Why Forbes Self-Made 2018 List Needs To Represent More Minority Women
In 1846, Anna Bissell became the first woman CEO in American History taking over the company after her late husband, Melville Bissell passed away. Through this extraordinary event Anna set the course and paved the way for more women to lead in management positions.
Fast forward two centuries later, women are continuing to make their mark in the world of business. 4 years ago, Forbes Magazine started releasing it's "Self-Made List" highlighting all the self-made international business women of that year. How you classify 'self-made' is up to you, but let's see what the dictionary defines the word 'self-made' as.
Women have rapidly progressed in changing the narrative of gender diversity within management positions and now, more than ever before, women are holding management positions. But, there is still work to be done especially among the lack of diversity of minority women in these management positions. According to Catalyst.com, "In the United States, women were nearly half (46.9%) of the labor force, but only slightly over a third (39.8%) of managers in 2017. Of these women, white women held almost a third of all management positions at 32.5%, followed by Latinas at 4.1%, Black women at 3.8%, and Asian women at just 2.4%.
These extraordinary women have paved the way for us to have a seat at the table, but are we helping our fellow minority women of color too? In no way is this a post to bash a singular group of people, but to raise awareness that there is still a lack of diversity amongst women in management positions.
As I scrolled through Forbes Self-Made 2018 list, I was saddened to see that there were no women who looked like me. A Latin, woman of color who grew up in South Central Los Angeles and who is working towards paving the way for her minority brothers and sisters to hold a seat at the table.
I will not not only dream, but I will act to see more minority individuals who grew up in unfortunate circumstances change the narrative for their futures.
Now, I leave you with this:
1. Bring up other minority women instead of trying to bring them down - it's not a competition
2. Mentor minority women
3. Volunteer at events or with organizations who strive to teach at risk youth about the importance about learning and changing the narratives for their lives (A Better LA, Heart of LA, Free Arts).
Lastly, don't allow others successes stop you from thinking you can achieve success in the future. If anything, learn from the positive attributes they possess. Is it their work ethic? Passion? Remember, it all lies within you.
Con corazon,
Anisa