Finding Pride in Woman-Owned Business

I was scrolling Instagram several months ago when I read a startling statement: women over 40 were born into a world where they could not own a business.

 

I took this statistic with a grain of salt since it was shared on social media, but I kept thinking about it as I prepared to write this newsletter for Women's History Month and International Women's Day. So, I thought I'd research this statement that had been bouncing around in my head for months.

 

I discovered that in fact, women were not allowed to take out business loans in their own name until 1988 when H.R.5050 was passed. There were no federal laws prohibiting women from taking out business loans, but state laws and banks' discriminatory lending practices made it so women were not issued loans based on their gender. Under most state laws, women were required to have a male relative as a co-signer for business loans, which denied women complete financial independence. It was almost impossible for women to start a business without also having a man's name tied to it.

 

What most shocked me was that 1988 was only 37 years ago. I am 42, so I was born into a world where starting a business like Hazelmade as a woman would have been difficult to imagine. I've spent most of my adult life as a business owner and designer. A lot of my social network is women entrepreneurs. It astonished me to think that at the beginning of my life, this world of women entrepreneurs I am apart of now would not have existed.

 

As a business owner, I know being denied access to loans makes it almost impossible to start a business. And, the concept of a male relative co-signer seems to come from an assumption that women weren't capable of managing their own businesses. Combine this with the fact that women did not have federal protections to own personal bank accounts and credit cards until 1974, and you can see the systemic ways that women have historically been denied financial autonomy. And, this does not even begin to go into the intersectional struggles some women face in regard to racist discriminatory lending practices.

These facts struck me because not even 40 years ago, I would have faced significant hurdles in starting Hazelmade. I might not have even dreamed that starting my own business was possible. This also made me realize how rare it was for my dad to encourage me to start my own business while I was growing up in the early 80's. If my dad had not taken the time to teach me about the financials, taxes and other logistics of owning a business, it would have been a lot harder for me to access that crucial information. 

 

I bring all of this up because I have struggled to call myself a woman-owned business. I've always wanted my business to be known by the products I produce, the achievements I have made and the work I am doing; not my gender. One of my favorite graphic designers summed up my feelings perfectly. When Paula Scher was awarded Best Female Designer in the World, an interviewer asked how she felt and she replied, “Ask me when I'm best ‘designer’ with the rest of them.” I've pretty much lived my professional life by this quote up until now. In a world I see so focused on "girl bosses" and separating women out as a separate class of entrepreneurs, I've spent a lot of time trying to keep my gender out of the conversation of my business.

 

But now, I realize why it's so important to lift myself up as a woman business owner because not too long ago, what I am currently doing would not have been possible. And with recent events such as Google removing Women's History month from its calendars and other changes impacting equal rights, I'm reminded even further how important it is to celebrate my achievements as a woman entrepreneur.

 

After researching for this very newsletter, I know that I am part of a much bigger network than I thought. There are 12 million women-owned businesses employing over 10.7 million workers, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Women business owners have had to overcome many hurdles, both systemically and culturally, to be where they are today. This International Women's Day, I am celebrating just that, and I'm also celebrating my changed perspective about the importance of recognizing my gender alongside my accomplishments. 

 

If you are interested in learning more about women's financial autonomy, I recommend the article “A Bank of Her Own” by Ian Rose. This International Women's Day and Women's History Month, take a moment to celebrate women's involvement in and impact on your career field or area of interest. I'm proud of myself for growing through researching and writing this newsletter and proud to be taking part in my place in history.

Signup for my newsletter for more conversations like this one!