If you’re contemplating launching your own business or struggling to gain the recognition you deserve in your career, listen up. Two remarkable women entrepreneurs, Mia Thompson and Rachel Kent, faced a daunting challenge in their journey to establish an online marketplace for quirky, dark-humor art, named ArtWitch. They quickly realized that the path to success would be riddled with sexism.
Starting with minimal resources and limited technical expertise, the duo encountered numerous doubters who dismissed their venture as nothing more than a “cute hobby.” “Because we’re young women, a lot of people treated our business idea as if it were just a fun project,” Kent shared with a leading publication.
However, their most significant obstacle came from the male developers they hired to assist in building their platform. Thompson and Kent were often met with condescension, with some treating them as if they were inexperienced girls playing with toys. In one unfortunate incident, after declining a developer’s romantic advance, Thompson faced retaliation when he attempted to delete their project.
As they navigated these challenges, it became clear that many tech professionals viewed them with an air of superiority, often addressing them with patronizing phrases like, “Alright, girls,” instead of using their names. Typical misogyny reared its ugly head.
But instead of letting sexism deter them, the determined women devised a clever plan: they introduced a fictitious male co-founder, Jason Miller, to interact with outsiders on their behalf. The twist? Jason didn’t exist.
This strategic move dramatically transformed their interactions. “It was like flipping a switch,” Kent noted. Where they once waited days for responses, inquiries sent to Jason received immediate attention. People even offered their assistance to him eagerly. Can you believe it?
This imaginary figure became the key to earning the respect they had always deserved, free from the condescending remarks and unwanted advances. “It was hard not to feel frustrated,” Kent admitted. “Are people really going to take this fictional man more seriously than us?” Sadly, the answer was yes, highlighting the harsh reality for women entrepreneurs striving to achieve their ambitions in a patriarchal landscape.
Thompson and Kent utilized their fictitious co-founder until they no longer needed him, but they remain open to bringing him back if necessary. It’s disheartening, to say the least. In 2017, women still find themselves resorting to such tactics to be taken seriously in their professional fields.
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Conclusion
In summary, Mia Thompson and Rachel Kent’s experience exemplifies the extraordinary lengths female entrepreneurs often have to go to in order to gain respect in a male-dominated industry. The creation of a fictional male CEO sheds light on the ongoing struggle against systemic sexism in the business world, a situation that continues to demand attention and change.