Purpose Over Profit: How Women-Owned Businesses And Entrepreneurs Are Driving The Force For Good
Women’s History Month is upon us, dedicated to recognizing and honoring some of the most influential women and girls. We will undoubtedly see media highlights of female trailblazers from the past and present while businesses highlight the accomplishments of their female employees and fierce executive leaders.
But it’s also B Corp Month, recognizing businesses that are audited for their impact on all stakeholders, not just profitability. So make room for another worthy mention: women-owned businesses and female entrepreneurs who pursue social and environmental impact, alongside profit.
According to a recent study published by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, in 2021, women’s Total Early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) rate was 15.2% in the United States, up from 13.6% in 2020. Motivating many of these women entrepreneurs was the desire to make a difference – a staggering 70.5% of those surveyed.
One such company, FoundHer, aims to combat the discrimination that mothers often face when returning to the workforce after a career break. As an entrepreneurial women-owned recruiting firm, FoundHer serves this mission by placing women and mothers with corporate clients who value flexibility and implement fair pay practices.
“When clients come to us, we have already skipped the threshold of having to explain career breaks on behalf of our candidates,” explains Runa Knapp, Co-FoundHer and Chief Business Development Officer. “We won’t always say ‘yes’ to taking on a client. It’s important for us to understand a client’s policies around supporting women through parental leave, promoting women internally, hiring women for executive level positions, and implementing policies around flexibility and equal pay.”
Recently FoundHer achieved its B Corp Certification, a private certification issued by B Lab to for-profit companies based on their “social and environmental performance.” The movement around corporations and entrepreneurs who are using business as a force for good has grown over the years and according to B Lab statistics of self-reported data, approximately 40% of US based B Corps are currently operated and run by women.