Working for a Woman-Owned, Women-Led Company (Nadia's Story)

Women Mean Business: What We Can Learn from Women-Led Businesses

The pandemic had a drastic impact on women’s employment. In the last two years, one in four women (versus one in five men) are considering or have left the workforce. Within the current model of work, this setback potentially has long-lasting effects on women in the workplace. How will we rise to the challenge to shift the workforce to meet society’s changing needs? We may find some answers in lessons from women-led businesses. 

Here’s what I’ve learned from working with women-owned, women-led businesses that can contribute to the future world of work. 

4 Key Takeaways from Women-Led Businesses

Having studied how women-led enterprises affect economies for over a decade, I’ve found that women often lead change in communities and offer some valuable lessons in transformational leadership. 

I worked in the northern Albanian mountains with Bedouin women building coalitions in a shifting tourism economy, studying how women are the gatekeepers of change in a drastically shifting sociopolitical climate. Whether in Bedouin villages or in a nation faced with a pandemic that forces us to stay home, women who run businesses are well-equipped to adapt businesses to change, benefit the entire community in pursuit of success, and value relationships and consider the needs of the entire team. 

A recent Harvard Business Review article revealed that, when rated by others, women leaders score higher than men on 84 percent of the qualities required for successful transformational leadership. They surpassed men in specific leadership characteristics including “integrity, resilience, bold leadership, building relationships, and championing change.” 

In my applied research and work, I’ve found that women value and incorporate four similar principles into their work from which businesses can learn and create a successful model of holistic leadership.

1. Women are Driven by a Higher Purpose 

Women business owners tend to place importance on company mission and values. They attract employees whose values are aligned with their mission and help their employees understand how they can contribute to the company's purpose.

Research shows that companies who use purpose to drive growth end up making more money than those that do not. They have higher retention of workers, boosting their bottom lines. This is especially true as new generations of consumers and employees (Millennials and Gen Z) place high value on a business’s culture and impact on society. 

Comma Copywriters, founded and led by a female CEO, Crystalee Beck, is driven by the “why.” Our goals are measured by our ability to give back (in our case, the number of young women we were able to help send to school that year through our Comma Cares partnership). 

The purpose-driven perspective “hit home” when our company retreat was led by the question, “What are your bucket list items for your life?” Since the retreat, I have seen how many company goals have been shaped by our team’s answers to that question. It’s no surprise that team members are given the flexibility to put life first and find support in a caring team of writers. Our company mission has been aligned with the mission of the employees, and it shows through the growth of the company and the satisfaction of employees.

2. They are Agile 

Women are generally the go-to transformational change leaders who guide families and communities through adaptation and adoption in times of socioeconomic change. Harvard research showed that women score higher than men in “resilience” in the workplace but lower in “confidence” meaning that while they may not be the loudest ones in the room, they are generally more resilient and adaptable to change. Adaptability as a leader is invaluable in today’s world. 

For example, I recently worked with a small, women-owned business that was growing rapidly. The owner thought that she needed to create a new marketing department that would put a strain on her budget. Instead, I suggested outsourcing her content creation to skilled professionals such as Comma Copywriters for her monthly blogs and newsletter. By doing so, she was able to stay within their budget and generate top-notch content that attracted new customers. 

3. They Care About Work/Life Balance

In every country in the world, women spend more time on average (even women working full-time) on household responsibilities than men. That means that they carry a large portion of the burden at home. When combined with responsibilities at work, that can create two full-time jobs, creating an unequal burden on women who work. 

While working from home can make some aspects of household responsibilities and caregiving easier, it certainly comes with its strings for women specifically. The pandemic has shown us that the shift to remote work has brought success for most companies. This has had a huge effect on women. 

While remote or hybrid work is one way to help promote a work/life balance, there are also means of supporting women in this delicate balance. Other ways of re-thinking work/life balance may be supporting caregivers and creating a culture where employees are not penalized or considered unprofessional for being caregivers and where individual flex schedules are acknowledged and respected. 

Comma has re-imagined what the world of work looks like, encouraging personal goals and aspirations to lead your drive and work. This concept of a work community as a support system to your life makes all the difference. At Comma, our roles change as team members’ needs shift, and there are processes in place so that we are trained to step in for each other when the need arises. 

4. The Relationships, Collaboration, and Communication

Research has shown that women disproportionately carry the burden of communication and collaboration. However, workplaces do not traditionally value this work. Combined with traditional environments of execution orientation, or the focus on achieving goals quickly, creates conditions for “collaboration overload” and unequal burden for women in the workplace. In contrast, women leaders tend to value the success of the team over the success of the individual and reward that collaboration. 

While not all men or women think the same way, having women in leadership positions can change how companies are organized, how inclusive they are of the whole team, and how they pivot to fill in gaps. 

Comma is organized with several team layers so that employees are cross-trained for accountability and to fill in when life throws hurdles our way. We have processes in place and clear communication to follow any changes. More importantly, “Comma cares,” is about more than just our charity giving — we have built-in, regular internal communication tools to discuss the content and people that drive us to constantly grow and fulfill our individual goals. 

Finding Purpose with Profit 

When Fortune 500 companies had at least three female directors, several key factors increased: The return on invested capital jumped over 66 percent, return on sales went up 42 percent, and return on equity increased by 53 percent. Even in a pre-pandemic environment, women-owned businesses were increasingly more profitable. However, it’s likely that in a post-pandemic and post-crisis world we will witness these numbers jump even further as our values in the workplace change in reaction to reshaped societal values.

Going forward, predictions show that workplaces will have to do more to safeguard employees’ physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. There will be a higher demand for more flexibility, more work-life balance, and more meaningful work that is aligned with employees’ values. 

Comma taught me that the current accepted model isn’t the only option, we can live and work with aligned values, and the future of the workplace relies on female leaders. 

Nadia Alhashimi is a development professional who has done extensive gender-based research examining how family structures and gender constructs are affected by shifting economies. After a decade of understanding how technology can create opportunities for women and girls, she has become an active member of the STEAM community mentoring young women in business, government, and entrepreneurship.

Comma Copywriters is a woman-owned, women-led content agency. If you’re looking for a marketing agency to improve your thought leadership content or help with content writing, schedule your free consultation today.