Empowering women: empowering humanity

In 128 countries around the world, women cannot get a job. They cannot, either, have a passport, or a simple ID card that proofs their identity, that attests who they are. In 15 of these 128 countries, laws are not the ones solely responsible for these prohibitions: men, especially husbands, are the barriers between women and their freedom. 

As a woman, I was fortunate enough to have been born in a country where – technically – such barriers did not exist. In Brazil I have an ID card, a passport; I could find jobs and work in whichever career I chose, but none of these was any assurance of a life without prejudice, sexual harassment or plain injustice. 

We, the lucky ones of the Western Civilization, have a tendency to think that these issues connected to women empowerment are not among us: we claim to have gender equality, but do we? In the United States women still make 78cents for every dollar earned by a man, a data reported for the year of 2013. This is a gap of 22%, and only one of the many differences among men and women. 

In my home country, a great research was made: determined to understand the relationship that women had with the common comments they hear from men on the streets, the feminist website Think Olga launched “Chega de Fiu Fiu”. It started with a questionnaire answered by eight thousand women and it became a campaign against sexual harassment in publicspaces. Of the women that responded, 99,6% of the women said they suffered at least one type of harassment; 83% claimed not to like it, and 81% said they changed their mind about going out of their houses or passing in front of an area dominated by men, afraid of the comments they could hear. Finally, 73% said they never responded to any of the comments because they are afraid. 

This is 2015 and women are afraid to leave their houses. They are not only afraid of the social violence they can suffer, to be robbed or mugged; they are afraid of men. They are afraid to speak their minds, they are afraid of their husbands; they do not have equal rights. How can a society truly move forward when it neglects its half? It cannot. Women are half of the population of the world: empowering women is empowering humanity

What makes a business a great business?

What are investors looking for in a business to actually put their money in it? What can convince big names such as Donald Trump, Oprah, Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec? What can help entrepreneurs take their businesses to the next level?

Robert Herjavec is the son of Croatian immigrants that came to the United States and started from scratch. While he was waiting tables during the Internet boom, he decided to invest in it. Then came BRAK systems, once worth it $100 million and sold to AT&T. Now he is the head of the Herjavec group, a multimillionaire technology company.  So, what can catch the eye of this potential investor? Passion. He cannot stress enough how passion is important for a business.

Herjavec focuses on the “why” someone is doing something, much more than numbers or anything else. Not that they are not important, but the investor explains that an entrepreneur has to be passionate about what he does in order to convince people to give him money – whether is for an investment or for a purchase of a product.

KevinO’Leary has similar views than Herjavec’s. O’leary launched his first company from his basement – like many successful enterprises start – and went to making it a million-dollar deal, selling it later for $3.7 billion. Now he is the head of O’Leary funds and is always looking for profitable investments for his fellow investors and his other company, Stream Global. 

For O'Leary, an entrepreneur has to know their business in order to convince the investors. He says usually the best ideas are the ones explained in 90 seconds (the so famous “elevator pitch”), that show the people explaining them can execute it – and the ones that have the numbers correct. 

DonaldTrump is a legend. Real estate and media mogul has made himself into one of the most powerful brands the world knows. Owner of hotels, buildings, golf courses, and also star and co-producer of the hit show “The Apprentice”, Trump is someone to listen to when it comes to business.

Also to him, passion is the number one ingredient to success. Here is the why of every business plan. Entrepreneurs have to think on why they are doing it and have an incredible passion for the business and/or the cause. Trump says: “You have to completely believe in what you are doing, and a knowledge of business is useful, but I would mention that passion, momentum and focus are crucial”.