Why Women Entrepreneurs

More and better access to finance/credit is mentioned very frequently. Give a woman 1000 rupees and she can start a business. Give her another 1000 rupees and she will be able to feed not only for her family, but for her employees as well.

From the Center for International Enterprise to the Harvard Business Review, business experts have agreed for several years that the world needs to support the development of women entrepreneurs. Studies are showing that when women gain access to their own financial freedom, they are lifted out of poverty, children begin to become healthier, and the overall economic status of a country improves.

Why is it that women are uniquely positioned to improve the condition of a country's economy? Is it something about women's inherent social abilities, their position in society, or something more obvious?

Let's take a look at many of the co-occurring factors that create an increasing need for more women entrepreneurs in the global marketplace.

Economic Growth

There are only seven countries in the world where men and women own businesses at an equal rate. In most countries, women own significantly fewer businesses than men. Even in countries where women own a substantial portion of firms, they tend to perform at a lower level than businesses owned by men. In the United States, for example, women own about 30 percent of the businesses currently operating, but only employ around 6 percent of the workforce.

Bringing more women entrepreneurs into the marketplace, therefore, simply offers a chance for more successful businesses. In general, business ownership is not a zero-sum game; one company being successful does not inherently drive another out of business.

Women may be able to open businesses that cater to a different clientele or niche than their male counterparts. Overall, this accounts for improved economic growth and stability within a country.

Dramatic Target for Poverty Reduction

Organizations like the Brookings Institute have pointed out that entrepreneurship may be a way to support women who live in extreme poverty around the world. By removing barriers to entrepreneurship (credit, training, legal restrictions on property), women are able to gain incomes, advocate for their own independence, and take on a more full societal role in their culture.

Because many women are also parents, breaking the hold of poverty on the lives of women also helps to support children in nations that struggle with youth poverty.

Since removing the barriers to entrepreneurship are often easier than targeting entrenched cultural barriers that are based on religion, supporting the economic growth of women entrepreneurs is often a more advocacy-friendly goal.

Improved Innovation

Businesses owned by women are often subjected to a particularly interesting double standard.  It is important to note that no studies have found that women-owned businesses are more likely to fail than businesses owned by men.

Why are women more innovative than their male counterparts? There are many different theories put forth, from women having access to different niches than men, to having a different societal role and therefore different needs than men, to simply having a different understanding of usefulness.

Whatever the ultimate reason, it is clear that women entrepreneurs have a valuable and diverse perspective that will support the overall development of a robust global economy as we proceed farther into the 21st century.