--- title: "Top Women in Franchising: Mary Ann O'Connell" url: https://burnaze.com/article/b9677dc6-422a-42c4-998e-07eaea409f6b source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/2024s-top-women-in-franchising-mary-ann-oconnell-2725354 category: "Franchise Industry" industry: "Franchise Industry" published: 2024-03-26T13:08:00.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T01:09:18.033Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/88a09f873efb11d10770e75fe15651501569.jpg --- # Top Women in Franchising: Mary Ann O'Connell **TL;DR:** Mary Ann O'Connell discusses her journey in franchising and strategies for empowering female franchisees. O'Connell suggests that franchisors should understand and support the unique perspectives and approaches of female franchisees. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2024-03-26. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/2024s-top-women-in-franchising-mary-ann-oconnell-2725354).* ## Story 1851 Franchise talked with O’Connell about her journey in franchising, her accomplishments in the industry, and the strategies she suggests for franchisors looking to empower and support female franchisees this year. “I do think that, as much as we like to say everyone is the same, we're not — we're different but equal,” said O’Connell. “And I think franchisors need to understand that women intrinsically come from a different point of view. We tend to be more collaborative and we tend to be more loquacious. There are studies that show we speak more in conversations than men do. So be patient and listen — and then just get the hell out of our way.” ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - Franchise Industry (sector) - women in franchising (topic) - franchisor support (topic) - female empowerment (topic) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/2024s-top-women-in-franchising-mary-ann-oconnell-2725354). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/b9677dc6-422a-42c4-998e-07eaea409f6b).