WHO IS COP26 FOR?
COP 26 is a stage of gender inequality.
Climate negotiations at COP are driven predominantly by governments of states which need to abide by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Given low representation of women in political positions— globally, only 21% of government ministers were women— it is not surprising that climate delegations are gender imbalanced.
Climate change does not affect everyone equally: Women and girls are disproportionately more vulnerable to threats posed by the crisis. Rural women, informal workers, indigenous women, ethnic minority women, women with disabilities — women and girls in all their diversity — WOMXN, experience its impacts differently.
This should, in an ideal set-up, translate to more womxn to play a more pronounced role in decision-making — womxn who have a larger say in advancing gender-responsive climate action. But do we?
As Mary Robinson, former UN high commissioner for human rights, former president of Ireland and chair of the Elders group of world leaders, said: “We need to centre women and girls in the climate context – women need to be included at the table. The UK promised the most inclusive Cop, but it is not. The Covid crisis has exacerbated and cemented gender inequality, and we need to build on the gender action plan [agreed at the last Cop, in Madrid, in 2019].”
INTENTION & ATTENTION ECONOMY
From board rooms to councils, womxn are underrepresented in policy making, investment & decision making in almost all domains that matter to the well-being of humanity and life on our planet.
Why despite all the effort, and 50% of the world population being women, we still face gender inequality? Why although all human beings are born out of the womb of a woman, we- as womxn, keep on remaining silent and invisible?
It is not that easy to find one intervention point and solve this issue.
Underrepresentation of womxn is a centuries old chronic problem. We get inspired and dare through stories & role models. Underrepresentation of womxn leads to less womxn stepping up to lead. The systemic gender inequality, not only constructs our psyche but also systemic bias with deterrent force on all levels targeting womxn who work to step up.
For example, venture capitalists have broken records every quarter this year, pushing more money into the startup ecosystem with bigger and bigger deals. But percentage wise, the amount of venture capital going to female entrepreneurs is lower in 2021 than it has been for the last five years. That’s especially true for startups with all-female founding teams, which have raised just 2.3 percent of venture capital, according to Crunchbase. Startups with mixed-gender cofounders raised 11.7 percent of funding. In other words: 86 percent of venture funding still goes only to men.
Harvard Business School studied the results of two experiments of entrepreneurial pitch competitions and found that “investors prefer pitches presented by male entrepreneurs compared with pitches made by female entrepreneurs, even when the content of the pitch is the same."
This overt discrimination makes no sense to me. Over the past 20 years, having started and helped to start more than 100 businesses around the world, I’ve watched many millennial, middle aged and senior womxn, when given the chance, deliver great businesses.
The Boston Consulting Group supports this. Its research showed that women business owners pitching their ideas for early-stage capital, typically receive less — a disparity average of more than $1 million — than men, but they deliver higher revenue than men, often twice as much as what was invested.
In summary, culturally constructed perceptions about the abilities and risks of entrepreneurship, leadership & decision making, and stereotypes, hinder the ability for women to have support in their ventures, leadership & political careers. These are intergenerational issues that have an impact on all social, business and environmental problems we are facing today.
Gender equality requires huge attention from all of us, today.
The Heroine Together with The Hero
It is time for womxn to initiate a series of conscious shifts of perspective, in leadership & entrepreneurship, allowing goals to be achieved with outcomes that are best for all involved. Let’s move beyond repeating the narrative of the “Hero’s Journey” by Joseph Campell-which has long served as the archetypal template for man’s development in myths, focusing on personal victory by slaying external enemies (dragons). What happens if the hero is a womxn? The Heroine’s Journey, by Maureen Murdock starts where the Hero’s Journey ends- the main character understands personal victory by denying the feminine qualities and nature is a dead end. The Heroine’s Journey is the shift from one level of archetypes to the next. It is the moment the individual puts down the sword and realizes that there is no need to fight in the first place to achieve goals.
The only way forward is the way through, an inner journey of embracing both the masculine and the feminine and make peace with our true nature of being connected networks, as nature. As we understand the role of the feminine archetype and the Heroine’s Journey, we can share stories, films, business models, metaverses and leadership cultures that honor the evolution of our humanity.
And in this evolution, we need all genders to play their parts to lift each other up, have curious inquiries and learning journeys to find out and integrate the healthiest qualities of both feminine and masculine energies to become evolved & whole humans.
What is “The Heroines”?
The Heroines is a curated community and an innovative co-learning platform for game changing womxn. Our mission is to remind, inspire, in-courage womxn and girls to own their power, co-leading a future that is positive, regenerative and inclusive.
In less than two years, we already have more than 100 heroines, from 20 countries rewriting what “success means”. I believe leading conscious businesses & policies for the “wellbeing of all” will eventually be as universal as prioritizing revenue targets in business, and votes in politics. Over the next several years, we will effectively transition from being a community & platform for game changing womxn, to being the next wellbeing platform, through womxn leadership. Because of the complexity, urgency and importance of this topic, our approach in The Heroines is holistic and experimental.
We find our own inner world worth diving into, and we start from our thoughts and assumptions, identify the destructive assumptions, transcend and integrate to constructive and future flexible ones.
We design conscious business and project models based on changing dynamics of users, planet, media, technology and most importantly what is emerging: the evolutionary super powers of womxn.
Our platform is a container for inspiring upcoming trends, integrating relevant, always up-to-date information, and upskill to next century leadership qualities and attitudes, using mind-body-heart wisdom & technologies.
The Heroines’ experts increase awareness and provide tools for the heroines to become their own explorers, designers and guides to make informed decisions and take actions.
Our growing community inspires and encourages each other to share evolutionary gifts, learn from each other’s industries, experiences, social and cultural case studies.
Our next step is going to be a big focus on creating funding for The Heroines, first for our platform and through our platform for our community of entrepreneurs. We have been experimenting for a reliable and evolutionary impact measurement structure, where we can see how the design and inspiration of new success metrics through womxn leadership is actually changing the world. This is just going to be a big part of the next chapter of The Heroines for the way that the leadership evolves after the COVID, for the wellbeing of all.
Our goal by 2030 is to activate 1 million heroines, impacting 1 billion lives positively, by changing the “success” metrics of business, and making "the wellbeing of all" as the norm.
How Can You Make an Impact?
Here are 13 things that you can do to support womxn leadership, for the wellbeing of all:
Join The Heroines: If you identify yourself as a womxn, you can join the full annual program, online membership and our twice a year Ibiza experiences with Super Power and nature immersions. We have an online membership program that is open to all genders and preferences, with 13 live & interactive sessions highlighting 13 Super Powers, providing information that matters, innovative and transformational tools and methodologies facilitated by expert womxn leaders in their domains.
Spread The Word: We believe in investing in humans and in human algorithms, and we don’t have big marketing budgets and we don’t spend on ads. Forward this newsletter to your contacts who might be interested. Follow us on social media. Sign up to my newsletter to receive bi-weekly updates on womxn leadership.
Raise Your Voice, Contribute & Get Curious: E-mail us to share your stories, questions and suggestions: join@theheroines.co
Reach out to a womxn, who succeeded-whether as an entrepreneur, policy maker or as a corporate leader. Talk to them about their missions and how you can support their service to other womxn- my bet is she knows of a female millennial with great potential as an entrepreneur who has approached her.
Connect locally with an organization with a mission to support womxn. In every country and city, there are dozens of these organizations full of very capable womxn who need some capital, and resources to help make their endeavors successful.
Network with friends and family members. As the mother of two daughters, I believe the best way to find womxn led businesses to invest in is to make the most of your personal network. If you aren’t an investor but would like to assist talented womxn, you can help some of them understand that there are other ways to raise the necessary funds, such as leveraging their personal credit and applying to different funds.
Consider supporting a startup through a crowdfunding platform such as iFundWomen, which provides needed capital for female entrepreneurs using a pay-it-forward model. Or support womxn entrepreneurs on leading crowdfunding platforms.
You can also become a lender through microloan sites such as Kiva, which help women in poverty worldwide to start their own businesses, generate an income, and get an education.
In your workplace, look out for stereotypes. If you are a womxn, in-courage yourself, if not your womxn colleagues to grow, and be heard.
At home, in business and in your communities, share workload, and be fair in roles distribution including parenting, house work and more.
Make room for sharing, feedback and negotiation. Feminine qualities and insights might be overlooked in male dominant environments which have been rewarding toxic masculine qualities. There is no inclusivity when you exclude the people you are designing, deciding and communicating for. Womxn shall not only be included but become the leaders of designing solutions and ways of more inclusive, diverse communication and decision making.
Be gentle and kind with yourself and others. See this as a learning journey, an opportunity to serve ourselves and future generations. Do your best, and when you can not, learn from your mistakes and make it up with what you have.
Celebrate role models, and learnings which are inspiration to what we can achieve better and beyond. Make your celebrations visible and joyous, as the highest vibration of love frequency.
Please share your suggestions on your social media, and on our platforms using #theheroines #theheroinesibiza @theheroines.co
