Many people define a “girl boss” in a myriad of ways, but what did she look like? What image comes to your mind? Sophia Amoruso, founder Nasty Gal, first coined this phrase with her eight years ago New York TimesThe best-selling manifesto. The girl bosses society most elevated fit a single mold: They were all white.
In that time period—from 2014 to 2019—women-owned businesses increased by 21% to a total of nearly 13 million. There was more demand to support these entrepreneurs than ever before. A movement that included many conferences, podcasts and newsletters dedicated to the idea, of being a girl boss, was born. The framework promoted feminist capitalism. It sold merchandise and events to promote the idea that women could own their destiny and be their own boss. (There’s an episode of ShrillSeason 2 captures this well.
The era was ended when a new decade arrived. Writes Michelle Legro for Medium, “The ambitious corporate feminism that had raised hundreds of millions of dollars in capital was now falling, boss by boss. It was the end of an era for millennials who had come of age in a post-recession workplace in crisis, where they were told that if they need to fix something, they should start with themselves.”
As the idea of girl-boss was becoming less relevant, another group of entrepreneurs was growing in numbers: Black women. American Express’s 2019 report on the state of women-owned businesses found that 2.7 million businesses nationwide are owned by Black women, a 50% increase from 2014. These Black women entrepreneurs were not as well-represented in the media, despite their success in business. (There were certainly no Netflix series dedicated to their personal stories. They were not able to access the same capital as white women during this “girl boss” era.
In reality, what it meant—and still means—to be a Black girl boss is different.
Capital Access
Capital is essential to owners in order to grow and scale and also allows for more revenue opportunities. Even Rihanna is not immune to seeking investors—for Savage X Fenty, she raised $310 million. Black-women owned companies are opening every day, but their businesses only average $24,000 in revenue as compared with $142,900. AllAccording to one report, women-owned businesses are more common than men.
Access to information on scaling and growing a business is a key factor in the gap between Black women founders as well as the Whitney Wolfe Herds’, Alli Webbs’ and Candace Nelsons. While data shows that venture capital has increased for Black women in the last five years, it’s still 0.34% of the total venture capital spent in the U.S. in 2021.
Morgan DeBaun is one example of a few Black women who broke down glass ceilings in terms accessibility, fundraising, and visibility. The 32-year-old is the founder of the media company Blavity Inc., and her holding company DeBaun & Co has a portfolio of fast-growing brands that includes the WorkSmart Advising Program for entrepreneurs, the WorkSmart Podcast, and her angel fund. DeBaun is also a member of the advisory boards of American Airlines, PepsiCo and the Black Economic Alliance. She believes that the exclusion of Black women, as well as our experience with mainstream feminism, are not unique. This exclusion has also impacted how our businesses are funded.
“The reality that investing in us decreases the diversity inequities in the venture capital world and makes their portfolio and business ultimately more successful has driven newfound interest in Black founders, male or female,” Debaun tells Glamour. “This was not the ethos in the early days of the girl boss phenomenon, and so many Black women founders running a business today remain underfunded.”
Source: Glamour