How to close the gender gap? Let girls lead

There is no single solution to closing the gender gap, as the gender gap is not a single problem. It crosses every sector, continent, generation and family.

However, I believe women’s leadership is an integral part of closing the gender gap. While women make up over 50% of the population, only 35% of US entrepreneurs are women, and only 5% head US corporations. Elsewhere we find similar, or often lower, figures. This not only prevents talented women from moving organizations forward, but it also hurts communities: women invest 267% more in their own communities* than their male counterparts.

By promoting women to positions of leadership, we will positively transform our communities and effectively close the gender gap. When women are in leadership positions, they invest in girls’ education, reduce sexism in the workplace, choose more ethical means of sourcing products and tangibly empower other women in countless ways.

It’s not surprising that we aren’t seeing women in leadership positions because, growing up, girls are told their role in society is to be good enough to look at, rather than brilliant enough to start a business or innovative enough to create social change. They aren’t given opportunities to lead.

It is imperative that we start engaging girls and raising them to become leaders, entrepreneurs and confident women. This is why I started my social enterprise, Fair Anita. We teach high school girls leadership and entrepreneurship skills, giving them hands-on business experience. When they have this experience as a young person, they grow up knowing that they have the capacity to start a business or lead social change, creating more inclusive communities.

These girls see themselves as confident, competent, capable leaders, and will act as such when they enter the world of work. They won’t be afraid to lead or offer an opinion because they will have already done it and been valued for their contributions. This is a concept that can be adopted anywhere. How can we best support young women in learning the skills they need to become leaders of their community? How do we provide intentional opportunities to get them there? I’m not an expert on what this looks like in other communities, but I’m working to make it happen in my own, striving to close the gender gap.

*Based on statistics drawn from the UN here and the IEEW here.

Author: Joy McBrien is a Global Shaper in the Minneapolis Hub. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2014 will be released on 28 October.

Image: Denmark’s Crown Princess Mary listens to an address during the Women Deliver 2013 conference in Kuala Lumpur May 28, 2013. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad