In her post, “The 25 Most Influential Women Tweeting about Entrepreneurship,” Holly Reisem Hanna raises a curious point: When we look at, or think to create, a “Best” list, why do so few women appear? [Except, of course, situations like her list, where she specifically sought out women].
And nu? The Peer Index of several of the people mentioned on the original list, “The 25 Most Influential People Tweeting about Entrepreneurship,” was no higher–and in some cases was lower–than the people on Hanna’s list. In fact, Kathy Meyer, a social media and technology enthusiast (as well as mom entrepreneur–you can follow her @2cre8), who tops Hanna’s list with a Peer Index Score of 70–surpassed the score of over half of the people on the original list!
What’s going on here? How are these things being measured? If by Peer Index alone, many of the women on Hanna’s list should have been chosen. [Full disclosure: I’m on the list, but with a not-quite-as-stellar score of 55].
Do women fail to publicize their efforts enough? Are their contributions substandard? Are they not sufficiently connected with other influencers–like the ones who compile these lists? Don’t make me dust off my Women’s Studies major from Wellesley and quote chapter and verse on sexism (that feels so ’80s)!
What’s your take?
By the way, the women on the list are an amazing resource–make sure you check out Hanna’s post and follow them!
Maybe, if there are less women entrepreneurs, it is just reflective of that. BUT, I doubt there are less women entrepreneurs. It may be that women entrepreneurs tend to “wear more hats” than their male counterparts and time at home can cut out of their networking time. It does for me!
Interesting thought, Scarlet–I haven’t seen any stats that analyze women business owners by marital or family status. Can’t place the source, but I believe that recent studies indicate that women still spend far more time than men dealing with family and household matters, so that would certainly take time away from entrepreneurship, marketing, and networking.