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The significance behind Kamala Harris' suit is a beautiful touchstone to female equality

November 09, 2020
Kamala Harris stands with her great nieces
Photo credit: Kamala Harris Twitter feed
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Sandra Salathe

Saturday afternoon was a momentous day for America.

Not only did we elect Joe Biden as our 46th President of the United States, but we also elected our first female, Black and South Asian Vice President: Kamala Harris. When Harris took the stage on Saturday evening, in Wilmington, DE, not only did she deliver an empowering speech that offered volumes of inspiration to generations of American women, she also delivered a powerful statement in the ensemble she chose to wear.

Dressed in a gorgeous white pantsuit from Carolina Herrera, a satin pussybow blouse, and Manolo Blahnik nude pointy toe pumps, Harris sauntered on stage with a clear message for America, but primarily American women. Now, I absolutely detest when individuals zero in on a woman's appearance, critiquing and picking apart her fashion choices while losing focus of the overall individual. We almost never comment on men's attire.

Why are we so fascinated with women's?

But the significance of Harris' ensemble is an important one and attention must be paid. It is universally known that white is considered a symbol of the suffragette movement, when women tirelessly fought for the right to vote. This year marks the 100th anniversary of suffragette movement and Harris made certain to acknowledge it by donning all white, along with her great nieces.

"To all the women, who have worked to secure and protect the right to vote for over a century. One hundred years ago with the 19th Amendment, 55 years ago with the Voting Rights Act, and now in 2020 with the new generation of women." Harris said in regards to the women who fought for voting rights during the 20th century and the women of today, who cast their ballot and "continued to fight for their fundamental right to vote and be heard."

I've watched that speech several times already, and it still manages to bring tears to my eyes. Simply writing those words makes me teary-eyed.

However, this isn't the first time female politicians have worn the color as a statement. In fact, female politicians have been wearing white for decades, honoring the women who notoriously paved the way for them generations prior.

In 1968, Shirley Chisholm wore white when she became the first African American woman elected to Congress. In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro also wore all-white to accept her role as Walter Mondale's running mate in his presidential race. In 2016, Hillary Clinton wore a white pantsuit to accept the Democratic presidential nomination. And who could forget the numerous Congresswomen who wore white at the 2019 State of the Union address, paying tribute to the suffragettes, while silently sending a clear message to the Trump administration and its inhumane policies.

So it's no surprise Harris chose to wear white considering her extensive resume fighting for female equality and inclusion. But nevertheless, its significance speaks volumes. We are entering into a new generation for women, filled with endless possibilities and immense hope.

When little girls look at their country today, they will see representation staring back at them. Gone are the days when politics was specifically catered to men. Because of Harris, and the many generations of women before her, there is now a comfortable seat at the table.

"While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last," said Harris.

Damn right!

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Can tech help female entrepreneurs break the bias?

Women founders continue to come up against common challenges and biases
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Written by Kelly Devine, Division President UK & Ireland, Mastercard

Starting a business may have historically been perceived as a man’s game, but this couldn’t be further from reality. Research shows women are actually more likely than men to actively choose to start their own business – often motivated by the desire to be their own boss or to have a better work-life balance and spend more time with their family.

The recently published Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurship 2021 found that in the category of 'Aspiration Driven Entrepreneurship’ – capturing those who actively choose to start their own business – women in the UK surpass men: 60% vs 56%. And Mastercard research from February 2022 found 10% of female business owners started their business in the past two years compared to 6% of men – meaning women were 67% more likely to have started a business during the pandemic.

Yet, there are common challenges that women founders continue to come up against - not least the gender imbalance in the household and long-held biases which are still prevalent.

In the UK, women are almost three times more likely to be balancing care and home commitments than men, and this was exacerbated during the pandemic as the additional barriers of school closures and lockdowns meant that the care time of dependents rose significantly on a day-to-day level for women. In addition, women were less likely to have access to a home office, greatly impacting the work they were able to accomplish when working from home was the only option.

It's also widely known that female business owners are still more likely to struggle to access funding for their business ideas. According to Dealroom, all-women founding teams received just 1.4% of the €23.7bn invested into UK start-ups in 2021, while all-male leadership teams have taken almost 90% of the available capital.

Without financial support, and when juggling significant time pressures both at home and at work, how can women grow their companies and #BreaktheBias (as this year’s International Women’s Day termed it)? What tools or support can save them time and money, and give them the headspace they need to focus on building their business?

With female owned businesses collectively estimating revenue growth of £120 billion over the next five years, solving this problem is bigger than supporting women – it’s about supporting the national economy.

Using tech to level the playing field

There are clearly societal issues at play that need to be resolved. But when we look at the rise in technology businesses during the pandemic, we can plainly see an alternative source of support critical for business growth: digital tools.

A third of female business owners say new technologies will be crucial to the success of their business in the future and one in five say it is the most important thing for business growth.

With new technology comes new ways to pay, create, and work. And yet there are barriers that prevent business owners accessing this technology. Women are significantly more likely to say they want to use more digital tools but don’t know what is best for their business and also more concerned about the security of digital tools.

When technology is adopted by businesses – whether using online accounting solutions or messenger services for communicating with staff – it saves them time, allows them to maintain and grow their customer base, and ultimately increases cost savings and profit.

By drastically improving the training and support that is available to women-owned business to access and utilise technology we will allow these businesses to grow and succeed. And we know there is demand for it.

Research done by the IFC and Dalberg shows that female entrepreneurs are more likely to invest time and money in business development. This includes product development, customer base expansion, and digital tools and training and there are plenty of services available offering this type of support – many of them for free.

One such programme is Strive UK – an initiative of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth – which aims to reach 650,000 micro and small business owners across the UK and empower them with the tools they need to thrive in the digital economy through free guidance, helpful tools and one-to-one mentoring.

Working together with small business experts – Enterprise Nation, Be the Business and Digital Boost – we hope to ensure hundreds of thousands of UK female business owners have the tools they need to succeed and reach their ambitious goals. Because this ambition remains strong in the UK, with female business owners largely optimistic about the future despite the multitude of challenges they are facing. Four in ten say they will grow their business in the next five years – compared to only a third of male business owners – and they’re also 35% less likely than men to say they plan to downsize or close the business.

But if we do not empower female entrepreneurs to access the tools and technology they need to grow, there is a risk this optimism could be misplaced. Support programmes that provide business owners with guidance and mentorship can help ensure this isn’t the case, allowing female entrepreneurs to not only survive but thrive in the months and years ahead.