Empowered or Exploited? The Dark Side of Women’s Business Events
This week I did a keynote that was broadcast globally on Expert Channel TV as part of their Conscious Leader Summit 2025.
Originally, I’d planned to speak about the usual struggles—the stories we all nod along to. I even wrote a raw, heartfelt talk about the emotional toll of entrepreneurship. But that night, I lay awake thinking, this isn’t sitting right.
I have a global platform. I have influence. And yet… I was choosing the safe story. I wasn’t saying the thing that’s been gnawing at me for years. The thing I was too “professional” to call out.
So I changed it. Last minute. I called it out publicly.
The uncomfortable truth.
The female empowerment space is being hijacked.
Not by the women creating it. Not by the grassroots founders, the campaigners, the mentors, the speakers, who I respect deeply and work alongside.
But by the powerhouses who see our efforts as PR strategy. Who use our empowerment events, our stories, our statistics as optics. Not action.
Let Me Be Clear
This isn’t an attack on the incredible women behind these movements. Quite the opposite.
They are the ones doing the real work, often unpaid, often uncredited. They’re holding the line. Building communities. Creating spaces we were never handed.
What I’m calling out is the exploitation of that work.
How governments, banks, VCs and media co-opt our movement for press releases and diversity headlines… while doing nothing to change the system that holds us back.
Tokenism Is Not Empowerment
Let’s talk about the stages. The curated panels. The hashtags. The lanyards. The clapping investors. We know the drill. We’ve been part of it.
But here’s what never gets said on stage:
We’re not being empowered. We’re being tokenised.
They want our faces in their campaign photos.
Our stories in their press kits.
Our logos in their funding decks.
What they don’t want? To fund us. To back us. To open the door.
49% of Startups Are Founded by Women And Still, Just 2.4% of VC Goes to Us
Let that sink in.
We’re building half the startups. We’re getting almost none of the capital.
They speak like we’re taking over but behind the scenes, they’re still locking the doors.
We’re Building Anyway
Since 2019, women-owned businesses in the U.S. have exploded:
94% growth in number of firms
252% increase in employment
82% rise in revenue
We’re fuelling economies. Hiring people. Scaling without the cheques, without the access, without the trust.
WhatsApp strategy calls at 1am. Business loans in our personal name. Scaling from kitchen tables while raising kids. That’s what it really looks like.
And Still, Men Own 5x More Million-Dollar Businesses
They say dream bigger but they don’t mention that men are starting on third base. We’re building empires with bricks they wouldn’t even step over.
Yet, we outperform.
Female-led companies: 384% returns.
Male-led? 261%.
We are doing more with less and doing it better.
So Why Aren’t More Women Building?
Because it’s not just about desire. It’s about access.
48% of women say they want to start a business. But only 26% actually launch their own original company.
Most are funnelled into franchising or MLMs, not out of passion, but protection. Because it feels safer. Because the system won’t back them to lead.
And before anyone misquotes me, this isn’t an MLM takedown. It’s a survival strategy analysis. A reflection of how little room women are given to innovate on their own terms.
We Don’t Need Empowering
We’re already empowered.
What we need are systems that stop resisting our rise.
We need funding without proof of household duties.
We need boards that look at strategy, not stereotypes.
We need capital that sees performance….not pity.
Imagine If the System Actually Backed Us
Imagine what would happen if women got the same resources.
If our innovation wasn’t boxed into someone else’s blueprint.
If our businesses weren’t bootstrapped on resilience alone.
We’ve already built legacies on just 2.4% of VC.
We’ve already shifted economies with borrowed tools.
Now imagine what we’ll do when we build with power, not in spite of it.
That world is coming. And they know it. Soon, they’ll be the ones asking for a seat at our table.
We don’t need saving. We don’t need symbols. We need structural change. The system is broken. And we’re done being polite about it.
Let me know in the comment if Im wrong here and you have had investment?
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