Where are The Women Billionaires?

Where are The Women Billionaires?

She works hard for the money, or so the song says. But despite how hard we seem to work for it, we women just can't seem to crack the top levels of wealth. Forbes takes a look at the number of female billionaires in the world, and comes up with a very depressing number.

14.

Women account for only two percent of the self-made billionaires currently (there are more women billionaires if you count those who inherent their fortunes, but that's not exactly inspiring, is it?), with half of those women coming from China. The rest are a mix of well-knowns (Meg Whitman, Oprah Winfrey, J.K. Rowling) and some non-household names (do you happen to know who Doris Fisher or Rosalia Mera are without resorting to Google?). Of those who are in the elite 14, they still have a long way to climb, with the richest female self-made billionaire ranking 232nd in the top billionaires list (For perspective, the number one woman is worth about $3.9 billion. The top man? $53.5 billion, or nearly 14 times that amount.).

So, why are women still so far behind? Forbes believes they have the answer to that, too.


One explanation has to do with the fact that while women in the United States start their own businesses at roughly twice the rate of men, they are still playing catch-up in most parts of the world. "Women are still at the beginning of their journey to entrepreneurship or higher levels of entrepreneurship," says Sharon Hadary, the former and founding executive director of the Center for Women's Business Research. According to that group, only 20% of all businesses over $1 million are women-owned enterprises.

Another issue is financing. Research from the Kaufmann Foundation shows that women-led tech companies typically launch with capital at levels 30% to 50% less than those led by men. They also raise much less venture capital, accounting for just 8% of invested venture money in 2008. "For whatever the many reasons, women are not participating in this high-growth, wealth creation end of the economic spectrum," says Sharon Vosmek, chief executive of Astia, a nonprofit that advises female entrepreneurs.

Both seem to be very reasonable, very valid points - less women starting up businesses would of course mean less female self-made rich, and less capital would exacerbate the problem immensley.

But of course, Forbes just couldn't leave it there.

Then there are more fundamental issues related to personal goals. It seems that men more often define success in monetary terms while women focus on vision and mission. "Men tend to start businesses to grow them to be large and to be the boss while women start them to do something meaningful and to make a difference," notes Hadary, who now consults on women's leadership through her firm Sharon Hadary & Co.

"Becoming a billionaire isn't their objective," she adds, "As women, many are less likely to have a goal of generating personal wealth, though we are starting to see more and more of that motivation among the younger generation." Instead they are typically more focused on building companies that reflect their values, provide employment opportunities, do what's important to them and have the opportunity to fulfill family goals.

Ah, as always, when in doubt, Forbes blames inherent differences in each gender's goals. Men are aggressive. Men like to be in charge. Women are more interested in meaning, in things that feel good. And women will always put their family first.

Is it really true that women wanting to "fullfill family goals" and have meaningful experiences somehow hold them back from ultimate wealth? Or is it that the stereotypes are the reason why they are getting less venture capital or getting the other loans and support needed to help them start companies at the same rate as their male counterparts?

Are there less female billionaires because women want it less, or because Forbes assumes women want it less?



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