Women's Month might be behind us, but that doesn't stop us from rallying behind them 365 days per year. We've prepared a few ideas for you to support Black and Brown women beyond Women's Month.
1. Highlight Women Changemakers in Your Newsletter
Newsletters are essential to any business. First, it lets you connect with your customers or clients by highlighting new products, services, and upcoming industry events you may be curating. This exposure and cross-promotion make it a great tool to support women entrepreneurs. You can use your newsletter release to feature hardworking changemakers. It will also further impact your audience if the entrepreneur you're featuring has something to offer to impact them positively.
2. Offer Mentorship Opportunities
About 17% of Black women have a business in mind, compared to 10% of White women and 15% of White men. Consequently, within the last three years, Black and Brown women have started thousands of new businesses, whether full-time or part-time. However, there are far fewer accomplished Black-owned businesses. So what can you do to support these Black women entrepreneurs?
One way is to mentor them into exploring less competitive niches, especially those outside the retail or wholesale sectors. Less crowded niches like these present more sustainable business options, and there are six different types of mentorship to choose from. These are one-on-one, situational, career, reverse, group-based, and peer-based mentorships.
3. Volunteer at Woman-Based Organizations
Another way to support Black and Brown women entrepreneurs is by volunteering at woman-based organizations like Financial Women's Association (FWA), Black Girls Code, and National Association for Female Executives (NAFE). Interestingly, these women-based organizations do not only support women but the community at large. They tutor students, donate books, support a church or religious activities, educate women and children, and host skills acquisition programs. By volunteering or encouraging your staff to volunteer, you will be furthering the overall mission of these women-led organizations.
4. Host Fundraisers for Women-Owned Businesses
Access to capital is an issue for Black-owned businesses. Fundraising serves lots of purposes. It aids in supporting first-time entrepreneurs or startups operating in highly-competitive niches. Black and Brown women entrepreneurs can have an open channel to access capital through these fundraisers, allowing them to launch, scale, or even pivot their businesses.
5. Support Black and Brown Women Filmmakers
The film and TV industry has long belonged to men. CNBC reports that about 78% of directors and 67% of film writers are men. Thankfully, that is all changing now. More and more women filmmakers are coming onto the scene, and not just that, these women are pushing the limits in what they're creating. For Black and Brown filmmakers, the issue has been:
Fewer chances with lead roles and an even lower margin for error.
Little representation in top management positions.
Fewer projections of women-told stories.
How can you support these women? First, directly source and fund BIPOC filmmakers. Sponsor or launch a talent showcase to discover young filmmakers. In addition, partner with organizations like the Black House Foundation, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, and others who largely support and publicize the work of BIPOC filmmakers. Lastly, you could encourage your staff to embrace racial diversity by viewing films produced by BIPOC women media personalities.
You now have a starting point to support Black and Brown women entrepreneurs. Supporting these entrepreneurs across several industries empowers and expands the ecosystem. This indicates that women entrepreneurs could substantially change financial security, community involvement, and many other aspects of the economy.
Subscribe to the Digital Orange Juice for juicy ideas and the people who fund them. You can find out about our next pitch competitions. Also, be sure to join our new community BGV Connect!
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