Homing in on the X factor

• “The entrepreneurship journey isn’t always smooth sailing and can be isolating, especially when you are a woman. As a female entrepreneur, I do think there is more of an uphill fight to overcome bias,” shared Gillian Tee, Founder & CEO of 500-backed on-demand healthcare company Homage.
• What motivates Gillian? Wanting to spend her time wisely by creating and sustaining a business that positively impacts lives. These days, she also advocates for companies and leadership to champion gender equality as a core part of the business.
• This is because championing women in business is better for business and enhances business value, and there is research from S&P Global Market Intelligence to back this up. The study showed that firms helmed by women are more profitable and have superior stock prices compared to the market average.
• What’s more, firms with high gender diversity on their board of directors have been more profitable and larger than firms with less gender diversity.
• For investors, this presents a huge opportunity. In 2021, Southeast Asia startups founded solely by women accounted for only 0.6% of capital invested. This means women could be the most under-utilized source of growth.
• “Just increasing female labor force participation could add a whopping US$5.87 trillion to global market capitalization in 10 years,” Gillian added.
• What advice does Gillian have for fellow female entrepreneurs? “Be more entitled,” she said. “If women must be twice or three times as performant to get the same level of confidence from the industry, you need to decide on your space and own it.”
• “Second, build your community and support each other. Male allies can be a great help in this regard. Last, own your identity and authenticity – there’s power in finding what makes you unique as a woman and drawing confidence from it,” she shared.
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