For most of human history, leadership roles in business and elsewhere have been dominated by a male presence. Particularly in the world of business, a lack of female representation among managers, leaders, and entrepreneurs arguably creates a void of talent and efficiency that would otherwise be extremely useful to brands seeking to maximize profitability and productivity. For those women who have risen to the upper ranks of business, there are numerous roles and challenges to face. Iconic Marketing Solutions Founder Victoria Nupen recently discussed personal and endemic issues facing female CEOs in the workforce and highlighted the benefits of this emerging bloc of corporate power.
Despite females comprising roughly half of the workforce, only one-quarter of senior executives in large businesses are female. Victoria Nupen spoke about the dangers of this gender gap, stating that “a systemic lack of female representation in boardrooms across the United States and the world leaves an abundance of talent on the table, thereby limiting overall business success in the process”. Even with rapid personal successes and progress for women at-large in the field of business, severe discrepancies in the upper echelons of business remain.
Notable examples of personal and corporate success stories exist among female CEOs. One prominent example is Ursula Burns, who became the CEO of Xerox in 2007. Becoming the first African-American female CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Burns set an example for women of all ages who want to achieve more in their business careers. Angelique Hamilton told Reader’s Digest that Burns “coming from a challenging upbringing to lead in corporate America” was an inspiration to all female leaders. During her tenure at Xerox, the company emerged from a mediocre, business-focused entity into a globally competitive corporation focused on hardware, software, and more.
Iconic Marketing Solutions has directly benefited from the pursuits of female CEOs, including Marissa Mayer. Once an engineer at Google, Mayer directly contributed to the successes of utilities such as Gmail, Google Maps, and Google News. These utilities offer millions of users fundamental access to information and communications each day, and fuel various digital marketing strategies that Victoria Nupen and others are using to elevate business marketing success on a daily basis.
Women in positions of power ultimately have a responsibility to cultivate the next generation of opportunities for female leaders. With dramatic discrepancies in representation and salaries, female entrepreneurs face a plethora of hurdles. However, innovative companies such as Iconic Marketing Solutions are dedicated to guiding clients on how crucial gender equality can be to optimal efficiency in business and embracing marketing strategies that acknowledge a changing world.