How is the participation of women in entrepreneurship nowadays?

Women’s empowerment has been increasingly debated in our society. In fact, it has been an important tool for the inclusion of women in different areas of society and consequently, enabling their greater presence in the job market. And it’s no different when we talk about women entrepreneurs.

In this post, we’ll go over the current scenario for women entrepreneurs, their challenges and tips to overcome them. Keep reading!

How to be an entrepreneur these days

“Entrepreneurs average 3.8 failures before final success. What sets the successful ones apart is their amazing persistence“.

This is a quote from American executive Lisa M. Amos and it couldn’t be more accurate.

Entrepreneurship requires effort, and increasing demands and constant changes often come with the territory. Though quite a few countries witness an increase on new businesses and self-employment when they go through an economic crisis, others get to see the exact opposite scenario.

Surpring as it may seem for some, entrepreuneurship is considered a high-status profession in some countries. That is the case of the USA, for example.

A U.S. GEM Report  determined that overall, more than 64% of Americans entrepreneurs believe that there are good business opportunities in the area of residence.

Those who want to pursue the entrepreneurship path do have to keep in mind that certain qualities are vital if they wish to be successful.

Since our focus here is about woman entrepreneurs, it’s worth emphasizing that many of these qualities are well represented by them!

Natural leadership qualities

Women’s leadership within organizations has been growing over the last few years. The fact that many women are mothers, take care of their families and also, work in their professions with excellence, in addition to other factors, gives many of them a competitive edge: natural leadership.

Woman leadership is a unique feature for business. This is because of the fact that people management involves dealing with diverse profiles, an aspect in which women are naturally more skilled at.

Emotional intelligence

The entrepreneur market is challenging, and as we’ve said earlier, persistence is essential. And precisely because when asked, women entrepreneurs are the ones who most claim to have resilience, which can be perceived as an important quality for those who work in administration.

Therefore, the positive impact of woman leadership is palpable and positive for the economy, which contributes to businesses staying longer on the market.

Organization

A business’ organization is the key factor for success nowadays. Women entrepreneurs tend to concern themselves more with details relative to the organization and prioritization of tasks.

This care with detail usually captivates customers, which are increasingly more demanding in terms of consuming.

What is women’s participation in the market of entrepreneurship like?

Despite the positive impact created by women leadership, under 24% of senior roles at companies are held by women around the world.

In contrast, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report, in the US women are the majority owners of almost 40% of businesses in the country. This is a crucial fact so that women can pave the way to achieve gender equality and job market recognition.

In a lot of countries women still need to prove their potential, if compared to men performing the same job. Hence, they view entrepreneurship as a possibility to improve their lives.

The GEM study further showed that innovation is 5% more observed in businesses led by women. This shows women’s aptitudes to leading their own companies.

3 challenges that women still face in the job market

The market is challenging, as we emphasized earlier. But for women entrepreneurs, the hurdles can be even greater. Check out below are a few of these challenges!

1. Lack of support

Women entrepreneurs still encounter prejudice and discrimination. This affects not only their self-confidence, but also reflects the type of support they receive, both emotionally and economically.

Without financial support, which many times needs to come from their family members, or even from credit institutions, they have a hard time investing in their ideas and give their business an initial boost.

2. Sexism

Another challenge for women entrepreneurs is sexism. Being a woman still carries historical prejudices, as is the case of women’s social role as a homemaker, the responsibility of raising children and performing domestic chores.

This inequality is clear when we analyze the gender pay gap in the US between men and woman  performing the same job. Moreover, the pay gap is notoriously seen around the globe.

3. Educational inequality

Millions of women are deprived of the right to go to school ― where it is precisely this type of place where the majority of the professional entrepreneurial skills are developed.

This fact also makes networking a lot more difficult. Consequently, they feel discouraged.

3 tips for women entrepreneurs

Considering the challenges, we’ve set aside a few tips that might help entrepreneurs overcome them!

1. Be thorough in your business mapping

Women are usually detail-oriented, but when it comes to entrepreneurship, they need to pay twice the attention regarding business mapping.

To do so, we recommend that you have a clear goal, establish a date to conclude it, in addition to establishing strategies and decisions to be made in order to execute them.

2. Obtain the necessary capital

Another important tip is to have a financial reserve, which will make you feel more comfortable when you start your business.

But this should be associated to a more accurate financial control during the business’ initial phase, focusing the investment in things that will in fact add value to your goal.

This premise is key for your initial success, especially since most companies close after the first years of activity.

3. Promote equality and diversity

Reducing obstacles for women entrepreneurs isn’t the sole objective, promoting equality is essential for the advancement of society and the market.

Moreover, promoting diversity creates extremely positive impacts to business and society as a whole, since it boosts innovation and improves competitiveness.

What is the future of women entrepreneurs?

There’s no lack of challenges for women entrepreneurs. However, these adversities have helped shape more resilient, experienced and confident entrepreneurs.

Actually, over the last few years, this has been one of the facts responsible for the increase of over 100% of women who invest in their own businesses.

And if you wish to have your own business, go ahead and don’t give up, read this post with 35 ways to make money in 2019 to get inspired and get started!

Also take a moment to share your experiences as an entrepreneur or send us your questions in the comments. This way, we can enrich the debate about women’s presence in the market!