International Women's Day: Inspiring Women Paving the Way 👯‍♀️

Today is International Women’s Day! This year’s theme, #pressforprogress is about bringing awareness to gender parity. The gender gap is REAL! On average a women earns 79 cents for every dollar a man earns, and women’s median annual earnings are $10,800 less than men’s. The exciting thing is that there is hope! There are empowering female entrepreneurs proving that women can make it to the top. We are highlighting FOUR empowering female entrepreneurs that are paving the way for women in the workforce.

JENNA KUTCHER

Source: fortheloveofmoney.com 

Jenna Kutcher is truly an inspiring photographer and branding mastermind! Jenna started her wedding photography business five years ago with little experience and ready to take some chances! As her photography business grew, she found her love of branding and marketing along the way. Quickly this passion turned into a six-figure business. Eager to teach other girl entrepreneurs to find the same success, she offers free content, online business courses and a podcast. 

What differentiates Jenna is her passion to encourage people to be themselves. She promotes the idea of being your true self on social media and suggesting that every image should not be perfect but instead a raw and real representation of ourselves. She is also a body positive advocate.

TYLER HANEY

Source: mindbodygreen 

Tyler Haney has paved her own path in a male-dominant industry with her active line Outdoor Voices. In 2014, Tyler launched her brand with a few basic pieces. Three years later, the company has received $22.5 million in funding and has several retail stores in the US. But getting to this point was not easy and Tyler faced skepticism by investors. She ultimately never gave up and is now totally rockin’ it!!

Growing up, Tyler was always involved in sports and other recreational activities but never focused on being “stronger and faster”. She modeled her brand’s identity by recognizing that being athletic does not mean being a superhuman. Outdoor voices is all about being human. “It’s not about being Stephan Curry or someone else; it’s about being you, quirks and all.”  

ANNA AUERBACH AND ANNIE DEAN

Anna Auerbach and Annie Dean are trailblazing a path for women workers. They are “fueling the conversation about workplace flexibility. They advise on how you can find a sane, successful schedule with their company, Werk. As women, we are capable of doing anything we set our minds to…until we’re working and decide to have children. Thirty percent of talented women are dropping out of the workforce but 70% of that group say they would still be working if they had flexibility. Anna and Annie have found a way to begin to start to go against the grain and offer a solution to the flexibility problem by providing guidance and advice to not only employees but also employers. “Werk helps a new generation thrive at work and in life”.

Anna is a former consultant and COO and Harvard Business School grad. Annie is a former real estate attorney, who spent six years in Big Law. Impressive backgrounds, needless to say!

WHITNEY WOLFE HERD

Whitney Wolfe Herd is revolutionizing the dating game with her dating/networking app Bumble, a billion dollar company. In 2014, Bumble was found after Whitney left as the co-founder and VP of marketing of Tinder. Now, Bumble has proven to be a successful competitor of Tinder. Bumble has over 22 million registered users while Tinder has a recorded million – Bumble is increasing in growth by 70% every year, compared to Tinder’s 10%.

What makes Bumble so successful is its feminist approach. The dating app gives women the control to make the initial contact and bans all inappropriate images, making it a more respectable and meaningful platform than competing dating apps. Bumble has also recognized that women not only care about dating but also, friendships and career. The app now has the Bizz and BFF extension to make meaningful connections.