We all know how supportive and empowering all-women groups can be—but are women missing opportunities when we network exclusively with other women? This article from Entrepreneur explores the possibilities, profit, and benefits of making the most of mixed-gender networking groups in addition to women-only networks.
By Nicole Wipp
As a female entrepreneur, everywhere I go these days there is opportunity to connect with other women in business. Women are escaping from their corporate jobs to go out on their own, stay-at-home moms are looking for ways to make money and in general, women seem to be very attracted to the entrepreneur path. Indeed, there are 114 percent more women-owned businesses in the U.S. than there were 20 years ago.
To go along with this rise in female entrepreneurship, the number of women-focused resources and networks has also increased. But should we, as women, solely focus on these gender-specific groups to take our career and entrepreneurial journey to the next level?
While there is data that shows that networking in women’s groups is beneficial in many ways, the problem, especially for female entrepreneurs, is becoming too comfortable, and allowing that comfort to limit our earnings potential.
Here are three reasons why all-female networking may be a revenue trap.
1. You aren’t reaching all demographics.
If you’re a woman in business, are you relying only, or mostly, on female networking groups? The research says yes. Women are more than five times more likely to have networks that are mostly female, according to the Women in the Workplace 2017 report. The reasons for being part of women-focused network groups runs the gamut — everything from being a supportive community to feeling empowered and improving confidence.
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