The long profound decline in the financing system for new and small companies is a slow-burn issue that doesn’t get a lot of attention but could destroy our economy from within. This week, I’m really proud of a story by Lori Ioannou on rising bank fees and shrinking lines of credit for small businesses. Four banks, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citi, now control nearly half of all US banking deposits in the United States. Big banks market themselves as friends to small businesses – but, as Lori discovered, there’s nobody really watching out to see if what they say is true.
The news cycle moves so fast these days. On Monday, I planned to write this editor’s note about paid leave, and why the United States has the highest maternal death rate in the world among developed nations. The United States’ ruling white patriarchal culture is deeply misogynistic. (That sentence was probably an oxymoron).
This week, we cover a report from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor about women entrepreneurs worldwide. The stats show that in countries in the developed world – aka the United States and Europe — there’s a sizable wealth ambition gap between men and women.
Patterns of inequality are a sign that change is necessary. We’ve been trying to change the world so that women aspire to wealth, because we tie wealth and power so tightly together in our Western culture. Maybe the change required is different: untying the concepts of wealth and power.
On a practical note, I wish the current conversation in the media about women at work included the possibility of self-employment and entrepreneurship for women, whether they aspire to rule the world or make a living. Entrepreneurship is how I’ve been able to (imperfectly) balance work and family, and I highly recommend it. I offered some concrete advice for other women in this piece.
Of course, by Wednesday, the conversation about women in the workplace had faded. It never lasts long. Questions of conflict, from Palestine to Belarus, now dominate the headlines.
This story and others on Times of E are made possible by a sponsorship from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation that provides access to opportunities that help people achieve financial stability, upward mobility, and economic prosperity – regardless of race, gender, or geography. The Kansas City, Mo.-based foundation uses its grantmaking, research, programs, and initiatives to support the start and growth of new businesses, a more prepared workforce, and stronger communities. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect with www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn.
