What's goop Got To Do With It
The hidden bias and made up BS that plagues powerful women in business.
I haven’t followed Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop brand closely. I’ll occasionally hear some controversy about the latest ‘scandal’ over a yoni jade egg or a candle that smells like a vagina. But I wasn’t a big fan or a supporter until a recent Goop podcast episode.
There’s also this new trendy term everyone’s using – nepotism – the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives, friends, or associates, especially by giving them jobs.
But I learned today that even Gwyneth struggled to prove herself in business, especially when everyone only saw her in a single dimension – as a privileged child of nepotism that then became a privileged actress.
Did she have more access to resources and funds? Yes, of course, she did.
Whatever your opinion on Paltrow, her ‘controversial’ products, or her brand, this aligns with a bigger and more meaningful conversation about the perception of powerful women in business.
Way before owning my own business, I realized how much hate there’s out there for all things women-led. This hate shows up in smear campaigns, toxic messaging, underfunded ventures, made-up competitions, and shitty PR spins.
As a branding geek, I’ve come to realize that Goop serves a purpose for its audience. They have followers that want to know all about the latest trends, and they will pay big money to have a piece of that pie or the vagina candle. Who am I to judge? She seems to be doing just fine. And all of this conversation is likely adding to her popularity.
One of the Goop podcast episodes caught my attention. It’s her interview with Julia Boorstin, the author of the book “When Women Lead”. It was fascinating (yet unsurprising) to hear some of the research regarding female founders, the bias they have to endure ALL THE TIME and the severely underfunded initiatives.
Did you know that female supervisors are typically rated higher on performance reviews by their teams than they rate themselves? As opposed to male supervisors who personally rate themselves higher than their teams rate them.
I found this episode interesting (and infuriating) so I thought more women, like you, should give it a listen. Maybe it will motivate you to keep pushing. Keep showing up. If not only for yourself, then for our collective.
Aga Westfal-Conboy
Helping women step into the CEO role WITHOUT apology & WITH epic marketing.
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