Myth Or Fact: Empathy Gives Women Entrepreneurs An Upper Hand?

Women leaders have played a transformative role in the startup scene of India. From healthcare to technology, catering to people from various economic and geographical backgrounds, even those from remote, tribal villages. Women entrepreneurs have shattered societal stigma to imprint their influence everywhere. So what is it that women possess that makes them so remarkable in leadership? Esteemed entrepreneurs at the Digital Women Awards 2023 weighed in on what makes women different from the rest.

In a conversation with SheThePeople and the Female Quotient, the entrepreneurs shared what they believe gives women an edge to be better leaders. While some said that women are naturally better leaders owing to their intrinsic qualities, others had a slightly different opinion.

Emotional Intelligence

A common response that most women entrepreneurs gave on what they think makes them succeed at their endeavours was “empathy”. Notably, empathy allows women entrepreneurs to lead by example, build a better work environment, and be capable of forming a trusted rapport with their clients. Emotional intelligence is one of the qualities that most women leaders across the world have in common.

Women entrepreneurs say that this emotional intelligence can be a powerful tool in the workplace. Kamna Hazrati, the founder of AndPurpose agrees. “Women are naturally very empathetic leaders. We just bring our heart out in whatever we do and that makes us stand apart,” she said. Hazrati won the Digital Women Award this year in Marketing. 

Women are likely to pinpoint the needs of the community and provide solutions from their astute observations. They are also capable of identifying strengths and weaknesses within the organisation and delegate tasks accordingly. Women are also likely to recognise the talents of other women and empower them. 

Different Approach

Swarnima Bhattacharya, the co-founder of Gytree, said she had a slightly different opinion of the "emotional intelligence" approach. She said, "I feel 'women entrepreneurs are more empathetic' is a stereotype... What makes us different is that women have to create their own template because leadership is gendered. Whenever you think of your favourite founder or favourite leader, most of the time unfortunately a woman's name does not pop up. So there's a lot of forging your own path that you have to do."

When it comes to choosing a leadership approach, women entrepreneurs have to steer a different way from their male counterparts. Although men dominate the entrepreneurship landscape across the world, women entrepreneurs hold the idea to not follow the same steps as them but rather pave their own method of leadership. 

Palak Moondhra, the founder of Ambraee said, "I feel that you [women entrepreneurs] should not have the same leadership approach as men do. You need to have your own vertical to the leadership. You can't copy the way male leaders work. You have to find your own inertia and your own forte as to how you can get this done rather than being a follower of men's leadership. You have to identify your own rules." Moondhra won a Digital Women Award for Content this year.

Women entrepreneurs are lauded for being pioneers in various sectors of entrepreneurship, and their natural and innate qualities like emotional intelligence undeniably give them an upper hand. However, this does not make up for the extra hustle that women entrepreneurs have to put in to get the recognition that their male counterparts easily achieve.

Women entrepreneurs thus clarified that while empathy does play a crucial part in their leadership approach, it cannot be solely credited for their success which comes from their hard work and dedication to combat not just professional but also societal challenges. 

Personal views expressed by the author are their own