The Business of Women In Business

At the end of last month, I was gifted the opportunity of attending Retail Disrupt, Israel’s very first conference on Retail, Tech and Innovation. Set against Rishon LeTzion, at the new Lagos convention centre, the conference was very modern, shiny and impressive. Almost every session I attended revealed some new facet of the tech or retail industry that I didn’t know. However, what struck me as extraordinary was not the fabulous food, amazing view, or packed floor but rather the presence of women.

A Winter wrapt with Chav

Clockwise from top: Paisley Dress with bows, Loewe; Pink dress with collar, Massimo Dutti; Creme Dress, Molly Goddard; Black Cowboy boots, Off-White; Blue dress with black layer, Marine Serre; Plastic bag with Resin Chain, Zara

Given the statistics that less than 5% of silicon startups or the fortune 500 companies are headed by women, I really hadn’t expected to see many. Not only were we there, but we were present in numbers; 11/ 46 presented (24%), 1/3rd of the booths on the floorshow was operated by women and probably 1/3rd of the attendees were female. Of the 11 women presenting, half of them were CEOs, co-founders of their successful startups or independent entrepreneurs and many of them were mothers. I know this because the organiser, Re Tech, felt it a relevant fact to include in the presenter’s brief introductory biographies and I thought it was one of many small triumphs on their part because like in any other situation context provides clarity. And what was clear here was that not only were these women killing it in their sector but they're doing it with a hefty load on either side of them.

So it seems fitting that over November and December we will be exploring the business of business itself. We don’t investigate anything here at Wrapt if it doesn’t deal with the world of women and so we are exploring the intersection of women and business and what it looks like beyond the soundbites #girlboss and #momtrepeneur. This will include a more in-depth examination of the conference and it’s themes on innovation in the retail industry. We will explore the nature of nurturing a non-threatening workspace, the difficulty of creating a healthy work life balance, navigating the role of ‘uniforms’ and we will be showcasing 2 successful women in their own right- Stylist and business owner Hadas Dikshtein and Rachel Goodman, nutritionist and business owner and advocate of intuitive eating.

Hadas has created for us an editorial, Fast Forward, on dressing professionally while celebrating your own innate personal style and Rachel Goodman will be sharing with us what the intuitive eating methodology is, what her role as nutritionist and advocate is and how it can benefit us all. Additionally, we will also have our regular book club review, new recipes, a street style roundup and much more.

So please check in, check us out, and have your say, we love feedback and conversation in all its forms. You can, of course, find us on Instagram, Facebook, and now Twitter, yes Twitter, with all your daily bite-sized portions on fashion, lifestyle and culture.

Wishing you all the best, a safe and healthy navigation through your respective festivities, holidays and the new year.

Chav

Chava Kuchar, Editor in chief