Intersectionality And How It Influences The Experiences And Resources of Minority Female Founders
Janine Vanessa Heinrich, an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in entrepreneurship, shares her unique insights and experiences in creating a more equitable entrepreneurial landscape.
Listen to the episode or scroll down to read the blog post ↓
Janine has a unique background. She's of German Ghanaian heritage and emigrated to the United States at the tender age of three. Her diverse cultural experiences have shaped her perspectives.
From exploring intersectionality's impact on female minority founders and professionals to preventing burnout and redefining “success,” Janine offers valuable insight on navigating the world of career development and entrepreneurship as a minority, and more specifically, a woman of color.
In this blog post, we’re covering the following:
How Intersectionality Influences The Experience of Female Minority Founders and Professionals
Preventing Burnout and Creating a Supportive Community for Yourself
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1) How Intersectionality Influences The Experience of Female Minority Founders And Professionals
Janine recently finished her Masters of Science and Entrepreneurship at WHU - a business school in Germany. In her thesis, she explores how intersectionality influences the experiences and resources of female minority founders.
Janine explains that intersectionality is such a big, loaded, and complex topic that a lot of people in the diversity, equity, and inclusion space overlook it.
“Intersectionality takes it away from I am a woman who has certain challenges to becoming I'm a black woman with challenges that differentiate from a white woman with challenges. And now when you're taking in those intersections of not only your gender, but your ethnicity and your socio-economic level, you start to realize the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion is extremely complex.” - Janine Vanessa Heinrich
Janine points out that access to funding for women entrepreneurs or founders of color has either stagnated or is getting worse.
“The problem is more than just gender or ethnicity. It's a multifaceted issue with all of these intersectionalities coming together that are making it more challenging.” - Janine Vanessa Heinrich
Janine explains that it all goes back to the way we are raised. “Boys and girls are raised differently.” Girls are told to be humble and not ask for things whereas boys are taught to be more aggressive and ask for what they want.
“Then we take in the factor of your socio-economic level, which means maybe you didn't have access to certain educational institutions. Then we take in the factor of your ethnicity and the stereotypes and discrimination that come about that.” - Janine Vanessa Heinrich
Once you reflect on those intersectionalities, you realize how big of a role they play in career development.
This founder might face more challenges than that other founder when looking for investors, for instance. Or this professional might struggle in the corporate space when it comes to speaking up in a room where they feel like the “only one.”
By the way, we have an incredible episode with Elaine Lin Hering about Unlearning Silenace and Why Just 'Speak Up' Isn't Enough.
That’s episode 57 – this episode challenges the often touted advice of “just speaking up”, as it overlooks the ingrained culture of silence and the inadvertent silencing by leaders.
It explores how societal norms and power dynamics shape our communication styles, often favoring those in positions of authority. Elaine propounds that being vocal manifests differently for everyone, and hence, a one-size-fits-all approach is futile. She stresses the necessity for leaders to disrupt these entrenched systems to foster a truly inclusive ambiance.
2) Making Your Pitch Stand Out as a Woman of Color
We talked a lot about minority female founders in this episode.
When making a pitch, Janine emphasizes coming in with a strong energy of I am the expert. This ties back to the corporate ecosystem as well, especially if you are in a leadership position.
While it is okay to not know something, you should have steps in place to figure it out.
“As a founder, your job is not to say I have all the answers. Your job is to say, this is what I'm trying to get to, and this is how I'm going to get there. And then you have the numbers and stats and the figures to say these are the people who have this problem and this is how I can create a profitable business.” - Janine Vanessa Heinrich
Another thing Janine emphasizes is education. She sometimes sees women entrepreneurs going for the wrong opportunities at that particular time.
“I oftentimes think that people don't fully understand the funding mechanisms behind a startup and what exactly that means for your business.” - Janine Vanessa Heinrich
The last thing Janine points out from her research is that there's a very strong difference between promotion-focused questions versus prevention-focused questions.
These are questions that investors would typically ask you.
She explains that women are typically asked prevention-focused questions.
For example - How do you plan on making sure that your competitors don't take advantage of your business?
“Then you get into a way of answering your questions where it’s a bit more defensive. It doesn't put you in a position of strength or power.”
Whereas men are typically asked more promotion-focused questions.
For example - What is your plan to take the market in the next five years?
“The different nature of the questions gives you a different nature of your response. So as a woman, you now need to learn certain tricks to how you're going to answer a question. When you're hit with a prevention-focused question, try to answer with a promotional-focused answer instead.” - Janine Vanessa Heinrich
Janine and I both understand this might not sound right. You shouldn’t have to learn “certain tricks” just because you’re a woman in a society that has historically been male-dominated when it comes to positions of power.
But the bias is there. It exists.
But according to Janine, there are ways to try to mitigate it as much as possible.
And by doing that, we’re steering the wheel a bit further in the right direction.
3) Preventing Burnout and Creating a Supportive Community for Yourself
Janine points out that a hard lesson she has had to learn is that you can’t thrive if you are exhausted all of the time. She emphasizes the importance of choosing your battles carefully.
Something I love about Gen Z is that so much earlier in their careers, they realize that they have nothing to prove to anybody by burning themselves out. Whereas we as millennials sometimes find ourselves constantly on a mission to prove that “we can do this.”
If I'm not truly thriving in this environment that I've chosen to step into or create for myself something needs to change because nobody is winning a prize for staying in a toxic workplace.
This is where community plays such a significant role.
Janine points out that it's a journey of looking inward first.
“I'm naturally more introverted. I'm not the one who's going to go out of my way to meet people. But I am better at creating one-on-one dialogues in smaller groups. So I'm going to lean more into environments where I can do those kinds of things instead.” - Janine Vanessa Heinrich
Janine explains that by understanding herself first, it was easier for her to then understand how she could plug herself into the environment around her.
“You probably are not going to see me so often at a huge networking event because I just don't like it, it's not fun for me. I find it draining. I find it exhausting, and I often find myself feeling out of place. I never know how to walk up to someone to just start a conversation. But you might find me in a more intimate setting [...] And then I'm able to create more of a community of people that I can connect with easier.” - Janine Vanessa Heinrich
Janine big advice for minority women in the startup environment or in corporate spaces is to give yourself grace.
However, this does not mean you should never push yourself out of your comfort zone.
“Lean into who you are as a person and make it a strength, while also putting yourself out of your comfort zone by learning certain skills to add to your reservoir.” - Janine Vanessa Heinrich
4) The "Just Do It" Mindset
Something that Janine and I believe in is the “just do it” mindset.
Sometimes you need to take a leap of faith and commit to something.
Janine furthers this by explaining that every single woman she has done research with who decided to take a leap of faith and become an entrepreneur ended up succeeding either way, either as an entrepreneur or in the corporate world.
How?
Even if their startup did not work out, they ended up in a significantly higher position in the corporate world than they were before their venture.
“That position that maybe would have taken them 15 to 20 years to get to, they managed to circumvent that time in a matter of three to five years because they left the corporate world to go focus on their venture. The skill set and everything that they learned were invaluable.” - Janine Vanessa Heinrich
That’s why the “just do it” mindset works. Because you will learn and that lived experience will take you further in your career.
So, if you’re not sure that thing you want to do is the right choice, just do it.
It might not turn out the way you planned to, but it will teach you lessons you probably wouldn’t learn otherwise. And that has incredible value.
5) Shifting Our Perspective Around Failure
It’s a common belief that if you’re not winning you’re failing. When really, if you’re not winning, you’re learning.
This is a mindset that is not often taught in the corporate world.
Janine points out that your values should also align with what you would consider a failure. Rather than failure being not achieving something, failure is not living according to your values.
“I have failed myself when I have not lived up to the values that I set myself. And everything else outside of that is not failure.” - Janine Vanessa Heinrich
Again, it relates to your inward journey.
Are your goals determined by what you want to achieve because that brings you the value that you seek in life?
Or are these the goals that the community says are what makes you successful?
I invite you to pause here, and truly reflect on this. Where are your goals coming from? Are they aligned with who you are, what you believe in, and what you desire for your life?
6) Getting Comfortable with Discomfort
Now, as we prepare to wrap up the episode and this blog post, let's talk about discomfort when it comes to your career and the workplace.
Things can be uncomfortable, really uncomfortable. We have all been there. Work might not feel like a lot of fun at times. Is that a reason to quit?
I’d go deeper and reflect on your end goal – but keep in mind your goals must align with your values – is this discomfort getting you towards what you define as success?
I believe that sometimes you have to stay in the thick of the discomfort to get through the other side.
You need to become comfortable with the discomfort.
But then, how do you know if you’re not just pushing through your values and boundaries?
Janine explains that your body tells you a lot, and by taking the time to listen to it, you can really help yourself.
“One of the ways that I helped myself thrive in this environment is I try to do at least half the day on Sunday just for myself. Then I sit and I feel. How am I feeling this week? Do I need this week to be a bit of a calmer one, because the last ones were a bit tough?” - Janine Vanessa Heinrich
Janine then goes back to her advice on showing grace and being kind to yourself.
“If everyone's at 100%, you want to be at 150%. But from time to time, you may only have 50% for yourself that day. That is your 100% for that day, and that's okay.” - Janine Vanessa Heinrich
To hear the full conversation I had with Janine on the Embracing “Only” Podcast, scroll all the way up and hit play – or click here and tune into episode 59.
About The Hosts: Olivia And Archita
OLIVIA
Olivia Grant Cream is the host and producer of the Embracing Only podcast. Nothing makes her happier than providing a platform to women who are changing the world.
Olivia is a proud US Veteran and HR Leader who is passionate about changing the face of corporate America by helping underrepresented people reclaim their power and live the life of their dreams.
She is an advocate for transitioning military members seeking second careers in the corporate landscape.
Olivia is a proud Jamaican and enjoys mentoring, coaching, classic cars, and nature. way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
→ You can work with Olivia here: www.oliviacream.com
→ Book her as a keynote speaker or moderator for your next ERG or company event.
ARCHITA
Archita Sivakumar Fritz is the Host and Producer of the Embracing Only podcast. Archita is an international executive, who has lived and worked in India, the U.S., Canada, and Germany.
She is the founder, principal of Ready Set Bold a workplace transformation firm that supports F500 to startups on their product, people and process transformation journey.
She is a fierce advocate for canceling the culture around the silence of bullying and harassment in the workplace through her work with Speak Out Revolution. She lives in Dusseldorf, Germany with her husband where they are raising their three third-culture kids.
→ If you want to work with Archita you can reach out to her here: www.readysetbold.com.
→ Book her as a speaker, moderator, or coach for your next company event or workshop.