Gender in entrepreneurship.
Date: 2017-01-25
Institutions: European Institute for Gender Equality
Subjects: business policy, decision-making, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, gender equality, participation of women, sexual discrimination

Gender in 
entrepreneurship 

This  publication  was  prepared  under  the  gender  mainstreaming  programme  of  the  European  Institute  for  Gender 
Equality. It constitutes the integral part of EIGE’s Gender Mainstreaming Platform. The work published on the Platform 
represents a joint effort of EIGE Gender Mainstreaming Team and various experts and contractors who contributed in 
varying degrees to different sections of the Platform: Catarina Arnaut, Davide Barbieri, Daria Broglio, Irene Dankelman, 
Marianne Dauvellier, Jane Dennehy, Aleksandra Duda, Lucy Ferguson, Elena Ferrari, Maxime Forest, Katia Frangoudes, 
Regina Frey, Pat Irving, Manuela Samek Lodovici, Daniela Loi, Lin McDevitt-Pugh, Katerina Mantouvalou, Lut Mergaert, 
Siobán O’Brien Green, Nicola Orlando, Thera van Osch, Flavia Pesce, Irene Pimminger, Sheila Quinn, Cristina Radoi, Alide 
Roerink, Lenka Simerska, Cristina Vasilescu, Nathalie Wuiame and Margherita Sofia Zambelli.

EIGE would also like to thank its Experts’ Forum Members, Members from the Gender Mainstreaming Thematic Network 
and the European Commission who have contributed to a large extent with their expertise, ideas and feedback.

This  publication  is  available  online  through  EIGE’s  Gender  Mainstreaming  Platform:  http://eige.europa.eu/gender-
mainstreaming 

The European Institute for Gender Equality created the online Platform on Gender Mainstreaming to support the EU 
institutions and governmental bodies with the integration of a gender perspective in their work. The Platform provides 
insights on the relevance of gender in a variety of policy areas and offers online tools for gender mainstreaming.

The Platform helps to improve individual and institutional competences to mainstream gender into the different sectorial 
areas and throughout the different stages of the development of any policy/programme/project. Understanding how 
to  design,  plan,  implement,  monitor  and  evaluate  policies  from  a  gender  perspective  will  strengthen  EU  policies, 
increasing their societal relevance and responsiveness.

European Institute for Gender Equality

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) is the EU knowledge centre on gender equality. EIGE supports policy 
makers and all relevant institutions in their efforts to make equality between women and men a reality for all Europeans 
by providing them with specific expertise and comparable and reliable data on gender equality in Europe.

YOUTUBE LOGO SPECS

PRINT

main red
PMS 1795C
C0  M96  Y90  K2

gradient bottom
PMS 1815C
C13  M96  Y81  K54

white
WHITE
C0  M0 Y0  K0

black
BLACK
C100 M100 Y100 K100

standard

standard

on light backgrounds

on dark backgrounds

European Institute for Gender Equality
Gedimino pr. 16
LT-01103 Vilnius
LITHUANIA
Tel. +370 5 215 7444
E-mail: eige.sec@eige.europa.eu 

no gradients

no gradients

watermark

watermark

  http://www.eige.europa.eu 

  www.twitter.com/eurogender 

  www.facebook.com/eige.europa.eu 

stacked logo (for sharing only)

stacked logo (for sharing only)

  www.youtube.com/eurogender 

  http://eurogender.eige.europa.eu

Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers 
to your questions about the European Union.

Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11

(*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, 
phone boxes or hotels may charge you).

More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu).

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016

Print  MH-02-16-899-EN-C 
PDF  MH-02-16-899-EN-N 

978-92-9493-609-7 
978-92-9493-610-3 

10.2839/02971
10.2839/585502

© European Institute for Gender Equality, 2016
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Gender in 
entrepreneurship 

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

EIGE

Contents

1.  Relevance of gender in the policy area ...................................................................................................................3

2. Gender inequalities in the policy area ....................................................................................................................5

Gender and access to credit, finance and capital ..............................................................................................................................................................5

Networking opportunities for women entrepreneurs....................................................................................................................................................5

Horizontal gender segregation .....................................................................................................................................................................................................6

Reconciling work and family life ...................................................................................................................................................................................................7

Prejudices and stereotypes about women in business ..................................................................................................................................................7

3. Existing gender equality policy objectives at EU and international levels ......................................................8

EU level .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................8

International level...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................9

4.  How and when? Entrepreneurship and the integration of the gender dimension into the policy cycle .....11

Define ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................11

Plan .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14

Act ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 15

Check .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16

5. Want to know more?.................................................................................................................................................18

6. Current policy priorities at EU level .......................................................................................................................19

Resources ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 19

Other resources ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................22

Organisations and institutions ....................................................................................................................................................................................................22

2

Gender in entrepreneurship 

EIGE

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

1.  Relevance of gender in the policy area

Entrepreneurship plays an important role in creating jobs, 
innovation and growth. Fostering entrepreneurship is a key 
policy  goal  for  governments  that  expect  that  high  rates 
of  entrepreneurial  activity  will  create  sustainable  jobs  (1). 
Self-employment  (2)  also  contributes  to  job  creation  in 
Europe,  as  30  %  of  the  self-employed  have  employees  of 
their  own.  European-level  data  indicate  that  the  self-em-
ployment  sector  has  shown  a  degree  of  resilience  during 
the recent economic crisis, as the relative decline in self-em-
ployment  has  been  more  moderate  in  comparison  with 
salaried employment (3).

Against  this  backdrop,  interest  in  women’s  entrepreneur-
ship  has  grown  among  scholars  and  policymakers.  While 
the rationale for women’s entrepreneurship has traditional-
ly focused on enhancing women’s equality, empowerment 
and social inclusion (4), its development is now seen to make 
good economic sense. Only in recent years has it become 
clear  that  women  entrepreneurs  can  be  a  powerful  eco-
nomic  resource  (5).  World  Bank  studies  show  that  women 
entrepreneurs make significant contributions to economic 
growth  and  poverty  reduction,  not  only  in  developing 
countries  but  also  in  high-income  countries  (6).  Women 
entrepreneurs create new jobs for themselves and others. 
Besides boosting employment, women’s entrepreneurship 
also supports the diversification of business, stimulating in-
novation and diversification in management, in production 
and in marketing practices as well as in products and ser-
vices. Women provide different solutions to management, 
organisational and business problems (7).

Despite  the  growing  interest  in  women’s  entrepreneurship 
and  the  radical  increase  in  numbers  over  recent  years,  the 
potential  of  women’s  entrepreneurship  has  only  recently 
started  to  materialise.  This  is  clearly  evident  in  the  Global 
Entrepreneurship  Monitor:  2010  women’s  report  (8),  which 
examined the rates of entrepreneurship in 59 countries and 
showed that in all these countries, the rates of women’s en‑
trepreneurship were lower than men’s. A multi‑year analysis 
(2002‑2010)  presented  in  the  report  shows  that  this  gender 
pay gap has persisted across most economies through the 
years.  Indeed,  despite  women’s  increasing  participation  in 
the labour market, women remain substantially under‑rep‑
resented among self‑employed workers. On average, during 
the  2008‑2012  period,  the  share  of  self‑employed  women 
compared  to  the  total  number  in  employment  is  much 
smaller  than  the  corresponding  share  for  men,  across  the 
EU‑28 Member States: 10 % compared with 18 % (9).

The number of woman entrepreneurs has changed little in 
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development 
(OECD) countries. The proportion of women-owned busi-
nesses currently lies at around 30 % of the total number of 
businesses in OECD countries. When women do start busi-
nesses, they do it on a smaller scale than men and in a lim-
ited  range  of  sectors.  In  addition,  self-employed  women 
experience severe gender gaps and may earn 30 % to 40 % 
less than their male counterparts (10).The gender pay gap for 
self-employment stands at 45 % at EU level, which vividly 
illustrates the extent of the disparities between women and 
men in this type of employment (11).

(1)  Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Clos‑
ing the gender gap: act now, 2012 (http://www.oecd.org/gender/closingth-
egap.htm).

(2)  EIGE, Review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action: women 

and the economy, 2014 (http://eige.europa.eu/node/289).
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Condi-
tions (Eurofound), Self‑employed workers: industrial relations and working con‑
ditions,  2010  (http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/
comparative-information/self-employed-workers-industrial-relations- 
and-working-conditions).

(3)  European Commission, European employment observatory review: self‑em‑

ployment in Europe 2010, 2010.

(4)  Lotti,  F.,  ‘Entrepreneurship:  is  there  a  gender  gap?’  (working  paper),  2006 
(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228725164_Entrepreneurship_ 
is_there_a_Gender_Gap).

(8)  Global  Entrepreneurship  Monitor,  Global  Entrepreneurship  Monitor:  2010 
women’s  report,  2011  (http://www.espae.espol.edu.ec/images/FTP/2010_
GEM_Womens_Report.pdf).

(9)  EIGE,  Gender  equality  and  economic  independence:  part‑time  work  and 
self‑employment: review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Ac‑
tion in the EU Member States, 2014 (http://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/
documents/MH0414228ENC.pdf).

(5)  OECD,  Women’s  entrepreneurship:  issues  and  policies,  OECD  Publications, 

(10)  OECD, Closing the gender gap: act now, 2012 (http://www.oecd.org/gender/

Paris, 2004 (http://www.oecd.org/cfe/smes/31919215.pdf).

closingthegap.htm).

(6)  World  Bank,  Supporting  high‑growth  potential  women  entrepreneurs,  2014 
(http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/Trade/In).
(7)  Kelly,  L.  (ed.),  Entrepreneurial  women:  new  management  and  leadership 

models, Praeger, Westport, CT, 2014.

(11)  EIGE,  Gender  equality  and  economic  independence:  part‑time  work  and 
self‑employment: review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Ac‑
tion in the EU Member States, 2014 (http://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/
documents/MH0414228ENC.pdf).

Gender in entrepreneurship

3

 
Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

EIGE

Despite a major difficulty in examining and measuring en-
trepreneurship due to the blurred boundaries separating it 
from self-employment (12), the literature shows that women 
still face a great number of difficulties and obstacles in es-
tablishing and running businesses. These include:

  access to finance;

  unfavourable business regulations;

  cultural barriers;

  choice of business types and sectors;

information and training gaps;

lack of contacts and access to social support and 
networking;

  educational and occupational segregation;

  competing demands on time (double burden of home 

and work responsibilities).

Although  most  of  these  difficulties  are  common  to  both 
women and men, evidence suggests that the barriers faced 
by women entrepreneurs are often significantly greater than 
those experienced by their male peers (13).

Gender 
following:

inequalities 

in  entrepreneurship 

include  the 

  access to credit, finance and capital;

  networking opportunities for women entrepreneurs;

  horizontal gender segregation;

reconciling work and family life;

  prejudices and stereotypes about women in business.

(12)  See footnote 2.
(13)  World  Bank,  Supporting high‑growth potential women entrepreneurs,  2004 
(http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/document/Trade/
InnEntre_WomenEntrepreneurs.pdf).

4

Gender in entrepreneurship 

 
 
 
EIGE

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

2.  Gender inequalities in the policy area

Gender and access to credit, finance 
and capital

Access to credit and finance is a common barrier to women 
starting and growing a business. There are considerable dif-
ferences between women and men entrepreneurs in terms 
of their financial arrangements and the sectors they oper-
ate in (14). Bank loans are traditionally the route to finance for 
many businesses but during the realignment of the bank-
ing sector, this path has been and continues to be reduced, 
according  to  a  survey  by  the  European  Central  Bank  (15). 
Although  no  breakdown  by  gender  is  included  and  both 
women  and  men  face  similar  reductions  in  loans,  recent 
studies (16) suggest that barriers in accessing credit and fi-
nance  are  higher  for  women.  The  reasons  for  this  include 
lack of traditional collateral (such as land or property, which 
is often registered in men’s names), women’s lower income 
levels relative to men’s and financial institutions’ inability (or 
lack  of  interest)  to  design  appropriate  products  and  out-
reach strategies for women.

A gateway to the use of financial services is the ownership 
of a bank account. The Global Findex (17), a comprehensive 
database  measuring  how  people  save,  borrow  and  man-
age risk in 148 countries, reveals that women are less likely 
than men to have formal bank accounts. With regard to EU 
Member  States  specifically,  studies  carried  out  in  France 
found that 10 % of women entrepreneurs wish to receive 
support from banks, which is a third lower than their male 
counterparts. Similarly, a UK study found that women entre-
preneurs are less amenable to institutional finance, such as 
overdrafts, bank loans and supplier credit (18). Even if they 
can gain access to a loan, women often lack access to other 
financial services such as savings, digital payment methods 
and  insurance.  Lack  of  financial  education  can  also  limit 

(14)  Directorate-General  for  Internal  Policies  of  the  Union  —  Policy  De-
partment  C,  Women’s  entrepreneurship:  closing  the  gender  gap  in  ac‑
cess  to  financial  and  other  services  and  in  social  entrepreneurship,  2015 
(http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/519230/
IPOL_STU(2015)519230_EN.pdf).

(15)  European Central Bank, Euro area bank lending survey, 2014 (http://www.

ecb.europa.eu/stats/money/surveys/lend/html/index.en.html).

(16)  International  Finance  Corporation,  Strengthening  access  to  finance  for 
women‑owned SMEs in developing countries, 2011 (http://www.ifc.org/wps/
wcm/connect/a4774a004a3f66539f0f9f8969adcc27/G20_Women_Re-
port.pdf?MOD=AJPERES)

(17)  World  Bank,  The  Global  Findex  database  2014  (http://www.worldbank.

org/en/programs/globalfindex).

(18)  Directorate-General  for  Internal  Policies  of  the  Union  —  Policy  De-
partment  C,  Women’s  entrepreneurship:  closing  the  gender  gap  in  ac‑
cess  to  financial  and  other  services  and  in  social  entrepreneurship,  2015 
(http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/519230/
IPOL_STU(2015)519230_EN.pdf).

women's ability to gain access to and benefit from financial 
services.

Equal access to capital is not yet a reality. In 2008, only 20.3 % 
of EU businesses started with venture capital were run by 
women. Three factors may explain these differences (19):

  women own fewer financial assets and have shorter 
credit histories (given their lack of entrepreneurial 
experience), both of which are valued by credit 
providers;

  given the sectors women are active in and the size of 

their companies, their projects are generally less capital 
intensive;

  there might also be some bias reflecting a lack of 
confidence in women entrepreneurs, an idea 
reinforced by the fact that women are less represented 
in financing activities and networks.

Also, because of the unequal access to capital, when they 
become  self-employed,  women  tend  to  operate  smaller 
businesses in sectors that are different from those of men 
and largely mirror segregation patterns in the labour mar-
ket. These factors can then translate into lower levels of la-
bour productivity and earnings and a greater risk of poverty 
for women who are self-employed compared with women 
employees (20).

Networking opportunities for women 
entrepreneurs

Having access to a strong network of business partners can 
be  a  highly  important  factor  in  achieving  entrepreneurial 
success. The tendency to network does not appear to differ 
significantly between women and men entrepreneurs and 
the size of the networks to which they both have access to 
is similar.

(19)  Library of the European Parliament, Women’s entrepreneurship in the EU, 2013 
(http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/bibliotheque/briefing/2013/ 
130517/LDM_BRI%282013%29130517_REV1_EN.pdf).

(20)  EIGE,  Gender  equality  and  economic  independence:  part‑time  work  and 
self‑employment: review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Ac‑
tion in the EU Member States, 2014 (http://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/
documents/MH0414228ENC.pdf).

Gender in entrepreneurship

5

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

EIGE

Women  entrepreneurs  increasingly  recognise  the  commer-
cial  importance  of  professional  networking — both  among 
women only and among women and men — and are organ-
ising themselves into associations and organisations. Howev-
er, women generally have less access to ‘important’ networks 
and usually engage in smaller networks primarily made up of 
women, while men spend more time developing and main-
taining networks (21). This is partly due to women being less 
present in the most innovative industries, having less relevant 
previous  experience,  and  possibly  to  the  lower  visibility  of 
successful businesswomen (22).

Some  studies  also  point  out  that  women’s  ‘double  burden’ 
(work  and  family  obligations)  and  other  social  obligations 
may lead them to experience more isolation than men entre-
preneurs (23), due to less available time for networking.

Women  entrepreneurs  organising  themselves  into  business 
networks may play an important role in creating cultural fig-
ures and role models. Women entrepreneurs can thus trans-
fer  knowledge  and  information  about  the  ways  in  which 
problems  have  been  solved  and  how  to  deal  with  certain 
circumstances. The circulation of information and knowledge 
and greater familiarity with the field may also reduce the per-
ception of risk associated with entrepreneurship (24).

In  order  to  boost  access  to  business  networks,  the  Euro-
pean Commission supports several networks helping wom-
en become entrepreneurs and run successful businesses:

  the European Network to Promote Women’s 

Entrepreneurship (WES);

  the European Network of Female Entrepreneurship 

Ambassadors;

  the European Network of Mentors for Women 

Entrepreneurs.

Horizontal gender segregation

Throughout the EU, women entrepreneurs are mostly found 
in sectors where entrepreneurship is less present, such as the 
social and education sectors. The more innovative, fast-grow-
ing sectors with more self-employment (and hence more en-
trepreneurial potential), such as the retail, science, technology 

(21)  Birley, S., Cromie, S. and Myers, A., ‘Entrepreneurial networks: their emer-
gence in Ireland and overseas’, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 9, 
No 4, 1990, pp. 56-74.

(22)  Library of the European Parliament, Women’s entrepreneurship in the EU, 2013 
(http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/bibliotheque/briefing/2013/ 
130517/LDM_BRI%282013%29130517_REV1_EN.pdf).

(23)  Moore,  D.  P.  and  Buttner,  E.  H.,  Women entrepreneurs: moving beyond the 

glass ceiling, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA, 1997.

(24)  Galindo, M. A. and Ribeiro, D. (eds.), Women entrepreneurship and econom‑

ics: new perspectives, practices and policies, Springer, New York, 2012.

6

Gender in entrepreneurship 

and engineering sectors, are mostly dominated by men. The 
number of women who actually own businesses in science 
or technology in the EU is estimated to lie between 5 % and 
15 % of the total number of business owners in these fields (25).

Recent  figures  from  2014  (26)  show  that  women  represent 
31.8 % of total self-employed people in the EU-28. The eco-
nomic sectors in which self-employed women are in the ma-
jority are related to the employment of domestic personnel 
(80 %), other services (69 %), human health and social work ac-
tivities (64 %), and education (55 %). In public administration, 
women  represent  40  %  of  self-employed  people  (but  data 
also include defence, which is a male-dominated sector). In 
contrast, women represent one fifth or less of self-employed 
people working in industry (20 %) and the information and 
communication sector (18.7 %). Furthermore, women account 
for less than 4 % of self-employment in construction. Signifi-
cantly,  self-employed  women  without  employees — known 
as  own-account  workers — are  proportionally  higher  (34  %) 
than women with employees (employers) (26 %). The propor-
tion of self-employed women working on their own account 
is even higher in the sectors with a high presence of women 
with respect to total self-employment and self-employment 
with employees. These figures feed in to the analysis of the 
so-called ‘dependent’ or ‘bogus’ self-employed, e.g. workers 
who are formally self-employed, but are treated as employees 
in terms of tasks, working time and other working conditions.

This  form  of  ‘bogus’  self-employment  is  generally  charac-
terised  by  dependency  on  only  one  client,  the  presence  of 
regular payments and the lack of capacity to freely hire new 
workers and/or make important decisions related to the busi-
ness  (27).  This  arrangement  tends  to  benefit  companies  but 
not workers, who have fewer employment protection and so-
cial security provisions. It is more widespread among workers 
with less bargaining power and the most vulnerable in soci-
ety.  From  this  perspective,  bogus  self-employment  may  be 
a concern for women, since between 2008 and 2012 they ac-
counted for the majority of the increase in self-employment 
without employees (28).

(25)  Library of the European Parliament, Women’s entrepreneurship in the EU, 2013 
(http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/bibliotheque/briefing/2013/ 
130517/LDM_BRI%282013%29130517_REV1_EN.pdf).

(26)  Eurostat, EU labour force survey (lfsa_esgan2), extracted on 22.09.2015. NB: 

For sectoral segregation, classification NACE Rev. 2 (A10) was used.

(27)  European  Foundation  for  the  Improvement  of  Living  and  Working  Con-
ditions,  Self‑employed  workers:  industrial  relations  and  working  conditions, 
2010  (http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/compar-
ative-information/self-employed-workers-industrial-relations-and-work-
ing-conditions).

(28)  According  to  Eurostat  LFS  data,  in  2012  only  24  %  of  self-employed 
women  in  the  EU-28  were  employers,  compared  to  31  %  of  self- 
employed  men.  On  the  contrary,  ‘bogus’  self-employment  appears  to 
be more widespread among women than men, even if it applies to a mi-
nority  of  self-employed  people.  See  European  Foundation  for  the  Im-
provement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), Self‑employed 
workers:  industrial  relations  and  working  conditions,  2010  (http://www.
eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/comparative-information/
self-employed-workers-industrial-relations-and-working-conditions).

EIGE

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

Reconciling work and family life

Caring  responsibilities  for  children  and  elderly  relatives  and 
the costs of formal care are important factors in decisions on 
whether to participate in the labour market, to what extent 
and which career profile to pursue.

The  2010  Global  Entrepreneurship  Monitor  found  that  in  all 
59 countries examined, men entrepreneurs cite ‘pull factors’ 
more often than women, who put forward ‘push factors’ as 
their main motivations in starting a business. For more wom-
en than men, the decision to be self-employed is motivated 
by  the  search  for  a  good  balance  between  work  and  fam-
ily life and by financial needs, while men tend to make em-
ployment  choices  based  on  earning  potential.  Empirical  re-
search and surveys (29) confirm that the reasons women enter 
self-employment may differ from those of their male counter-
parts. Indeed, women are driven more than men by the need 
to obtain an appropriate work–family balance, with women 
using self-employment as an opportunity to fulfil family ob-
ligations  and  start  small  businesses  to  (re)integrate  into  the 
labour market (30). Self-employment can thus be considered 
a more viable option than salaried employment for women 
with children, as it can reduce the cost of childcare (31) by pro-
viding  increased  flexibility  and  opportunities  to  work  from 
home. However, in OECD countries, 22 % of women entrepre-
neurs work fewer than 40 hours a week, compared with only 
10 % of men (32).

Compared  to  men,  women  may  view  self-employment  as 
a better alternative to part-time employment or to being out 
of the labour force. Women are most likely to enter self-em-
ployment from part-time work or non-participation in the la-
bour market, rather than from full-time work. Indeed, women 
seem more likely to resort to self-employment as an alterna-
tive to part-time employment, in order to balance work and 
life  —  not  because  of  shorter  working  hours,  but  because 
of  the  greater  autonomy  and  flexibility  in  choosing  the  al-
location  of  working  time.  Work–life  balance  is  a  particularly 
pertinent aspect of quality of work in the context of self-em-
ployment, since it is often cited as an important motivational 
factor (33).

(29)  Piacentini,  M.,  ‘Women  entrepreneurs  in  the  OECD:  key  evidence  and 
policy challenges’, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, 
No 147, OECD Publishing, 2013.

(30)  Global  Entrepreneurship  Monitor,  Global  Entrepreneurship  Monitor:  2010 
women’s  report,  2011  http://www.espae.espol.edu.ec/images/FTP/2010_
GEM_Womens_Report.pdf.

(31)  Connelly,  R.,  ‘Self-employment  and  providing  childcare’,  Demography, 

Vol. 29, No 1, 1992, pp. 17-29.

(32)  Library of the European Parliament, Women’s entrepreneurship in the EU, 2013 
(http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/bibliotheque/briefing/2013/ 
130517/LDM_BRI%282013%29130517_REV1_EN.pdf).

(33)  EIGE,  Gender  equality  and  economic  independence:  part‑time  work  and 
self‑employment: review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Ac‑
tion in the EU Member States, 2014 (http://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/
documents/MH0414228ENC.pdf).

Prejudices and stereotypes about 
women in business

Prevailing  entrepreneurial  role  models  reflect  a  masculine 
bias  and  this  is  reinforced  in  popular  media,  education  and 
government  policy.  Studies  indicate  that  one  effect  of  this 
‘masculine’ entrepreneurial discourse is that women can feel 
out  of  place  in  this  domain  (34).  This  bias  affects  women’s 
perceptions about their entrepreneurial ability and those of 
other relevant stakeholders supporting business creation and 
growth  (including  the  banking  and  venture  capital  system, 
other entrepreneurs and their networks, potential customers, 
etc.). Stereotypes and the lower exposure of women to other 
women role models might explain why they report less inter-
est  in  entrepreneurial  careers  and  feel  less  able  to  become 
successful entrepreneurs (35).

Generally  speaking,  the  concept  of  entrepreneurship  car-
ries  more  positive  connotations  than  self-employment  and 
refers to a higher quality form of participation in the labour 
market, one characterised by deliberate choice and the pur-
suit  of  self-realisation.  By  contrast,  self-employment  is  often 
seen  as  a  path  that  individuals,  especially  women,  choose 
out of necessity. These assumptions may reflect stereotypical 
gendered  expectations  surrounding  entrepreneurship  and 
self-employment, which, in turn, reproduce masculine norms 
of entrepreneurial behaviour (36).

Entrepreneurship  has  traditionally  been  constructed  as 
a masculine field (37) — men own a larger share of businesses 
and  they  overwhelmingly  outnumber  women  in  industries 
such as technology, which receive the most attention from 
the media, the general public and policymakers. Women en-
trepreneurs are concentrated in low-growth and low-skilled 
business sectors such as retailing and services, which are dis-
missively labelled as ‘mice’, ‘failure’ and ‘plodder’, compared 
with high-growth ‘gazelle’ businesses that are commonly as-
sociated  with  men  (38).  Furthermore,  entrepreneurship  case 
studies are mostly about men (e.g. Bill Gates, Donald Trump, 
Sam Walton) and most role models in entrepreneurship tend 
to be men (39).

(34)  Directorate-General  for  Internal  Policies  of  the  Union  —  Policy  De-
partment  C,  Women’s  entrepreneurship:  closing  the  gender  gap  in  ac‑
cess  to  financial  and  other  services  and  in  social  entrepreneurship,  2015 
(http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/519230/
IPOL_STU(2015)519230_EN.pdf).

(35)  European  Commission,  ‘Entrepreneurship  in  the  EU  and  beyond’,  Flash 
Eurobarometer  No  354,  2012  (http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/
fl_354_en.pdf).

(36)  Marlow, S., Henry, C. and Carter, S., ‘Exploring the impact of gender upon 
women’s  business  ownership:  introduction,  International  Small  Business 
Journal, Vol. 27, No 2, 2009, pp. 139-148.

(37)  Ahl,  H.,  ‘Why  research  on  women  entrepreneurs  needs  new  directions’, 

Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, Vol. 30, No 5, 2006, pp. 95-622.

(38)  Lewis,  P.,  ‘The  quest  for  invisibility:  female  entrepreneurs  and  the  mas-
culine norm of entrepreneurship’, Gender, Work and Organization, Vol. 13, 
No 5, 2006, pp. 453-469.

(39)  Bird, B. and Brush, C., ‘A gendered perspective on organisational creation’, 

Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, Vol. 26, No 3, 2002, pp. 41-50.

Gender in entrepreneurship

7

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

EIGE

3. 

 Existing gender equality policy objectives at 
EU and international levels

In  the  past  few  decades,  the  role  and  contribution  of 
women’s  entrepreneurship  to  economic  empowerment, 
economic  growth  and  society  and  sustainable  develop-
ment at large has been recognised on the part of national 
and international institutions.

EU level

Women’s entrepreneurship is a key issue for the European 
institutions. Since 2005, to ensure that small and medium-
sized enterprises (SMEs) would benefit from the measures 
identified  in  the  Lisbon  Strategy,  the  European  Commis-
sion undertook to work with national authorities to address 
those  areas,  such  as  access  to  credit  and  entrepreneurial 
networks, where the needs of women entrepreneurs were 
not sufficiently met.

The  European  policies  for  women  entrepreneurs  have 
therefore pursued first of all the main objective of spread-
ing entrepreneurial mindsets among women, encouraging 
and financially supporting the start-up of business activity 
by women.

European Commission

In  2008  (40),  three  lines  of  action  were  developed  at  EU 
level  in  relation  to  female  entrepreneurship:  better  access 
to finance for women, development of entrepreneurial net-
works  for  women  and  targeted  support  measures  envis-
aged in the Small Business Act (41). The Commission adopt-
ed a regulation (42) that extends the granting of State aid to 
new enterprises created by women and has supported the 
creation of networks of women entrepreneurs.

The  EU  strategy  for  equality  between  women  and  men 
2010-2015  adopted  in  2010  includes,  under  the  priority  of 

equal  economic  independence,  references  to  women’s 
entrepreneurship.

In  2012,  the  European  Commission  drafted  the  entrepre-
neurship 2020 action plan (43) in which it stresses that en-
trepreneurship  makes  economies  more  competitive  and 
innovative and is crucial in achieving the objectives of sev-
eral European sectorial policies. Emphasis is also placed on 
social entrepreneurship (44), whose potential is often under-
estimated,  but  which  generates  sustainable  jobs  and  has 
demonstrated  a  stronger  resilience  to  the  crisis  than  the 
general economy.

On this basis, the plan is structured around three main ac-
tion pillars:

  entrepreneurial  education  and  training  to  support 

growth and business creation;

  strengthening framework conditions for entrepreneurs 
by removing existing structural barriers and supporting 
them in crucial phases of the business life cycle;

  dynamising the culture of entrepreneurship in Europe: 

nurturing the new generation of entrepreneurs.

While  not  specifically  addressing  women’s  entrepreneur-
ship, the plan invites Member States to:

  design and implement national strategies for women’s 
entrepreneurship that aim at increasing the share of 
women-led companies;

  collect sex-disaggregated data and produce annual 

updates on the state of women entrepreneurs 
nationally;

(40)  European  Commission,  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the 
Council,  the  European  Parliament,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  —  ‘Think  Small  First’  — 
A ‘Small Business Act’ for Europe (COM(2008) 394 final).

(41)  European  Commission,  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the 
Council,  the  European  Parliament,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  —  ‘Think  Small  First’  — 
A ‘Small Business Act’ for Europe (COM(2008) 394 final) (http://eur-lex.eu-
ropa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0394:FIN:EN:PDF).

(42)  European Commission, Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 of 6 August 2008 de-
claring certain categories of aid compatible with the common market in 
application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty (General block exemption 
Regulation), OJ L 214, 9.8.2008.

(43)  European Commission, Communication from the Commission to the Euro-
pean Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Commit-
tee and the Committee of the Regions — Entrepreneurship 2020 action 
plan  —  Reigniting  the  entrepreneurial  spirit  in  Europe  (COM(2012)  795 
final), 2013 (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2
012:0795:FIN:EN:PDF).

(44)  See also European Commission, Communication from the Commission to 
the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social 
Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Social Business Initiative 
— Creating a favourable climate for social enterprises, key stakeholders in 
the social economy and innovation (COM(2011) 682 final), 2011.

8

Gender in entrepreneurship 

EIGE

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

  continue and expand the existing networks of female 

entrepreneurship ambassadors and mentors for 
women entrepreneurs;

implement policies enabling women to achieve an 
adequate work–life balance, by establishing 
appropriate and affordable care for children and elderly 
dependents, notably by taking full advantage of 
support options under the European Agricultural Fund 
for Rural Development, the European Regional 
Development Fund and the European Social Fund.

European Parliament

In  2010,  the  European  Parliament  adopted  a  directive  (45) 
amending the previous regulations to ensure greater pro-
tection to women who are self-employed. Through it, the 
principle of equal treatment between women and men has 
been extended to self-employment. This directive consider-
ably improves the protection of female self-employed work-
ers and assisting spouses or life partners of self-employed 
workers, also in the case of maternity — they are granted 
a maternity allowance and leave of at least 14 weeks. At the 
EU level, this is the first time a maternity allowance has been 
granted to self-employed workers. By improving the social 
protection available to women in the labour market, it is ex-
pected that it will increase the share of women becoming 
entrepreneurs, even though from the opposite viewpoint it 
may be seen as overregulation of microbusinesses.

In September 2011, the European Parliament adopted a res-
olution  on  women’s  entrepreneurship  in  SMEs  (46),  where 
a female entrepreneur is defined as a ‘woman who has cre-
ated  a  business  in  which  she  has  a  majority  shareholding 
and  who  takes  an  active  interest  in  the  decision-making, 
risk-taking  and  day-to-day  management’.  The  resolution 
also recognises that, even if ‘female entrepreneurship and 
female SMEs provide a key source for increasing the degree 
of female employment’ and ‘an increase in the number of 
women  entrepreneurs  resulting  in  a  positive  impact  and 
an immediate contribution to the economy overall’, female 
entrepreneurs still face many barriers and obstacles (access 
to informational support, financial and technological tools, 
etc.)  and  the  potential  of  female  entrepreneurship  is  ‘far 
from being harnessed in the European Union’.

(45)  European Parliament and Council, Directive 2010/41/EU of 7 July 2010 on 
the  application  of  the  principle  of  equal  treatment  between  men  and 
women engaged in an activity in a self-employed capacity and repealing 
Council Directive 86/613/EEC, OJ L 180, 15.7.2010 (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/
LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:180:0001:0006:en:PDF).

(46)  European  Parliament  resolution  of  13  September  2011  on  women  en-
trepreneurship  in  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises  (2010/2275(INI) 
(http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//
TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2011-0367+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN).

Therefore  the  resolution,  acknowledging  that  ‘promoting 
women’s entrepreneurship is a long-term process that re-
quires time to change structures and attitudes in society’, 
provides a series of recommendations to the Commission, 
Member States and regional and local authorities in the ar-
eas of access to financial and educational support, to tradi-
tional  business  networking  opportunities  and  to  informa-
tion and communication technologies.

Moreover,  in  2011  the  European  Parliament  adopted  an-
other resolution on women and business leadership (47) in 
which it asks the European Commission to monitor in detail 
the phenomenon of women in management and business.

Council of the European Union

In  2011,  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  adopted  the 
European  pact  for  gender  equality  for  the  period  2011-
2020  (48)  in  which  gender  equality  is  recognised  as  a  fun-
damental value of the European Union as it stimulates eco-
nomic growth, prosperity and competitiveness. Among the 
measures  proposed  to  combat  segregation  in  the  labour 
market,  the  promotion  of  women’s  entrepreneurship  and 
the  participation  of  women  in  political  and  economic  life 
are also included.

International level

UN

Area F (Women and the economy) of the Beijing Platform 
for  Action  (BPfA)  refers  to  women's  employment  in  all  its 
forms  (including  self-employment  and  entrepreneurship) 
from the perspective of women’s economic independence.

Economic independence is a prerequisite for enabling both 
women and men to exercise control over their lives and to 
make genuine choices. Paragraph 26 of the Beijing Declara-
tion and Platform for Action adopted at the Fourth World 
Conference  on  Women  (1995)  mentions  a  clear  commit-
ment to:

independence, 

‘promote  women’s  economic 
including 
employment,  and  eradicate  the  persistent  and  increasing 
burden  of  poverty  on  women  by  addressing  the  structural 
causes of poverty through changes in economic structures, 
ensuring equal access for all women, including those in rural 
areas, as vital development agents, to productive resources, 
opportunities and public services’.

(47)  European  Parliament  resolution  of  6  July  2011  on  women  and  business 
leadership, (2010/2115(INI) (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.
do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2011-0330+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN).
(48)  Council of the European Union, Council conclusions on the European pact 
for gender equality for the period 2011-2020, 2011 (http://www.consilium.
europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/lsa/119628.pdf).

Gender in entrepreneurship

9

 
Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

EIGE

OECD

In its Recommendation of the Council on gender equality in 
education, employment and entrepreneurship (49), adopted 
by the Council at ministerial level on 29 May 2013, the OECD 
recommends that Member States.

Through  a  whole‑of‑government  approach  and  through 
means such as appropriate legislation, policies, monitoring 
and public awareness campaigns, reduce the gender gap in 
entrepreneurship activity by the following.

1.  Designing  appropriate  responses  to  gaps  and  market 
failures, including: policies to reduce barriers to women’s en‑
trepreneurship,  administrative  burdens  on  firms  and  exces‑
sive regulatory restrictions; policies to support firm growth, 
internationalisation and innovation; support for the devel‑
opment  and  implementation  of  awareness  campaigns, 
training  programmes,  mentoring,  coaching  and  support 
networks, including professional advice on legal and fiscal 
matters.

2.  Ensuring  equal  access  to  finance  for  female  and  male 
entrepreneurs through actions that influence both the sup‑
ply of and demand for finance by: easing access to finance 
for  viable  businesses  owned  by  men  and  women;  taking 
steps  to  improve  the  knowledge  and  attitudes  of  financial 
institutions;  increasing  awareness  of  finance  sources  and 
tools among women entrepreneurs; and encouraging more 
women  to  join  business  angel  networks  or  venture  capital 
firms.

(49)  OECD,  Recommendation  of  the  Council  on  gender  equality  in  education, 
employment  and  entrepreneurship,  2013  (http://www.oecd.org/gender/
C-MIN(2013)5-ENG.pdf).

10

Gender in entrepreneurship 

EIGE

4. 

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

 How and when? Entrepreneurship and the 
integration of the gender dimension into the 
policy cycle

The  gender  dimension  can  be  integrated  in  all  phases  of 
the policy cycle. 

Below you can find useful resources and practical examples 
for  mainstreaming  gender  into  entrepreneurship  policies. 
They are organised according to the most relevant phase of 
the policy cycle they may serve.

Define
Methods and tools

Gender Statistics
Gender Analysis
Gender Impact Assessment
Gender Stakeholders Consultation

Define

Plan

Plan
Methods and tools

Gender Budgeting
Gender Procurement
Gender Indicators

Check
Methods and tools

Gender Monitoring
Gender Evaluation

Check

Act

Act
Methods and tools

Gender Equality Training
Gender-sensitive Institutional 
Transformation
Gender awareness-raising

Define

DEFINE

PLAN

ACT

CHECK

Eurostat – the European Union labour force survey

In this phase, it’s recommended to gather information on 
the  situation  of  women  and  men  in  a  certain  area.  This 
means  looking  for  sex-disaggregated  data  and  gender 
statistics,  as  well  as  checking  for  the  existence  of  studies, 
programme or project reports and/or evaluations from pre-
vious periods.

This provides the main aggregated statistics on labour mar-
ket outcomes in the European Union. The European Union 
labour force survey (EU-LFS) is the main data source for em-
ployment and unemployment. Tables on population, em-
ployment, working hours, permanency of job, professional 
status, etc. are included.

Examples of gender and 
entrepreneurship statistics

At the EU level, relevant databases and indexes have been 
developed to address the dimension of gender and entre-
preneurship. Don’t forget to check databases that may also 
exist at the level of the Member States.

It provides disaggregated statistics by sex, age groups, eco-
nomic activity, educational attainment and field of educa-
tion, type of employment (part-time, temporary work) and 
self-employment, from which it is possible to measure the 
characteristics  of  the  labour  force  of  women.  In  particu-
lar,  data  on  self-employment  with  sex  disaggregation  are 
available.
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/lfs/data/database

Gender in entrepreneurship

11

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

EIGE

EIGE — gender statistics

Examples of studies, research and reports

EIGE  assists  EU  institutions  and  the  Member  States  in  the 
collection, analysis and dissemination of objective, reliable 
and comparable information and data on equality between 
women and men. The gender statistics database provides 
statistics  on  the  indicators  established  and  implemented 
for monitoring the BPfA critical areas of concern. Indicators 
related  to  entrepreneurship  and  self-employment  are  in-
cluded in Area F — Women and the economy.
http://eige.europa.eu/gender-statistics/women-and-men-i
n-the-eu-facts-and-figures

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

The ongoing Organisation for Economic Cooperation and 
Development’s (OECD) gender initiative aims to strengthen 
gender  equality  in  education,  employment  and  entrepre-
neurship  (the  ‘three  Es’).  To  reinforce  the  collection  and 
monitoring of gender-specific indicators, the OECD updates 
its gender data portal on 8 March each year for International 
Women’s Day. The portal provides a rich set of actualised 
indicators on gender equality in the ‘three Es’ showing how 
far we are from achieving gender equality and where action 
is most needed. It also includes short highlights on some 
selected gender issues.
http://www.oecd.org/gender/data/entrepreneurship.htm

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor

The  Global  Entrepreneurship  Monitor  (GEM)  is  a  study  of 
entrepreneurship providing information, reports and stories 
which  enhance  the  understanding  of  the  entrepreneurial 
phenomenon.  GEM  provides  entrepreneurship  indicators 
and custom charts, graphs and maps and datasets.
http://www.gemconsortium.org/data

United Nations Statistics Division, UN Women project

Evidence and data for gender equality (EDGE)

This is a project that seeks to accelerate existing efforts to 
generate comparable gender indicators on health, educa-
tion, employment, entrepreneurship and asset ownership. 
The  activities  of  the  project  include  the  development  of 
a  platform  for  international  data  and  metadata  compila-
tion covering basic health, education and employment in-
dicators, the development of standards and guidelines for 
measuring assets and entrepreneurship indicators and the 
pilot  of  data  collection  on  assets  and  entrepreneurship  in 
several countries.
http://genderstats.un.org/

Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute
Female entrepreneurship index 2015 report

In this study the Global Entrepreneurship and Development 
Institute (GEDI), developed a women’s entrepreneurship in-
dex — the Gender GEDI — measuring the development of 
potential female entrepreneurship. Once a gender analysis 
has  identified  the  opportunities  and  obstacles  for  female 
entrepreneurship, it is easier to plan improvement.
http://thegedi.org/female-entrepreneurship-index-2015- 
report

Panteia Research to Progress (2014)
Statistical data on women entrepreneurs in Europe

This study was carried out at the request of the European 
Commission’s  DG  for  Internal  Market,  Industry,  Entrepre-
neurship  and  SMEs  in  order  to  gather  available  statistical 
data on women entrepreneurs in Europe. The study objec-
tive was to collect, analyse and systematically present the 
most  recent  data  on  women  entrepreneurs  in  Europe-37 
(which includes the 28 EU Member States, Albania, the for-
mer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Israel, Liech-
tenstein, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia and Turkey).
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/newsroom/
cf/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=7992&lang=en

The European Commission’s DG for Internal Market, Indus-
try, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

‘Entrepreneurship in the EU and beyond’, Flash Eurobarom‑
eter No 354, 2012.

This  studies  the  development  of  entrepreneurship  in  EU 
Member States for over a decade. This series of surveys has 
also endeavoured to compare the state of affairs within the 
EU  by  comparing  the  EU  data  with  data  from  a  range  of 
non-EU countries. In the 2012 edition of the survey (50) there 
are several analyses from a gender perspective.
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_354_en.pdf

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
2010 global report

In  this  report  the  Global  Entrepreneurship  Monitor  found 
that  women  are  driven  more  than  men  by  the  need  to 
obtain  an  appropriate  work–family  balance,  with  women 
using the opportunity to fulfil family obligations and start 
small businesses to (re)integrate into the labour market.

(50)  European  Commission,  ‘Entrepreneurship  in  the  EU  and  beyond’,  Flash 
Eurobarometer  No  354,  2012  (http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/
fl_354_en.pdf).

12

Gender in entrepreneurship 

EIGE

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

Moreover  it  found  that  given  the  possible  existence  of 
a so-called glass ceiling (obstacles to achieving managerial 
positions), women could move more often towards entre-
preneurship out of frustration.
http://www.gemconsortium.org/report

One of the first steps to take when defining your policy/pro-
ject/programme  is  to  gather  information  and  analyse  the 
situation of women and men in the respective policy do-
main. The information and data you collected will provide 
an understanding of the reality and assist you in designing 
your policy, programme or project. Specific methods that 
can be used in this phase are gender analysis and gender 
impact assessment.

Example of gender analysis

United  States  Agency 
(USAID)

for 

International  Development 

Tips for conducting a gender analysis at the activity or pro-
ject level

The purpose of this document is to provide practical guid-
ance  for  conducting  gender  analysis  in  project  or  activity 
design. A specific section is dedicated to a set of questions 
that should be posed in the context of designing an entre-
preneurship programme.
https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ 
1865/201sae.pdf

Example of a gender impact 
assessment

UN Women
Gender impact analysis of selected support measures for entre‑
preneurship in Serbia, 2012

This  report  assesses  to  what  extent  female  entrepre-
neurs  have  had  access  to  selected  governmental  sup-
port  programmes  for  entrepreneurship  in  Serbia  during 
2009 and 2010. It has been commissioned by the Ministry of 
Economy and Regional Development, with the support of 
UN Women, as part of their efforts in 2011 to assess the gen-
der impact of selected government measures in support of 
entrepreneurship. It includes indications on the methodol-
ogy used to assess gender impact.
http://www.academia.edu/4160895/Gender_Impact_Anal-
ysis_of_Selected_Support_Measures_for_Entrepreneur-
ship_in_Serbia

Consider  consulting  stakeholders  (e.g.  gender  experts, 
civil  society  organisations)  on  the  topic  at  hand,  to  share 
and  validate  your  findings  and  to  improve  your  policy  or 

programme  proposal.  This  will  enhance  the  process  of 
learning  of  the  subject  for  all  those  involved  and  will  im-
prove  the  quality  of  the  work  done  at  the  EU  level.  The 
stakeholders  consultation  process  will  start  in  this  phase, 
but  could  also  be  considered  as  an  important  method  to 
be applied during all the policy cycle’s phases.

Examples of stakeholders that can be 
consulted

European Network to Promote Women’s Entrepreneurship 
(WES)

This is a policy network with members from 31 European 
countries  (the  EU-28,  Iceland,  Norway  and  Turkey),  whose 
delegates, representing national governments and institu-
tions, are responsible for promoting and supporting female 
entrepreneurship at national level. WES is a discussion part-
ner of the European Union and its members provide advice, 
support, information and contacts regarding existing sup-
port  measures  for  women  entrepreneurs.  They  also  help 
identify good practices.
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/promoting-entre-
preneurship/we-work-for/women/support-networks/
index_en.htm

European  Network 
Ambassadors

of 

Female 

Entrepreneurship 

In  2009,  the  European  Commission  inaugurated  this  net-
work of inspirational role models for potential women en-
trepreneurs. The network is made up of around 270 entre-
preneurs from 22 European countries.
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/promoting-entre-
preneurship/we-work-for/women/support-networks/
index_en.htm

European Network of Mentors for Women Entrepreneurs

In  2011,  the  European  Commission  inaugurated  this  net-
work,  which  voluntarily  provides  counselling  services  to 
women starting and running new businesses. The mentors’ 
network  enforces  and  complements  the  actions  to  pro-
mote, support and encourage women’s entrepreneurship.
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/promoting-entre-
preneurship/we-work-for/women/support-networks/
index_en.htm

Gender in entrepreneurship

13

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

EIGE

European Entrepreneurship Education NETwork

World Bank, Women’s Finance Hub

The  network  exchanges  information  and  experience,  im-
proving  and  creating  synergies  between  the  many  initia-
tives  in  the  field;  moreover  it  is  engaged  in  outreach  and 
awareness  activities  as  well  as  policy  recommendations 
across several work streams that include national strategies, 
partnerships  with  business,  support  for  teachers  and  the 
role of regional authorities.

It is a focal point for entrepreneurship education in Europe 
bringing together organisations and individuals from both 
the  public  and  private  sectors  with  strong  records  of  ac-
complishment  in  entrepreneurship  education  at  regional, 
national and European level. The EE-HUB is designed as the 
space where these stakeholders can work collectively to in-
crease levels of entrepreneurial activities in schools across 
Europe.
http://ee-hub.eu/

Eurochambres women’s network

The Association of European Chambers of Commerce and 
Industry  has  launched  a  women’s  network  aimed  at  sup-
porting  female  entrepreneurship  in  Europe.  The  network 
pursues the following objectives:

The  World  Bank  is  working  to  promote  financial  inclusion 
for  women  and  in  2013  launched  the  Women’s  Finance 
Hub,  an  online  collaborative  platform,  as  part  of  the  SME 
finance forum. It aims to further advance access to finance 
for women-owned businesses by addressing missing data, 
disseminating research, promoting best practices and pro-
viding information on critical issues related to the women’s 
market at both international and European level.
http://smefinanceforum.org/post/womens-finance-hub- 
site-launch-april-2013

Plan

DEFINE

PLAN

ACT

CHECK

IIn  this  phase,  it’s  appropriate  to  analyse  budgets  from 
a gender perspective. Gender budgeting is used to identify 
how  budget  allocations  contribute  to  promoting  gender 
equality.  Gender  budgeting  brings  visibility  to  how  much 
public  money  is  spent  for  women  and  men  respectively. 
Thus, gender budgeting ensures that public funds are fairly 
distributed  between  women  and  men.  It  also  contributes 
to accountability and transparency about how public funds 
are being spent.

  promoting the exchange of information and the 
promotion of specific points of view within the 
network;

Example of gender budgeting in 
entrepreneurship

  providing structured support to speed the 

development of women’s entrepreneurship, including 
the dissemination of ‘best practices’;

  promoting the participation in public–private 

partnerships at local, national and European level;

  encouraging the recognition of rights on equal 

opportunities;

  providing support for institutional lobbying at all levels;

  participating actively in the development of corporate 

social responsibility;

  encouraging better conditions to promote a balance 

between private and professional life.

http://cordis.europa.eu/news/rcn/20891_en.html

United Nations Development Programme, Gender respon-
siveness budget

Manual for trainers, 2005

The manual provides a set of lessons and tools addressed to 
trainers and resource people for gender-responsive budget 
initiatives.  Although  not  specifically  focused  on  entrepre-
neurship, its tools can also be used in this field.
https://www.ndi.org/files/Gender%20Responsive%20
Budgeting%20Trainers%20Manual.pdf

When  planning,  don’t  forget  to  establish  monitoring  and 
evaluation  systems  and  indicators  that  will  enable  you  to 
measure  and  compare  the  impact  of  the  policy  or  pro-
gramme on women and men over the time frame of its im-
plementation. Remember to define the appropriate times 
to monitor and evaluate your policy.

14

Gender in entrepreneurship 

EIGE

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

Examples of indicators for monitoring 
gender and entrepreneurship

Percentage of entrepreneurs in total active labour force (en-
trepreneurship rate) by sex
(BPfA — Area F — Women and the economy)

Entrepreneurs are defined as people who work in their own 
business,  farm  or  professional  practice  to  make  a  profit, 
and  spend  time  on  the  operation  of  a  business,  or  are  in 
the process of setting up a business. These entrepreneurs 
consider  the  running  of  their  enterprises  to  be  their  main 
activity.  This  definition  is  the  same  as  the  definition  of 
a  self-employed  person  in  Eurostat’s  labour  force  survey 
database (51). Self-employed people may have one or more 
persons  and/or  family  workers  or  no  people.  In  this  case, 
they are defined as solo entrepreneurs — people who op-
erate  their  own  economic  enterprise  or  engage  indepen-
dently in a profession or trade. Solo entrepreneurs are also 
known as own-account workers. The entrepreneurship rate 
is a good indicator to compare the entrepreneurial level of 
women and men in and between countries.

The entrepreneurship rate expresses the percentage of en-
trepreneurs in the total active labour force. The indicator is 
also included for the monitoring of Area F — Women and 
the economy, named as ‘Self-employment as percentage of 
total employment for women and men by age groups (15-
64, 20-64, 15-24, 25-54, 55-64)’. This indicator provides infor-
mation on the proportion of self-employed as a percentage 
of total employed persons. In 2013, self-employed women 
aged  15-64  were  9.8  %  of  the  total  employed  women, 
compared  to  18.2  %  of  men.  The  indicator  is  calculated 
from the Eurostat EU-LFS survey and available on the EIGE 
gender statistics page (52). Data for calculation are included 
in the Eurostat labour market database (online data code: 
lfsa_egaps).
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database?node_code= 
lfsa_egaps

Share of self-employed with and without employees by sex
(BPfA — Area F — Women and the economy)

The  indicator  is  calculated  as  the  percentage  of  self- 
employed  persons  with  employees 
(employers)  and 
without  employees  (own-account  workers)  from  total 

employment.  Self-employed  persons  are  those  who  work 
in  their  own  business,  farm  or  professional  practice. 
A self-employed person is considered to be working if she/
he  meets  one  of  the  following  criteria:  works  for  the  pur-
pose  of  earning  profit;  spends  time  on  the  operation  of 
a busines; or is in the process of setting up her/his business. 
Self-employment embraces a wide range of work statuses 
and  activities  with  different  degrees  of  economic  condi-
tions and independence. Thus, it is important to distinguish 
between  the  self-employed  with  employees  (employers) 
and those who work on their own (own-account workers). 
The share of self-employed with employees may be consid-
ered a better proxy for entrepreneurship than the share of 
overall self-employed in total employment although it re-
mains unclear whether it adequately measures the concept. 
Moreover,  the  share  of  self-employed  without  employees 
can  also  incorporate  a  number  of  ‘bogus’  self-employed 
persons.  The  indicator  is  included  for  the  monitoring  of 
Area F — Women and the economy. In 2013, self-employed 
women on their own account were 7.5 % of the total em-
ployed women, compared to 12.6 % of men. The indicator is 
calculated from the Eurostat EU-LFS survey and is available 
on the EIGE gender statistics page (53). Data for calculation 
are included in the Eurostat labour market database (online 
data code: lfsa_egaps).
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/database?node_code= 
lfsa_egaps

When  preparing  calls  for  proposals  in  the  framework  of 
funding programmes or terms of reference in the context of 
public procurement procedures (notably for contractors to 
be hired for policy support services), don’t forget to formal-
ise  gender-related  requirements.  This  will  ensure  the  pro-
jects and services which the European Commission funds 
are not gender-blind or gender biased.

Act

DEFINE

PLAN

ACT

CHECK

In  the  implementation  phase  of  a  policy  or  programme, 
ensure  that  all  who  are  involved  are  sufficiently  aware 
about the relevant gender objectives and plans. If not, set 
up briefings and capacity-building  initiatives according to 
staff  needs.  Think  about  researchers,  proposal  evaluators, 
monitoring and evaluation experts, scientific officers, pro-
gramme committee members, etc.

(51)  European  Commission,  Directorate-General  for  Internal  Market,  Industry, 
Entrepreneurship  and  SMEs,  Statistical  data  on  women  entrepreneurs  in 
Europe, September 2014.

(52)  http://eige.europa.eu/gender-statistics/women-and-men-in-the-eu-facts

(53)  http://eige.europa.eu/gender-statistics/women-and-men-in-the-eu-facts

-and-figures/area/83/indicator/268/report/695

-and-figures/area/83/indicator/268/report/692

Gender in entrepreneurship

15

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

EIGE

Examples of capacity‑building 
initiatives about gender and 
entrepreneurship

Women Entrepreneurs’ Associations capacity building guide

This is a training package designed to assist Women Entre-
preneurs’  Associations  in  improving  and  sustaining  their 
organisations. The emphasis is on the improvement of the 
capacity-building of the associations and on strengthening 
their ability to serve and advocate for their members.
http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/--
-emp_ent/---ifp_seed/documents/instructionalmaterial/
wcms_248603.pdf

Hungary  —  Dobbantó:  women  entrepreneurs’  compe-
tence development

This  is  an  accredited  intensive  training  programme  which 
includes the main elements of business start-up and how 
to run a business, but also looks at self-consciousness and 
communication skills.
http://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/good-prac-
tices/hungary/dobbanto-women-entrepreneurs-compe-
tence-development

World Bank — Resource point on female entrepreneurship

This online portal ‘responds to increasing demands for best 
practices and tools to integrate gender in private sector de-
velopment and entrepreneurship promotion programmes, 
and  address  the  needs  and  constraints  faced  by  female 
entrepreneurs’  (World  Bank,  2013b).  It  provides  tools  and 
guidelines, examples and good practices, findings of evalu-
ations  of  projects  and  programmes,  findings  of  studies 
and research and statistical data on the topic. The resource 
point  provides  four  modules  ‘to  help  task  teams  identify 
and  address  issues  that  limit  women’s  entrepreneurship 
opportunities’.
http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/gender/publication/
female-entrepreneurship-resource-point-introduction-
and-module-1-why-gender-matters

During the implementation of your policy or programme, 
publications, communications and press releases might be 
issued. Don’t forget to give visibility to gender issues and to 
pay attention to the language and visuals; these can convey 
gender stereotypes and gendered concepts, but they can 
also contribute to deconstructing stereotypes.

Example of gender language in 
entrepreneurship

Williams, E., Sheffield, R., Tossan, V. and Etzol, P. (2014)
‘Words  matter:  recognising  the  power  of  gendered  lan-
guage in entrepreneurship’

This paper presents the result of a survey on the traits of the 
‘perfect’  entrepreneur  showing  that  these  are  still  gender 
biased. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2506242

Check

DEFINE

PLAN

ACT

CHECK

A policy cycle or programme should be checked both dur-
ing  monitoring, and  at  the  end,  with  an  evaluation  of  its 
implementation.

Monitoring  the  ongoing  work  allows  for  the  follow-up  of 
progress and remedying unforeseen difficulties. This exer-
cise  should  take  into  account  the  indicators  delineated  in 
the  planning  phase  and  data  collection  based  on  those 
indicators.

At  the  end  of  a  policy  cycle  or  programme,  a  gender- 
sensitive  evaluation  should  take  place.  Make  your  evalua-
tion  publicly  accessible  and  strategically  disseminate  its 
results to promote its learning potential.

Example of monitoring and 
evaluation of gender and 
entrepreneurship

DG  Internal  Market,  Industry,  Entrepreneurship  and  SMEs, 
Evaluation  on  policy:  promotion  of  women  innovators  and 
entrepreneurship

In 2008, DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and 
SMEs  carried  out  an  evaluation  on  its  policy  of  the  pro-
motion  of  women  innovators  and  entrepreneurship.  This 
report  presents  the  findings  of  the  study.  The  aim  of  the 
evaluation  was  to  assess  the  effectiveness,  efficiency,  util-
ity and constraints on promotion activities across Member 
States as the basis for policy recommendations to support 
the  contribution  of  women  innovators  and  entrepreneur-
ship to the Lisbon Agenda.
http://ec.europa.eu/DocsRoom/documents/2131/attachments/1/
translations/en/renditions/pdf

16

Gender in entrepreneurship 

EIGE

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

Practical examples of gender 
mainstreaming in entrepreneurship

International Labour Organisation

The Women’s Entrepreneurship Development programme 
(ILO-WED) is part of the Small and Medium Enterprises Unit 
(SME). ILO-WED works on enhancing economic opportuni-
ties for women by carrying out affirmative actions in sup-
port of women starting, formalising and growing their en-
terprises and by mainstreaming gender equality issues into 
the  International  Labour  Organisation’s  work  in  enterprise 
development.
http://www.ilo.org/empent/areas/womens-entrepreneur-
ship-development-wed/lang--en/index.htm

Gender in entrepreneurship

17

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

EIGE

5.  Want to know more?

Timeline

The key milestones of the EU entrepreneurship policy are presented below.

Launch of Erasmus for young entrepreneurs.

http://www.erasmus‑entrepreneurs.eu

European Network of Female Entrepreneurship Ambassadors.

http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/promoting‑entrepreneurship/we‑work‑for/women/
support‑networks/index_en.htm

European Network of Mentors for Women Entrepreneurs.

http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/promoting‑entrepreneurship/we‑work‑for/women/
support‑networks/index_en.htm

European Network to Promote Women’s Entrepreneurship (WES).

http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/promoting‑entrepreneurship/we‑work‑for/women/
support‑networks/index_en.htm

2009

European Commission, ‘Think Small 
First’ — A ‘Small Business Act’ for Europe 
(COM(2008) 394 final).

http://eur‑lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/Lex‑
UriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0394: 
FIN:EN:PDF

2008

Launch of the strategy for equality between women and men 2010‑2015, also aimed at promoting female entrepreneurship.

http://eur‑lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2010:0491:FIN:EN:PDF

Directive 2010/41/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2010 on the application of the principle of equal 
treatment between men and women engaged in an activity in a self‑employed capacity and repealing Council Directive 86/613/
EEC.

http://eur‑lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:180:0001:0006:en:PDF

Launch of the ‘youth on the move’ initiative, which puts entrepreneurship among the basic skills that schools should transmit to 
students.

http://eur‑lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2010:2020:FIN:en:PDF

2010

European Parliament resolution of 13 September 2011 on women entrepreneurship in small and medium‑sized enterprises 
(2010/2275(INI).

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=‑//EP//TEXT+TA+P7‑TA‑2011‑0367+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN

European Parliament resolution of 6 July 2011 on women and business leadership (2010/2115(INI).

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=‑//EP//TEXT+TA+P7‑TA‑2011‑0330+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN

European Commission, Social Business Initiative — Creating a favourable climate for social enterprises, key stakeholders in the 
social economy and innovation (COM(2011) 682 final), 2011.

The social business initiative has the aim of creating an ecosystem conducive to developing social businesses and to facilitating 
access to funding. The social business initiative proposes ways to improve social businesses’ access to funding, including EU 
funding through structural funds.

http://eur‑lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0682:FIN:EN:PDF

2011

2013

European Commission, Entrepreneurship 2020 action 
plan — Reigniting the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe 
(COM(2012) 795 final), 2013.

http://eur‑lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.
do?uri=COM:2012:0795:FIN:EN:PDF

OECD, Recommendation of the Council on gender equal-
ity in education, employment and entrepreneurship, 
2013.

http://www.oecd.org/gender/C‑MIN(2013)5‑ENG.pdf

18

Gender in entrepreneurship 

EIGE

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

6.  Current policy priorities at EU level

Small  and  medium-sized  enterprises  are  the  backbone  of 
the  EU’s  economy.  They  represent  99  %  of  all  businesses 
in the EU. Over the past 5 years, they have created around 
85 % of new jobs and provided two thirds of total private 
sector  employment  in  the  EU.  The  European  Commission 
considers  SMEs  and  entrepreneurship  as  key  to  ensuring 
economic  growth,  innovation,  job  creation  and  social  in-
tegration in the EU. Some of the challenges to be tackled 
include the following:

  education should offer the right foundation for an 

  Supporting SME competitiveness and innovation: 

Promoting competitiveness and innovation are key 
aspects of EU policy in relation to industry and 
enterprise, in particular for SMEs.

  Providing key support networks and information for 

SMEs

Resources

entrepreneurial career;

Selected policy documents relevant to entrepreneurship

  difficult access to finance and markets;

  difficulty in transferring businesses;

  the fear of ‘punitive’ sanctions in case of failure;

  burdensome administrative procedures.

The overarching policy of the EU for entrepreneurship and 
SMEs can be summarised as follows.

  Creating a business-friendly environment: At the centre 
of the Commission’s action is the Small Business Act for 
Europe (SBA) that provides a comprehensive SME 
policy for the EU and EU countries. The SBA promotes 
the ‘Think small first’ principle and promotes 
entrepreneurial spirit among EU citizens and more of 
a business-friendly environment.

  Promoting entrepreneurship: The Commission 

promotes entrepreneurship through the 
entrepreneurship 2020 action plan, supports 
entrepreneurship education and provides support 
tools for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Improving access to new markets and 
internationalisation: The Commission’s priority is to 
ensure that enterprises can rely on a business-friendly 
environment and make the most of cross-border 
activities, both within the EU single market and outside 
the EU.

  Facilitating access to finance: Access to finance is the 
most pressing issue for many small enterprises. The 
Commission works on improving the financing 
environment for SMEs and provides information on 
funding. The Late Payment Directive strengthens 
businesses’ rights to prompt payment.

European  Commission,  Entrepreneurship  2020  action  plan  
(http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/promoting-entrepreneur-
ship/action-plan/index_en.htm).

European  Commission,  Communication  from  the  Commis-
sion to the European Parliament, the Council, the European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the 
Regions — Entrepreneurship 2020 action plan — Reigniting 
the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe (COM(2012) 795 final), 2013 
(http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:
2012:0795:FIN:en:PDF).

European  Commission,  Communication  from  the  Com-
mission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  Euro-
pean  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Commit-
tee  of  the  Regions  —  Social  Business  Initiative  —  Creating 
a  favourable  climate  for  social  enterprises,  key  stakehold-
ers  in  the  social  economy  and  innovation  (COM(2011)  682 
final), 2011 ( http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/
TXT/?uri=COM:2011:0682:FIN).

European  Commission,  DG  Internal  Market,  Industry,  Entre-
preneurship and SMEs, Citizens’ summary — EU initiative to 
promote  social  entrepreneurship,  2011  (http://ec.europa.eu/
internal_market/social_business/docs/SBI_citizen_en.pdf).

European  Commission,  Communication  from  the  Commis-
sion to the Council, the European Parliament, the European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the 
Regions — ‘Think small first’ — A ‘small business act’ for Eu-
rope  (COM(2008)  394  final),  2008  (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/
legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52008DC0394).

European Commission, Report from the Commission to the 
Council and the European Parliament on the implementation 
of the European charter for small enterprises (COM(2004) 64 
final), 2004 (http://aei.pitt.edu/45659/1/com2004_0064.pdf).

Gender in entrepreneurship

19

 
Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

EIGE

European Commission, Report from the Commission to the 
Council,  the  European  Parliament,  the  Economic  and  So-
cial  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  —  Cre-
ating  an  entrepreneurial  Europe — The  activities  of  the 
European  Union  for  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises 
(SMEs)  (COM(2001)  98  final),  2001  (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/
legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52001DC0098).

European  Parliament  and  Council,  Regulation 
(EU) 
No  1287/2013  of  11  December  2013  establishing  a  pro-
gramme for the competitiveness of enterprises and small and 
medium-sized enterprises (COSME) (2014-2020) and repealing 
Decision No 1639/2006/EC, OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, pp. 33 (http://
eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L:2013:
347:FULL&from=EN).

Gender equality relevant policy documents

Council of the European Union, Council conclusions on the 
European pact for gender equality for the period 2011-2020, 
(http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/
2011 
docs/pressdata/en/lsa/119628.pdf).

European  Commission, 
Improving  the  gender  balance  in 
(http://ec.europa.eu/justice/
company  boardrooms,  2014 
gender-equality/files/gender_balance_decision_making/
boardroom_factsheet_en.pdf).

European Commission, Report — statistical data on women en‑
trepreneurs in Europe — 2014, 2014
(http://ec.europa.eu/DocsRoom/documents/7481).

European Commission, The European Network of Female En-
trepreneurship  Ambassadors  (http://ec.europa.eu/growth/
smes/promoting-entrepreneurship/we-work-for/women/
support-networks/index_en.htm).

European Commission, Cracking Europe’s glass ceiling: Euro-
pean Parliament backs Commission’s women on boards pro-
posal,  2013  (http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-1118_ 
en.htm).

European Commission, Strategy for equality between wom-
en and men 2010-2015 (COM(2010) 491 final) 2010.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM: 
2010:0491:FIN:en:PDF

European Parliament and the Council, Directive 2010/41/EU of 
7 July 2010 on the application of the principle of equal treat-
ment  between  men  and  women  engaged  in  an  activity  in 
a  self-employed  capacity  and  repealing  Council  Directive 
86/613/EEC, OJ L 180, 15.7.2010 (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/Lex-
UriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:180:0001:0006:en:PDF).

European  Parliament  resolution  of  6  July  2011  on  wom-
en  and  business  leadership  (2010/2115(INI),  2011  (http://

20

Gender in entrepreneurship 

www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//
TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2011-0330+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN).

European  Parliament  resolution  of  13  September  2011  on 
women entrepreneurship in small and medium-sized enter-
prises (2010/2275(INI) (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/
getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P7-TA-2011-0367+0+ 
DOC+XML+V0//EN).

Organisation  for  Economic  Cooperation  and  Development 
(OECD),  Recommendation  of  the  Council  on  gender  equality 
in  education,  employment  and  entrepreneurship,  2013  (http://
www.oecd.org/gender/C-MIN(2013)5-ENG.pdf).

Selected references of studies on gender issues in 
entrepreneurship

Bird,  B.  and  Brush,  C.,  ‘A  gendered  perspective  on  organi-
sational  creation’,  Entrepreneurship  Theory  and  Practice, 
Vol.  2,  No  3,  2002,  pp.  41-50  (https://www.researchgate.net/
publication/254556196_A_Gendered_Perspective_on_Or-
ganizational_Creation).

Centre  for  Enterprise  and  Economic  Development  Research 
(CEEDR),  Young  entrepreneurs,  women  entrepreneurs,  ethnic 
minority  entrepreneurs  and  co‑entrepreneurs  in  the  European 
Union and Central and Eastern Europe, CEEDR Middlesex Uni-
versity  Business  School,  2000  (http://bookshop.europa.eu/
en/young-entrepreneurs-women-entrepreneurs-co-entre-
preneurs-and-ethnic-minority-entrepreneurs-in-the-europe-
an-union-and-central-and-eastern-europe-pbNB0414053/).

EIGE, Promoting women’s economic independence and entre‑
preneurship — good practices, 2015.
The  report  is  part  of  the  study  on  ‘Women  and  economy 
— collection of good practices in the area of female entre-
preneurship’.  It  has  identified  effective  gender  mainstream-
ing  tools  to  support  and  promote  women’s  economic  in-
dependence  through  entrepreneurship.  It  has  focused  on 
training, funding and networking (http://eige.europa.eu/rdc/
eige-publications/promoting-womens-economic-independ-
ence-and-entrepreneurship-good-practices).

European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Mar-
ket,  Industry,  Entrepreneurship  and  SMEs,  Statistical  data  on 
women  entrepreneurs  in  Europe,  2014  (http://ec.europa.eu/
DocsRoom/documents/7481/attachments/1/translations/en/
renditions/pdf).

European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Mar-
ket, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Evaluation on policy 
— Promotion of women innovators and entrepreneurship, 2008 
(http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/itemdetail.
cfm?item_id=3387).

European  Parliament,  DG  Internal  Policies  of  the  Union, 
Gender  aspects  of  the  effects  of  the  economic  downturn  and 

EIGE

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

financial  crisis  on  welfare  systems,  prepared  by  McCracken, 
K.,  Jessoula,  M.,  Lyberaki,  A.,  Bartlett,  W.  and  Kusidel,  E,  2013 
(http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/
join/2013/474396/IPOL-FEMM_ET(2013)474396_EN.pdf).

European Parliament, Library Briefing, Women’s entrepreneur‑
ship in the EU, prepared by de Jong, W., 2013 (http://www.euro-
parl.europa.eu/RegData/bibliotheque/briefing/2013/130517/
LDM_BRI(2013)130517_REV1_EN.pdf).

Galindo M. A. and Ribeiro, D. (eds.), Women entrepreneurship 
and economics: New perspectives, practices and policies, Spring-
er, New York, 2012.

Global  Entrepreneurship  and  Development  Institute  (GEDI), 
Gender GEDI Index, GEDI, Washington DC, 2014 (http://gedi.
mobility-labs.com/gender-gedi-index/).

Moore, D. P. and Buttner, E. H., Women entrepreneurs: moving 
beyond  the  glass  ceiling,  Sage  Publications,  Thousand  Oaks, 
CA, 1997.

Organisation  for  Economic  Cooperation  and  Development, 
Gender equality in education, employment and entrepreneurship: 
final report to the MCM 2012, (C/MIN(2012)5), OECD, Paris, 2012 
(http://www.oecd.org/social/family/50423364.pdf).

Organisation  for  Economic  Cooperation  and  Development, 
Closing the gender gap: act now, OECD Publishing, 2012 (http://
www.oecd.org/gender/closingthegap.htm).

Organisation  for  Economic  Cooperation  and  Development, 
Report on the gender initiative: gender equality in education, em‑
ployment and entrepreneurship, OECD, Paris, 2011 (http://www.
oecd.org/education/48111145.pdf).

Global  Entrepreneurship  Monitor,  Global  Entrepreneurship 
Monitor:  2012  women’s  report,  Global  Entrepreneurship  Re-
search  Association,  2013  (http://www.gemconsortium.org/
docs/2825/gem-2012-womens-report).

Organisation  for  Economic  Cooperation  and  Development, 
Women’s  entrepreneurship:  issues  and  policies,  (issues  paper), 
OECD  Publications,  Paris,  2004  (http://www.oecd.org/cfe/
smes/31919215.pdf).

Global  Entrepreneurship  Monitor,  Global  Entrepreneurship 
Monitor:  2010  women’s  report,  2011  (http://www.gemconsor-
tium.org/report/47520).

to  finance 

Finance  Corporation, 

for  women‑owned  SMEs 

Strengthening  ac‑
International 
in  developing 
cess 
countries, 2011 ( http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/
a4774a004a3f66539f0f9f8969adcc27/G20_Women_Report.
pdf?MOD=AJPERES).

International  Labour  Organisation,  Women’s Entrepreneurship 
Development, ILO, Geneva, 2014 (http://www.ilo.org/empent/
Publications/WCMS_175471/lang—en/index.htm).

Kelley, D., Brush, C., Greene, P. and Litovsky, Y., Global Entrepre‑
neur  Monitor:  2010  women’s  report,  Global  Entrepreneurship 
Research Association, Babson college, MA, 2011 (http://www.
espae.espol.edu.ec/images/FTP/2010_GEM_Womens_Re-
port.pdf).

Kelly, L., Entrepreneurial women: new management and leader‑
ship models, Praeger, Westport, CT, 2014.

Lewis, P., ‘The quest for invisibility: female entrepreneurs and 
the  masculine  norm  of  entrepreneurship’,  Gender,  Work  and 
Organisation, Vol. 13, No 5, 2006, pp. 453-469.

Lotti,  F.,  ‘Entrepreneurship:  is  there  a  gender  gap?’  (working 
paper), 2006 (https://mail.sssup.it/~lotti/gender_gap.pdf).

Marlow, S., Henry, C. and Carter, S., ‘Exploring the impact of 
gender  upon  women’s  business  ownership:  introduction’, 
International Small Business Journal, Vol. 27, No 2, pp. 139-148.

Piacentini,  M.,  ‘Women  entrepreneurs  in  the  OECD:  key  evi-
dence  and  policy  challenges’,  OECD Social, Employment and 
Migration  Working  Papers,  No  147,  OECD  Publishing,  2013 
(http://dx:doi:org/10.1787/5k43bvtkmb8v-en).

Rees, T. and Parken, A., ‘Total control? The gendering of the 
triple helix,’ International Conference on University, Industry 
and Government Linkages, Madrid, Spain, 20-22 October 2010 
(http://www.triplehelixconference.org/th/8/doc/Abstract_
book_Triple_Helix.pdf).

United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, Gender 
equality  and  the  empowerment  of  women,  UNIDO,  Vienna 
(http://www.unido.org/gender.html).

United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gen-
der  Equality  (IANWGE),  ‘Gender  equality  and  trade  policy’, 
Women Watch, IANWGE, New York. 2011 (http://www.un.org/
womenwatch/feature/trade/gender_equality_and_trade_
policy.pdf).

World  Bank,  Supporting  high  growth  potential  women  entre‑
(http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/
preneurs,  2004 
en/2014/09/20344837/supporting-growth-oriented-wom-
en-entrepreneurs-review-evidence-key-challenges).

Xavier,  S.,  Kelley,  D.,  Kew,  J.,  Herrington,  M.  and  Vorderwül-
becke,  A.,  Global  entrepreneur  monitor:  2012  women’s  report, 
Global  Entrepreneurship  Research  Association,  2013  (http://
www.babson.edu/Academics/centers/blank-center/glob-
al-research/gem/Documents/GEM%202012%20Womens%20
Report.pdf).

Gender in entrepreneurship

21

Gender Mainstreaming Platform > Policy Areas > Entrepreneurship

EIGE

Womenable, Innovation and women’s entrepreneurship: an ex‑
ploration of current knowledge, UN Conference on Trade and 
Development,  Geneva,  2010  (http://www.gwiin.com/files/
editor_files/image/4.pdf).

World Bank, Module 1 – Part 1: Entrepreneurship — why gen-
der  matters,  Female  entrepreneurship:  programme  guidelines 
and  case  studies,  World  Bank,  Washington,  DC,  2013  (http://
siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGENDER/Resources/Fe-
maleEntrepreneurshipResourcePoint041113.pdf).

World Bank, Female entrepreneurship resource point — intro-
duction and module 1: Why gender matters, Female entrepre‑
neurship: programme guidelines and case studies,  World  Bank, 
Washington  DC,  2013  (http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/
gender/publication/female-entrepreneurship-resource-
point-introduction-and-module-1-why-gender-matters).

World Bank, Female entrepreneurship resource point — mod-
ule 3: What change looks like, Female entrepreneurship: programme 
guidelines and case studies,World  Bank,  Washington  DC,  2013 
(http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGENDER/Resources/ 
FemaleEntrepreneurshipResourcePoint041113.pdf).

Organisations and institutions

European Community of Practice on Gender Mainstreaming 
http://www.gendercop.eu

European  Network  of  Female  Entrepreneurship  Ambassadors 
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/promoting-entrepreneur ship/
we-work-for/women/support-networks/index_en.htm

European Network of Mentors for Women Entrepreneurs
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/promoting-entrepreneur ship/
we-work-for/women/support-networks/index_en.htm)

European Network to Promote Women’s Entrepreneurship 
(WES)
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/promoting-entrepreneurship/
we-work-for/women/support-networks/index_en.htm

UN Women, Empower Women
http://www.empowerwomen.org

Women Entrepreneurship Platform
http://womenentrepreneurshipplatform.eu

Cyprus Women’s Coop Bank Ltd

Other resources

Ahl, H., ‘Why research on women entrepreneurs needs new 
directions’, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, Vol. 30, No 5, 
2006, pp. 595-621.

Birley, S., Cromie, S., and Myers, A., ‘Entrepreneurial networks: 
their emergence in Ireland and overseas’, International Small 
Business Journal, Vol. 9, No 4, 1990, pp. 56-74.

Dell  Inc.,  Turkey  named  as  host  country  for  fourth  annual 
Dell  women’s  entrepreneur  network  event,  Dell  Inc.,  Round 
Rock,  TX,  2012  (http://www.dell.com/Learn/us/en/uscorp1/
secure/2012-11-13-dell-dwen-turkey?c=us&l=en&s=corp).

European Commission, European Employment Observatory Re‑
view: self‑employment in Europe, Publications Office of the Eu-
ropean Union, Luxembourg, 2010 (http://ec.europa.eu/social/
BlobServlet?docId=6137&langId=en).

European Central Bank (ECB), Euro area bank lending survey, 
ECB, Brussels, 2014 (http://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/money/
surveys/lend/html/index.en.html).

European  Commission,  ‘Entrepreneurship  as  a  main  driver 
for economic growth’ (http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_ 
MEMO-13-5_en.htm).

European  Commission,  European  enterprise  promotion 
awards:  compendium,  Publications  Office  of  the  European 
Union,  Luxembourg,  2013  (http://ec.europa.eu/DocsRoom/
documents/10031?locale=it).

European Commission, Commission Decision of 4.7.2012 set-
ting up the group of experts on enterprise and SME policies 
(C(2012)  4386  final),  2012  (http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/dg/
files/c-2012-4386_en.pdf).

European Commission, ‘Entrepreneurship in the EU and be-
yond’, Flash Eurobarometer No 354, 2012 (http://ec.europa.eu/
public_opinion/flash/fl_354_en.pdf).

Organisation 
for  Economic  Cooperation  and  Develop-
ment,  Entrepreneurship  at  a  glance,  OECD  Publishing,  Paris, 
2011 (http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/industry-and-services/
entrepreneurship-at-a-glance-2010789264097711-en).

United  Nations  Economic  Commission  for  Europe  (UNECE), 
Building  partnerships  to  close  the  entrepreneurship  gender 
gaps  in  the  ECE  region,  Third  UNECE  Forum  of  Women  En-
trepreneurs, Baku, Azerbaijan. UNECE, Geneva, 14-15 Novem-
ber 2012 (http://www.unece.org/index.php?id=30755#/).

United  Nations  Economic  Commission  for  Europe  (UNECE), 
Developing  gender  statistics:  a  tool  kit,  UNECE,  Geneva,  2010 
(http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/publications/
Developing_Gender_Statistics.pdf).

22

Gender in entrepreneurship 

M
H
‑
0
2
‑
1
6
‑
8
9
9
‑
E
N
N

‑

http://eige.europa.eu