary decision-makers in the group are also female. This isn’t to say that men can’t apply, but the fundamental knowledge may be missing.
Using Cultural Cards
Different cultures view women differently. If there is any way to gain leverage from a cultural standpoint, especially in international business situations, then definitely use that to your advantage. If you know that men are particularly respectful in a particular industry within a specific cultural framework, then understanding the vocabulary and the cultural history is a considerable advantage to gaining your desired end goal.
Ensuring Gender Equality Is Applied
Some companies right now want to be extremely politically correct concerning gender equality. If you know that a particular business is heavy with a male perspective, but is also trying to level out its ranks, you can figure out how to apply there and mention the fact that you are aware that management is looking for a more feminine presence in a particular job. As long as you are qualified for that position, it will give you an advantage over a male who is applying for the same thing and has roughly equivalent qualifications.