Female entrepreneurship is key to increasing the percentage of women participating in the labour market. Management positions held by women contribute to the equity that we want to achieve at European level. But what drives and motivates women to set up their own businesses? Support networks, the quest for success, self-improvement and economic independence answer this question.
The drivers of female entrepreneurship are both internal and external factors to be taken into account in addressing the gender gap.
It is observed that the number of women entrepreneurs is somewhat higher in developed countries. State investment in equity support is understood as part of development. In addition, education plays an important role in obtaining a well-paid job, which would explain this fact.
Entrepreneurs need to have previous financial stability and, preferably, savings.
According to the report, “Women in Business”, although the presence of women in the management bodies of companies has grown considerably, progress at a global level is still too slow, which could delay parity until 2053.
The European average of women in management positions is 35%, 2 points ahead of the global average.
The study places Spain at the top of the European ranking of women in management positions with executive positions: ‘They occupy 40% of management positions in companies in the middle-market segment’.
The experts who prepared this report focus on teleworking and flexible working as the most favourable aspects for women to rise to power and develop their full potential.
According to Joan Vall, partner at Grant Thornton: “There is a higher percentage of teleworking requested by women in order to reconcile their family and professional life. This flexibility is positive for achieving a work-life balance, but it can have a negative impact on their careers in the medium and long term compared to male colleagues who regularly come to the office”.
The International Labour Organisation points out that most gender equality programmes do not address the specificities and challenges of being a woman in entering the labour market, which can be extrapolated to entrepreneurship. In addition to the external factors mentioned above, women have to do the exercise of believing in themselves, trusting in their criteria and strengths, fighting internally against stigmas entrenched in their social environment, etc.
A study by the Universidad del Rosario on entrepreneurship and the disparate barriers to entrepreneurship focused on the female gender in continents such as Europe, Asia and America states that: “there is a lack of research on the concept of entrepreneurship from its meaning to its gender distinction”.
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