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Research shows that age and gender bias can still prevent older women in business from gaining access to opportunities and capital.
That disconnect matters because research has repeatedly challenged the notion that youth is the strongest predictor of entrepreneurial success. A study from MIT researchers found that the average age of founders behind the fastest-growing new ventures was 45. The research also found that prior experience in a specific industry was a strong predictor of entrepreneurial success.
“What helped me move forward was the combination of everything that had come before: work ethic, business experience, perspective, adaptability, and confidence,” Rosenthal told Fast Company. “I was able to step fully into my own voice.”
Yet, Julie Wing, a 65-year-old serial entrepreneur and aviation business owner, found that experience does not always translate into opportunity.
“You have to prove yourself a lot more as a woman, and an older woman,” she told the publication. “Men don’t have to prove themselves.”
Older women can bring industry knowledge, professional networks, management experience, and a clearer understanding of the problems they are trying to solve. Those advantages can be especially valuable in an entrepreneurial environment where execution matters just as much as the original idea.
Shubhi Rao, who founded an AI company at 54 after leaving corporate America, said that investment decisions can also be shaped by familiarity. “When you cannot underwrite the future,” she said, “you study the past.” Yet, if the past has disproportionately elevated young, male founders, relying too heavily on familiar patterns may cause investors to miss viable opportunities.
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Source: Black Enterprise
