"Anti Anti-Aging", the Gender Funding Gap & "So Many Dicks"

Hi Sheconomist community 👋 It’s Thamina, Founder of The Sheconomist. This is your bi-weekly dose of celebrating the female economy where I help ambitious, purpose-driven women like yourself flip the script on money, career & wellbeing conventions so you can live life on your own terms.

TLDR:

• 👏 We’re entering what I call an “Anti Anti-Aging” era

• 🔥 A shoutout to all my fellow inconvenient women

• 💰 Why you should consider getting involved with Venture Capital

•  🍆 “So Many Dicks” (it’s not what you think 👀)

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🧪 Freedom Formulas

We’re entering what I call an “Anti Anti-Aging” era

And it’s about time.

For too long, the narrative around aging has been narrowly focused on reversal rather than acceptance.

Women have been particularly targeted by industries that capitalize on the fear of aging. In 2023 alone, the global market for anti-aging products was estimated at $41.2 billion, expected to grow to $60 billion by 2030.

While the media defaults to celebrating male celebrities like Brad Pitt for “aging like a fine wine”, they ostracize actresses like Sarah Jessica Parker for “let[ting] herself go”.

Luckily, the societal perspective on aging is finally evolving. Women are increasingly rejecting the double standards that celebrate aging in men as distinguished while deeming aging women as less desirable.

The rise in menopause awareness for instance, is a promising sign of changing times.

According to a national survey conducted in the US, 4 out of every 10 women confirmed that menopause symptoms interfered with their work performance or productivity at least on a weekly basis.

Startups focused on menopause care and wellness (e.g. Midi Health, Evernow, Alloy) have started receiving significant investment, reflecting a growing market that addresses women's needs during this life stage.

On social media, creators like Christiane Gina Drewalowski have gone viral for demonstrating the joys and adventures that the 50s and beyond hold, challenging the stigma that aging is synonymous with decline and invisibility.

This aligns with a broader shift from anti-aging to longevity. The former often carries connotations of shame and denial, focusing on the superficial signs of aging. In contrast, longevity is about wellness, advocating for a life well-lived and the pursuit of activities that support a healthy life, rather than merely extending it.

For women, this shift grants them a permission slip to become their own best advocates, set boundaries at work and home, and actively prioritize their health and happiness in a culture that historically marginalized their experiences and needs as they age.

This "Anti Anti-Aging" era is about redefining the value of aging as a period of life characterized by growth, wisdom, and continued vitality. It’s not about denying the aging process but about celebrating the richness of life at every stage.

🏆 Win Prizes for Referring Your Friends

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Which is why I want to reward you for sharing The Sheconomist with your friends. Each of you will have their own unique referral code that allows me to keep tabs on how many people you’ve referred to this newsletter.

Here are the different Tiers for May 2024 and what each threshold will get you:

• 5 Referrals: A list of some of my favorite personal finance & investing books, podcast episodes, calculators, money trackers & apps

• 10 Referrals: You will be entered into a raffle for a $50 gift card for your woman-owned brand of your choice (note: in order to qualify, you must refer 10 people by May 31)

• 17 Referrals: You will get 45 minutes of 1:1 time with me over Zoom ($350 value). I can answer any questions you might have about personal finance, investing, career development, building a personal brand. I take very few networking these days, so opportunities like these are rare and usually reserved for friends and paying clients.

Please note: This referral program is only available to email subscribers so if you are accessing this post via the web version, unfortunately you won’t have access.

❣️ Thamina’s Top Picks

🎙️ Millionaire Diaries: How Kelly Made Her First Million Through Her 9-5 (Girls That Invest Podcast)

📚 New Happy: Getting Happiness Right in a World That’s Got It Wrong (by Stephanie Harrison, yes THE Stephanie Harrison whose Instagram posts you’ve seen - some of you might remember I had her on my first podcast a few years ago before she started blowing up)

📽️ Here’s to all my fellow inconvenient women (if you watch anything on social this week, let it be this 🔥)

📅 New York Tech Week is coming up in early June and I’m helping to promote events hosted by more diverse people (women/people of color/immigrants/Gen Z) - If you or someone you know wants to add their event to our growing list, fill out this form)

✨ This week’s Moodboard

Post credits go to @thebossnetwork, @femaleinvest, @girlsbuildingempires, @wrdvbs

💸 Cooking up Wealth

Here’s why I believe almost every woman should consider getting involved with Venture Capital

Last week, I announced that I joined inVest Ventures as a Limited Partner (LP) aka investor.

inVest Ventures is a community VC fund where the “inVestors” are either current or former LinkedIn employees and the fund exclusively invests in early-stage companies founded by LinkedIn alumni (more details here).

Why am I talking about all of this?

Most of you are probably familiar with the gender pay gap by now.

Some of you might even be familiar with the gender wealth gap.

(“The most commonly referenced reports say that for every dollar a white man owns, women overall own 32 cent. Black and Latina women? Just one penny”).

Fewer people are familiar with the gender funding gap. Only about ~2% of VC funding goes to all female-founded companies, a number that has held steady for many years now.

A fraction of that (~0.3-0.4%) goes to founders who are women of color.

Before 2021, there were only 93 Black women in the United States who had ever raised $1M or more. The fact that you can precisely count that number is outrageous.

This is important to recognize because startup investors get to decide what type of companies and more importantly, what type of leaders will shape the future of our society.

And founders from underrepresented groups oftentimes build companies and product that solve underserved problems, which ultimately benefits women and minorities.

I’m sick of our society thinking of Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg when we think about successful entrepreneurs, instead I want us to think of Melanie Perkins (Canva), Shonda Rhimes (Shondaland), or Sara Blakely (Spanx).

Female investors are twice as likely to invest in a company with at least one woman founder

Companies with at least one woman founder typically hire 2.5x as many women.

Companies with both a female founder and a female exec hire 6x more women.

You see, it’s all interconnected: Women’s financial empowerment sets a direct path toward gender equity and inclusive economic growth.

And we all have a role to play.

If you’re new to the world of Venture Capital & Angel Investing, here a few resources to start educating yourself:

🎙️ Redefining Venture Capital: The Untapped Potential of Women Investors with the Founder of How Women Invest Julie Castro Abrams (Give Her Dollars Podcast)

🎞️ Show Her the Money (Award-Winning film - watch the trailer here)

🎙️ Inside the Mind of a Billion Dollar VC: Equity, AI & Generational Wealth with the Co-Founder of SoGal Ventures (Give Her Dollars Podcast)

🎓 Fempire x SoGal Community & Online Academy on Angel Investing

🌊 Women Making Waves

• 💵 Female Invest, the financial learning & community platform, announced their crowdfunding campaign - Would you want to own shares in Female Invest?

• 🍆 e.l.f. beauty CMO Kory Marchisotto & team killed it with “So Many Dicks” campaign calling out lack of diversity on corporate boards Men named 'Dick' outnumber women and diverse groups on US corporate boards

• 🌟 WNBA athlete Angel Reese claps back at the criticism she received for attending the Met Gala the night before playing the New York Liberty - "Women don't have to be one-dimensional, they don't have to do one thing." 👏 

Enjoyed this? Don’t forget to refer a friend (or five 😉) to start winning prizes. You can find your unique referral link below.

In abundance,

P.S.: If you want to work with me directly, you can do so here.

Please note that I may receive commissions for some but not all my recommendations. I will never recommend something I don’t actually genuinely believe in or haven’t used myself.

🤳 Social Media Recap