2010 Women's Report - Global Entrepreneurship Monitor

Global Entrepreneurship monitorGlobal Entrepreneurship monitor2010 Women’s ReportDonna J. Kelley, Candida G. Brush, Patricia G. Greene and Yana Litovsky

Khiyal Abolahzadeh (Iran) owns and manages Anthemia Herb Production &Distribution Company, Ltd., a producer of health products comprising 69 speciesof herbs, including flowering tips, fruit, roots and rhizomes. Her company employs300 women.Ana Petrona González (Chile) operates González Los Arenales de Toconao, agastronomic eco-tourism business offering tours to San Pedro de Atacama, Toconao, andother areas in Chile, and introducing tourists to regional foods using local products.Andrea Carvajal (Chile) is cofounder of ARKANI EIRL. Her firm offers maintenanceand repair of hydraulic and pneumatic equipment for critical bolted joints: pumps, torquewrenches and impact wrenches.Patricia Paz Silva (Brazil) operates Moura & Paz Reciclagem, a recycling servicesbusiness. Photo courtesy of Andre Conti of FNQMaria de Fatima Santana de Oliveira (Brazil) participates in the Associacao deArtesaos de Tamboril, an artisans’ association. Photo courtesy of Andre Conti of FNQNikki Evans (Ireland) is the Founder and Managing Director of PerfectCard, whichprovides gift card programs for shopping centers and multinational and Irish corporateclients. Nikki employs 35 people and is expanding into export markets and developingPerfectCard’s range of services. Photo courtesy of Joanne EvansGrainne Barry (Ireland) is co-founder and managing director of AnotherFriend.com, anonline dating agency. She employs over 35 people.Dr Rehana Kassim (Malaysia) is the owner and founder of Rehanstat Sdn Bhd, amarket research firm offering customized market research including assessment andimpact study, ad tracking, brand research, consumer satisfaction research, segmentationresearch, marketing effectiveness research, purchase patterns, consumer needs, concepttesting and others. Rehanstat’s clients include public agencies and private companies.Aishah bin Mat Ali (Malaysia) produces soft toy cushions that are child-safe. Sheimports them from China and sells them directly to customers via kiosks she rents inshopping malls. Aishah also makes soft toys herself with a Malaysian theme, which sheintends to market at tourist spots in Kuala Lumpur. She employs two housewives on apart time basis to assist her. She has relied on her savings, rather than loans, to starther business.

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor2010 Report: Women Entrepreneurs WorldwideExecutive ReportDonna J. Kelley, Candida G. Brush, Patricia G. Greene, Yana LitovskyBabson College, Babson Park, MA, United StatesAlthough GEM data were used in the preparation of this report, their interpretation and use are thesole responsibility of the authors.The authors thank Marcia Cole and Mike Herrington for their help and encouragement with thisreport and they express their gratitude to all participating GEM 2010 national teams.The authors also thank the women who run the programs in countries around the world who arementioned in this report and all those many others who, while not specifically mentioned here, arestill much appreciated.© 2011 by Donna J. Kelley, Candida G. Brush, Patricia G. Greene, Yana Litovsky,Babson College, and the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association (GERA).1

Table of ContentsExecutive Summary 5Key Overall Findings 6Attitudes 6Activity 6Aspirations 7Impact of Recession 8Key Conclusions and Policy Implications 8Introduction 9Participating Economies by Development Level and Geographic Location 9Structure of the Report 10Societal Attitudes About Entrepreneurship 11Women’s Entrepreneurship Activity Levels and Characteristics 19Development-Level and Geographic Patterns in TEA Rates 19The Disparity in Women Versus Men Entrepreneurs Across the Globe and Over Time 20Necessity and Opportunity Motives 21Multi-Year Analysis of Necessity Motivation 24Industrial Sector 24Age Distribution of Women Entrepreneurs 26Education Levels 26The Role of Networks in Women’s Entrepreneurship and Business Ownership 29Established Business Rates 30Discontinued Business 32Women Entrepreneurs’ Aspirations for Growth, Innovation, and Internationalization 35Growth Expectations 35Innovation 36Internationalization 36Impact of the Global Economic Slowdown on Women Entrepreneurs 39Ease of Starting a Business 40Change in Growth Expectations 40Effect of the Global Economic Slowdown on Opportunity Perceptions 41Key Conclusions 42Women contribute significantly to entrepreneurship in all economies of the world. 42In developed economies in particular, necessity-based entrepreneurship may fill in employmentgaps during economic downturns. 422

Table of ContentsPolicy Implications 44Promote positive societal attitudes toward entrepreneurship, and in particular, women’s engagementin entrepreneurship. 44Assist women-run start-ups through the availability of opportunities and resources. 44Support women’s business growth with technical assistance and education. 44Appendix 1: Background on GEM and the GEM Model 45The GEM Model 46Appendix 2: Glossary of Main Measures and Terminology 48About the Authors 49GEM Sponsors 50Report Sponsors 51Contacts 51List of FiguresFigure 1 Relationship Between Perceived Capabilities and Opportunity Perceptions in theFemale Adult Population (Ages 18 to 64) in 59 Economies, 2010 13Figure 2 Comparison of Perceived Capabilities, Opportunity Perceptions, and Entrepreneurial Intentionsin the Female Adult Population (ages 18 to 64) in 59 Economies, Ranked within EconomicDevelopment Groups by Perceived Capabilities, 2010 15Figure 3 Fear of Failure Among Female and Male Adults (ages 18 to 64) Who Perceive GoodOpportunities for Entrepreneurship in 59 Economies, 2010 15Figure 4 Perceptions about Entrepreneurship as a Good Career Choice and in terms of Status and MediaAttention for Entrepreneurship Among Female Adults (ages 18 to 64) in 59 Economies, Rankedwithin Economic Development Groups by Career Perceptions, 2010 17Figure 5 Proportion of the Adult Female and Male Population (ages 18 to 64) Participating in TotalEarly-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) in 59 Economies, Ranked within Economic Group byLevel of Female Participation, 2010 19Figure 6 Female and Male Necessity Motives as a Percentage of TEA Entrepreneurs in 59 Economies,Ranked within Economic Group and Percentage of Female Necessity, 2010 21Figure 7 Female and Male Opportunity Motives as a Percentage of TEA Entrepreneurs in 59 Economies,Ranked within Economic Group by Percentage of Female Opportunity Motives, 2010 23Figure 8 Industrial Sector Participation for Female and Male Entrepreneurs by Economic Group in 59Economies, 2010 26Figure 9 Age Distribution of Female and Male Entrepreneurs by Economic Group in 59 Economies, 2010 27Figure 10 Sources of Advice for Female and Male Entrepreneurs and Business Owners in 37 Economies,2009 to 2010 29Figure 11 Female and Male Entrepreneurship and Established Business Ownership Rates in 59 Economies,Ranked within Economic Group by Female Established Business Ownership Rates, 2010 31A: Factor-Driven 31B: Efficiency-Driven 32C: Innovation-Driven 323

Table of ContentsFigure 12 Ratio of Discontinuance to Total Business Ownership (Nascent, New, Established) for Women andMen in 59 Economies, Ranked within Economic Group by Female Ratio, 2010 33Figure 13 Reasons for Discontinuing Businesses by Sex, 2010 34Figure 14 Job Growth Expectations for Women Early-Stage Entrepreneurs in 54 Economies, 2008 to 2010 35Figure 15 Level of Innovativeness for Women Entrepreneurs in 59 Economies, 2008 to 2010 37Figure 16 Internationalization Levels for Female Entrepreneurs in 59 Economies, 2008 to 2010 38Figure 17 Perceptions About the Presence of Opportunities Among Female Nascent andNew Entrepreneurs, and Women Business Owners in 59 Economies, 2010 41Figure A1 The Entrepreneurship Process and GEM Operational Definitions 45Figure A2 The GEM Model 47List of TablesTable 1 GEM Economies Classified by Development Level and Geographic Location, 2010 9Table 2 Entrepreneurship Attitudes for the Female and Male Adult Population (ages 18 to 64) in 59Economies, by Economic Development Level, 2010 12Table 3 Average Percentage of Female and Male Entrepreneurs, Established Business Owners andNon-Entrepreneurs With at Least a Post-Secondary Education, by Economic DevelopmentLevel in 59 Economies, 2010 28Table 4 Percentage of Early-Stage Female and Male Entrepreneurs Who Find Starting Businesses MoreDifficult in 38 Economies, 2009 and 2010 40Table 5 Percentage of Established Female and Male Business Owners with Lower Growth Expectationsin 38 Economies, 2009 and 2010 414

Executive SummaryIn 2010, 104 million women in 59 economies—whichrepresent more than 52% of the world’s populationand 84% of world GDP i —started and managed newbusiness ventures. These women entrepreneursmade up between 1.5 percent and 45.4 percent of theadult female population in their respective economies.Another 83 million women across those regions ranbusinesses they had launched at least three anda half years before. Together, these 187 millionexemplify the contribution women make to worldwideentrepreneurship and business ownership.At the same time, in only one of these 59 economiesdid more women participate in entrepreneurshipthan men. While most policymakers and academicsagree that entrepreneurship is a catalyst for economicgrowth and national competitiveness, they must alsoacknowledge that not all groups in their societies haveequal access to this endeavor. When a major part ofa population does not engage in entrepreneurship,these economies lose the benefits that would otherwisebe provided by new products and services, additionalrevenues, and new jobs. More specifically, whenwomen do not participate equally in entrepreneurship,society loses out on the value that can be created byhalf its populace.The purpose of the GEM Women’s report is toexamine women entrepreneurs around the world.The report seeks to understand differences in thefrequency and nature of women’s entrepreneurship,and makes comparisons with men across varioussocieties. Through interviews with more than90,000 women, GEM discovered over 14,000 womenentrepreneurs, studying their motivations forstarting ventures, as well as their ambitions forgrowth, innovation and expansion into internationalmarkets. The researchers also analyzed societalattitudes about entrepreneurship, paying particularattention to differences in perceptions among menand women. Furthermore, they explored the impactof the recession on views about starting and growingbusinesses among women and men entrepreneurs.For 12 years, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor(GEM) has surveyed the entrepreneurial attitudes,activities and aspirations of people around the world.It accomplishes this effort through the collaborativework of a consortium of national teams consistingof academic researchers from across the globe. Eachnational team oversees an annual survey of at least2,000 working-age adults (ages 18 to 64). In total,GEM surveyed more than 175,000 adults in 59economies during the summer of 2010.GEM’s inaugural survey in 1999 covered just 10developed economies. Since then, the consortium hasresearched more than 80 economies. Each year, GEMpublishes a global report that details the latest surveyresults from participating teams around the world.In addition, national teams produce reports coveringtheir particular economies. The GEM Women’s Reportis a special topic report that focuses on a key aspect ofentrepreneurship.The goal of this report is to help policy makers,practitioners and educators recognize the valuewomen entrepreneurs bring to their societies. GEMseeks to promote better understanding about thesimilarities and differences between men and womenentrepreneurs, as well as among various groups ofwomen. This report also aims to provide guidancefor efforts aimed toward equipping women withthe capabilities they need to launch and run theirbusinesses and creating environments within whichtheir ventures can thrive. Highlighted throughoutthis report are descriptions of different women’sentrepreneurship programs operating in a variety ofsocieties.5

Key Overall FindingsAttitudesAnalyses of society-wide attitudes aboutentrepreneurship 1 show that, overall, women infactor-driven 2 economies are most likely to perceiveopportunities in their area and have confidence intheir capabilities for entrepreneurship. They aremore likely to know an entrepreneur and to intend tostart a business, and they have a lower fear of failurecompared to women in economies with higher levels ofeconomic development. Additionally, people in factordriveneconomies demonstrate more positive attitudestoward entrepreneurship as a career choice, and tendto believe this endeavor is conferred with status andmedia attention. Those measures tend to decline aswealth increases.Compared to men, fewer women believe there arelots of opportunities for entrepreneurship and thatthey have the capabilities for this endeavor. Fewerwomen than men intend to start businesses and moreare dissuaded by fear of failure. These differences areeven starker in the innovation-driven economies. Thisindicates that, although men in the developed world areinfluenced by fear of failure, it is even more the casefor women. Moreover, while fewer men in advancedeconomies perceive opportunities and believe they havethe capabilities needed to start a business, even fewerwomen feel this way.An analysis of changes in perceptions aboutopportunities for entrepreneurship over the nineyears from 2002 to 2010 shows that shifts in women’sperceptions very closely mirrored those of men. Positivebeliefs about opportunities increased among women ineach of the six efficiency-driven economies. However,in ten of the twelve innovation-driven economies,positive perceptions about opportunities declined or,at best, increased only marginally. This trend likelycorresponds with the effects of the global economicdownturn toward the end of this period.ActivityTotal Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA)includes people in the process of starting a businessand those running businesses that are less than threeand a half years old. TEA rates are highest in factordriveneconomies and generally decline as economicdevelopment increases. At the very highest GDP levels,however, there is a slight upward trend in TEA levels.Women’s participation in entrepreneurial activityvaries widely around the globe, ranging from slightlymore than 1.5% of the women in the adult workingagepopulation (between ages 18 and 64) to as highas 45.4%. In the factor-driven economies, 19.9%of the women surveyed said they were starting orrunning new businesses; 9.7% said so in the efficiencydriveneconomies, and 3.9% in the innovation-driveneconomies.The proportion of entrepreneurs who are women variessignificantly across the economies, ranging from 16%in the Republic of Korea to 55% in Ghana. That is,for every five male entrepreneurs, there is one femaleentrepreneur in the Republic of Korea, but six inGhana.Across the 59 economies, only Ghana had morewomen entrepreneurs than men, and only a handfulof economies had about equal numbers of women andmen entrepreneurs; the vast majority had more menthan women. This trend remained constant across a setof eighteen economies that participated in GEM from2002 to 2010. Over time, the gap between men andwomen entrepreneurs increased in some economies anddecreased in others.The researchers detected notable geographic differencesin the factor-driven group. Middle East/North African(MENA) economies contain the lowest proportion ofwomen entrepreneurs; none report that more thanone third of their entrepreneurs are female. Theseeconomies also report low TEA rates. In Sub-SaharanAfrican economies, on the other hand, women makeup close to or more than half of entrepreneurs. Theseeconomies also have high TEA rates.In the efficiency-driven group, the lowest proportionof women entrepreneurs is found in Eastern Europe;this region also reports low TEA rates. (Russia is anexception; although TEA rates are low, women thererepresent 44% of total entrepreneurs.) The LatinAmerica/Caribbean region shows both a high proportionof women entrepreneurs and high TEA rates.In the innovation-driven group, women in the AsiaPacific economies exhibit both very low and veryhigh participation levels. Korea and Japan haveproportionately few women entrepreneurs, whileAustralia shows nearly equal levels of women and men.Women are most often motivated by necessity in thefactor-driven group, a trend that declines as economiesdevelop. Across all economic development levels,however, women are more likely than men to becomeentrepreneurs out of necessity. Therefore, whilenecessity motivates entrepreneurs to a great extent inless-developed economies, it motivates women to aneven higher degree.61Attitude measures were analyzed in the entire population to capture societal-wide attitudes. Intent was assessed in the non-entrepreneurpopulation to capture intent among those that had not, or had not yet, started businesses. Fear of failure was measured for those seeing goodopportunities—to determine the extent that fear of failure would prevent these individuals from pursuing these opportunities.2GEM groups the participating economies into three economic development levels: factor-driven, efficiency-driven, and innovation-driven. Theseare based on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report, which identifies three phases of economic development based onGDP per capita and the share of exports comprising primary goods. (http://www.weforum.org/reports)

Key Overall FindingsA multi-year analysis suggests that necessity hasdeclined as a motivating factor for women moreextensively than for men in the efficiency-driveneconomies. In 2010, more women in these economiescited opportunity rather than necessity as theirprimary motivation. This trend could mean either thatnecessity-motivated women have stopped becomingentrepreneurs as these economies developed, or thattheir motivations are shifting.For many of the innovation-driven economies, necessitymotives among women either showed little change orincreased over time. This trend also emerged amongmen, suggesting population-level, rather than genderlevel,explanations. It is likely that the economicdownturn affected both men and women equally inmany economies. Still, 72.3% of the women in thisgroup cite opportunity motives, much more than in theother two economic groups.An examination across industrial sectors showsthat both men and women were more likely to beentrepreneurs in the consumer sector, as opposed toextractive, transforming and business services. Thedifference, however, was much greater for women:Fewer than half of men entrepreneurs work in theconsumer sector, but nearly two-thirds of women do.Men participate in the transforming and businessservices sectors more frequently than women.Overall, more entrepreneurs fell in the 25- to34-year-old group than in any other age category.The factor-driven group includes comparatively moreentrepreneurs in the youngest age group (18 to 24years old). Conversely, entrepreneurs are older in theinnovation-driven group; fewer are in the two youngestage groups and more are 35 years old and older. Thistrend is more pronounced for women, for whom the35- to 44-year-old age group is the most prevalentage category in the innovation-driven economies; inaddition, there are more women than men among 45- to54-year-old entrepreneurs.Education levels among entrepreneurs increase witheconomic development: 46% of women entrepreneursin factor-driven economies have at least a secondaryleveleducation, whereas 81.7% do in innovation-driveneconomies. Compared to non-entrepreneur women,early-stage (TEA) women entrepreneurs are morelikely to have a secondary education (high schooldegree) or higher (some college, college degree, orgraduate degree). This difference is slight in factordriveneconomies but widens as economic developmentincreases.Among both entrepreneurs and established businessowners, men are more likely to have a secondary-leveleducation than women in the factor- and efficiencydriveneconomies. Women, however, appear to catchup and narrowly outpace men in the innovation-driveneconomies.Women entrepreneurs and business owners tendedto have smaller and less diverse networks than theirmale counterparts. They were more inclined to seekguidance from family, especially spouses. Men, on theother hand, tended to draw more heavily on the adviceof friends. They were also more likely than women toseek other network sources from business colleagues orprofessional advisors.More women start and run new businesses thanmanage established ones in all factor-driven economiesand in most efficiency-driven economies. In more thanhalf of the innovation-driven economies, however,more women were established business owners thanentrepreneurs. The pattern is similar for men acrossall economies. Similar to TEA rates, fewer women thanmen run established businesses.The ratio of discontinuance to total business ownership(nascent, new, and established) was highest amongwomen in the factor-driven economies, but decreasedin the efficiency-driven and even further in theinnovation-driven group. Women were less likelythan men to leave their business because it was notprofitable; they were slightly more likely to exit becausethey could not get financing. In addition, women wereless likely than men to exit because of another jobor business opportunity, but more likely to exit forpersonal reasons.AspirationsThe highest level of growth expectations amongwomen at the 5+ level (those who expected to addfive or more employees in five years) occurred in theefficiency-driven economies. The 20+ level (those whoexpected to add 20 or more employees in five years)sometimes saw a greater proportion of high growthwomen entrepreneurs where there were also fewerentrepreneurs overall. For example, some MENAeconomies in the factor-driven group and someEastern European economies in the efficiency-drivengroup had relatively few women entrepreneurs but aproportionately high level with 20+ growth ambitions.Growth expectations for women entrepreneurstended to be lower than for men at all three economicdevelopment levels. In the innovation-driveneconomies, twice as many men as women expected toadd 20 or more employees. Among men and womenentrepreneurs with 5+ growth aspirations in eighteeneconomies that have participated in most of the GEMcycles since 2002, women have had consistently lowergrowth aspirations than men.Innovation is measured as the extent to which anentrepreneur’s products and services are new tocustomers and new to the industry. (In other words,few or no competitors offer the same or similarproduct.) The proportion of women entrepreneurs withinnovative offerings tends to increase with economic7

Key Overall Findings8development: it is lowest at the factor-driven stage andhighest at the innovation-driven stage. A comparisonbetween sexes shows that, overall, women are about aslikely to offer innovative products or services as men,particularly in the innovation-driven economies.The degree of internationalization increases witheconomic development. Less than one quarter of thefactor-driven women entrepreneurs have at leastsome international customers, while more than halfof women entrepreneurs in the innovation-driveneconomies do. On average, men are more likely thanwomen to sell internationally at all development levels.Impact of the RecessionThe final section of the report examines the effect of themost recent recession on women’s entrepreneurship.Women entrepreneurs in efficiency-driven economieswere most pessimistic about starting businesses, whilewomen in innovation-driven economies were the leastpessimistic, even though the economic slowdown hadits roots in the developed world.In examining the 2009-2010 results, it appears thatimpressions about starting a business improved littleamong women in the factor-driven economies. Therewas more improvement for the efficiency-driven group,and a substantial improvement for the innovationdriveneconomies. While pessimism pervaded all threegroups in 2009, the gap between the innovation-driveneconomies and the other two widened substantially in2010.These results suggest that the global economicslowdown’s negative effect on impressions aboutstarting businesses may have subsided somewhat inthe wealthier economies by 2010 and that efficiencydrivenones may have experienced some spillover effect.The change for male efficiency-driven entrepreneurswas greater, however; men entrepreneurs were farmore optimistic than women in this middle group in2010.A comparison of established business owners’ futuregrowth expectations in 2009 and 2010 showedthat more women business owners in factor-driveneconomies saw diminished growth expectations. Thesewomen were more pessimistic than men, particularlyin 2009.Established women business owners in the innovationdriveneconomies were the least pessimistic in 2009.The following year, however, the efficiency-drivengroup saw an increase in optimism; women in thatgroup displayed a nearly identical degree of growthexpectations as women in the innovation-driven group.The shift was more dramatic among efficiency-drivenmen business owners, who shifted from the mostpessimistic to the most optimistic. Women establishedbusiness owners were more pessimistic than menacross all three economic development groups in 2010.Key Conclusions and PolicyImplicationsThe findings of this report can help policy makers,practitioners and educators understand thefrequency and nature of women’s entrepreneurshiparound the world. Following are some keyconclusions that arise from this report.1. In societies where women perceive that they havethe capabilities for entrepreneurship, they are morelikely to believe that entrepreneurial opportunitiesexist.2. Compared to men, women are equally likely to seeentrepreneurship as attractive, yet they lack positiveattitudes about their own personal capacities orinclinations for starting businesses, and they haveless personal contact with entrepreneurs.3. Overall, women are less likely to venture intoentrepreneurship than men; this trend is magnifiedin particular economies.4. Women entrepreneurs in less-developed economiesare more likely than men to be motivated bynecessity, but the gap may be starting to close.5. In developed economies, necessity-basedentrepreneurship may partially fill in employmentgaps during economic downturns.6. A key challenge for women entrepreneurs in earlydevelopment-stage economies is sustaining theirbusinesses beyond the startup and early phases.7. Networks of women entrepreneurs and businessowners are generally smaller and less diversethan those of their male counterparts, and womentend to draw more on their personal relationships,particularly family, than on other sources.8. Compared with their male peers, womenentrepreneurs in wealthier economies tend to beolder, as equally educated and as likely to createinnovative products; nonetheless, their growthexpectations are half those of men.We close the report with several policyrecommendations for promoting entrepreneurshipamong women.1. Promote societal attitudes toward entrepreneurship,and in particular, women’s engagement inentrepreneurship.2. Assist women-run business start-ups by makingopportunities and resources available.3. Support women’s business growth with technicalassistance and education.

IntroductionThis report is based on the Global EntrepreneurshipMonitor (GEM) research project. 3 With its particularfocus on women’s entrepreneurship, it recasts GEM’sthree main objectives as follows:• To measure differences in entrepreneurial attitudes,activity and aspirations among women across theparticipating economies, and to make comparisonswith men within these economies.• To uncover factors determining the nature and levelof women’s entrepreneurial activity.• To identify policy implications for enhancingwomen’s entrepreneurship in an economy.GEM is based on the following four premises: first, aneconomy’s prosperity is highly dependent on dynamicentrepreneurial activity. This is true across all stagesof economic development and geographic regions.Moreover, an economy’s entrepreneurship capacityrequires individuals with the abilities and motivationsto start businesses, but it is also enhanced by afoundation of positive societal perceptions about thisactivity. Consequently, entrepreneurs do not operate inisolation from their society, but thrive under its support.Second, entrepreneurship encompasses multiplephases: from having the ability and intent to startbusinesses to actually starting and then running newbusinesses. The cycle continues as entrepreneursbecome established business owners. Some, for variousreasons, may close their businesses, but go on to startanother business, support other entrepreneurs orcontribute in other ways to their societies. As such, itis important for economies to have entrepreneurs invarious stages of this cycle.Third, the individuals involved in starting businessescan themselves vary in terms of characteristics andinspiration. Entrepreneurship can involve all groupsin society, including women, people from a range ofage groups and education levels, and disadvantagedpopulations. Entrepreneurs may be motivated tostart their businesses out of necessity or becausean opportunity has sparked their initiative. Theymay choose particular industrial sectors in which tooperate. Entrepreneurship is therefore inclusive bynature, if not always in practice.Fourth, high-growth entrepreneurship is a keycontributor to new employment in an economy,although all entrepreneurs are important andnecessary. Additionally, innovative and cross-borderentrepreneurial ventures can enhance nationalcomparative advantage. Entrepreneurship thereforebrings wealth and well-being to the world.Participating Economiesby Development Level andGeographic LocationGEM groups the participating economies into threeeconomic development levels: factor-driven, efficiencydrivenand innovation-driven. These are based onthe World Economic Forum’s Global CompetitivenessReport, ii which identifies three phases of economicdevelopment based on GDP per capita and the shareof exports represented by primary goods.GEM additionally considers geographic factors,grouping countries into six geographic regions:sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and NorthAfrica (MENA), Latin America and the Caribbean,Eastern Europe, Asia/Pacific, and the United Statesand Western Europe. With these groupings, wecan compare economies across similar developmentlevels and geographic locations. The economic andgeographic groupings are shown in Table 1.Table 1–GEM Economies Classified by Development Level and Geographic Location, 2010Factor-Driven Efficiency-Driven Innovation-DrivenSub-Saharan Africa Angola, Ghana, Uganda, Zambia South AfricaMiddle East/ North AfricaLatin Americaand CaribbeanEastern EuropeEgypt, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia,West Bank and GazaJamaica, Guatemala, BoliviaTunisiaArgentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, CostaRica, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Trinidadand Tobago, UruguayBosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,Hungary, Latvia, Macedonia,Montenegro, Romania, Russia, TurkeyIsraelSloveniaAsia Pacific Vanuatu Malaysia, China, Taiwan Australia, Japan, Republic of KoreaUnited Statesand Western EuropeBelgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands,Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden,Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States3For more information on the GEM methodology and framework, refer to Appendix 1. For a glossary of main measures and terminology,see Appendix 2.9

IntroductionStructure of the ReportDrawing on the 2010 GEM survey, this reportprovides insights into the entrepreneurial activities,aspirations and attitudes of women in 59 economies.It makes comparisons among women across the 59economies and between men and women within theseeconomies. We focus primarily on data collected in2010. Yet, for the first time we also highlight somemulti-year trends among a subset of economies thathave participated in GEM for the years 2002 to 2010.The report starts with a comparison of societalwideattitudes about entrepreneurship. We analyzeattitudes among women from different economiesand investigate differences by sex. In examiningattitudes, the GEM survey includes questions aboutthe presence of good entrepreneurship opportunities inone’s area, beliefs about one’s capabilities for startinga business, fear of failure, perceptions about thestatus of entrepreneurs and their media image, theattractiveness of entrepreneurship as a career choiceand, finally, intent to start a business.We then present an overview of entrepreneurialactivity for men and women in the 59 participatingeconomies, showing Total Early-Stage EntrepreneurialActivity (TEA, which includes individuals in theprocess of starting a business and those runningnew businesses less than 3 1/2 years old). This alsocontains a discussion of the relationship between maleand female TEA rates and economic developmentlevel: the latter expressed as GDP per capita andadjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP).This section also considers motivations for startingbusinesses, comparing women from differenteconomies and examining gender differences withinthe economies, based on necessity and opportunitymotives. This is followed by a study of the educationlevels, ages and networks of entrepreneurs, as wellas the industrial sectors in which they operate. Thissection closes with an analysis of established businessrates and the rates and reasons for discontinuingbusinesses.The next section discusses the aspirations ofwomen entrepreneurs, making comparisonsacross economies and to men. It analyzes growthprojections of entrepreneurs in 2010, with additionalinformation on the evolution of these ambitionsbetween 2002 and 2010. This section of the reportconcludes by examining levels of innovation andinternationalization efforts.The final section of the report includes an analysisof entrepreneurship and the global economy in 2010.It explores the perceptions of entrepreneurs aboutthe difficulties of starting and growing a business,and beliefs about the presence of opportunities in achallenging and uncertain economic environment. Thereport closes with a summary of key conclusions andimplications for policy.10

Societal Attitudes About EntrepreneurshipA strong entrepreneurial economy requires thesupport of a range of stakeholders. Together, thesestakeholders can build and sustain a healthy economicenvironment in which entrepreneurship can thrive.Such stakeholders can include investors, bankers,customers, suppliers, service providers, familymembers and others. Societal-level attitudes aretherefore important because entrepreneurs depend onmany people in their communities.This section explores attitudes about entrepreneurshipamong the entire adult working population (ages 18to 64). In this sense, GEM captures general societallevelattitudes about entrepreneurship. Among theattitudes assessed are the following:• Perception that there are opportunities forentrepreneurship in one’s area• For those who perceive opportunities, would theybe discouraged from pursuing these opportunitiesbecause of fear of failure?• Belief one has the capabilities to start a business• Whether an individual knows an entrepreneur• Intent to start a business among non-entrepreneurs 4• View that entrepreneurship is a good career choice• Perception that entrepreneurs are afforded highstatus in one’s society• Awareness that entrepreneurs receive attention inthe mediaPromoting WomenEntrepreneurs in IranBy Leyla SarfarazGEM IranIn Iran, women face no historical or legal/official barrier toeconomic participation. And while women make up nearlyhalf the population, they currently outnumber men by afactor of two at the university undergraduate level. Still,there are few women entrepreneurs relative to men. Thisresult is due, at least in part, to cultural expectations forwomen, a lack of business skills, and financial barriers.Khiyal Abolahzadeh, Anthemia HerbProduction & Distribution Company, Ltd.The Women’s EmploymentBureau at the Ministry ofLabor and Social Securityorganizes entrepreneurshipseminars, forums, andworkshops for women.Iran is also a member of theForum for Businesswomen inIslamic Countries, organizedby the Islamic Chamberalong with the IslamicDevelopment Bank.Several NGOs have been established in recent years topromote women’s entrepreneurship, including the Womenand Youth Entrepreneurship Development Foundation(www.foundationed.net), the Women Entrepreneurs’Network (www.iranzanan.com), and the WomenEntrepreneurs Association (www.ea.wenet.ir).The Women’s Employment Bureau at the Ministry ofLabor and Social Security organizes entrepreneurshipseminars, forums, and workshops for women. Iran is alsoa member of the Forum for Businesswomen in IslamicCountries, organized by the Islamic Chamber alongwith the Islamic Development Bank. This group offersentrepreneurship workshops for women on a regularbasis. Alzahra University (http://jahad-alzahra.blogfa.com/post-415.aspx) and the Khorshid EntrepreneurshipSchool (www.khorshidschool.org) offer free training inentrepreneurship for women.The visibility of successful women entrepreneurs in maleorientedbusinesses and the award ceremonies held bythe government to honor successful women entrepreneursare changing the way the Iranian society views women’sentrepreneurship.114Knowing an entrepreneur and intent to start a business are included in this section, although they are not explicitly classified as attitudes.Nonetheless, along with the other measures, they relate to one’s perceptions, abilities and readiness for entrepreneurship.

Societal Attitudes About EntrepreneurshipTable 2 shows the average measures of attitudesacross all three economic development levels. Overall,women in factor-driven economies have the highestperceptions about the prevalence of opportunities intheir area and their capabilities for entrepreneurship.They are more likely to know an entrepreneur andhave intentions to start businesses. The differencesbetween the innovation-driven and factor-driveneconomies are quite dramatic. In innovation-driveneconomies, the percentage of women with positiveperceptions about opportunities and their capabilitiesis around half that of women in factor-driveneconomies. Compared with the factor-driven group,women in the innovation-driven economies are onethird less likely to know an entrepreneur. They areless than one-sixth as likely to have entrepreneurialintentions than those at the factor-driven stage.Less dramatic but certainly notable is the higherfear of failure that can be observed with greaterdevelopment levels. Additionally, perceptions aboutentrepreneurship as a career choice, as well as statusand media attention for entrepreneurs, declinewith greater economic wealth. This is interestingwhen noting that entrepreneurship declines aseconomic development level increases. At thesame time, there are more career opportunities forwomen in the developed world. Considering thatthere are proportionately more opportunity-basedentrepreneurs, who tend to be associated withambitions to grow companies, seek internationalcustomers and commercialize innovations,entrepreneurship may be a more selective careeroption in those economies.Given this, it is important to acknowledge thatattitudes may reflect different images of the averagebusiness. As the following section on entrepreneurialactivity reports, factor-driven economies have morenecessity-based and consumer-oriented entrepreneurs.People with no other choices for work may veryactively look for ways to start businesses as a meansfor survival. Additionally, they may seek thosebusinesses in which they have the capabilities to start.With few other work options, they may feel little riskassociated with such an effort. In contrast, innovationdriveneconomies tend to have highly competitiveenvironments and a concentration of knowledge-basedbusinesses. As such, they have a higher share ofopportunity-based entrepreneurs and entrepreneurscompeting in the business services sector.Additionally, the opportunity costs for individualsconsidering entrepreneurship is higher in theinnovation-driven group. When an economy is earlyon the development scale, there are fewer employmentoptions. Creating one’s own job may be seen as anoble effort. In the developed world, entrepreneurialopportunities compete with careers in corporations,NGOs, government, and other organizations.Entrepreneurs often share high status and attentionwith corporate CEOs.Table 2–Entrepreneurship Attitudes for the Female and Male Adult Population (ages 18 to 64) in59 Economies, by Economic Development Level, 2010Average:Factor-driven EconomiesAverage: Efficiency-drivenEconomiesAverage:Innovation-driven EconomiesPerceived Opportunities Perceived capabilities Know an entrepreneur Fear of failure*FEMALE MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE MALE58.9 64.2 64.6 77.5 50.3 62.5 31.5 27.341.0 44.9 49.9 61.8 40.0 50.7 35.1 28.929.5 37.1 35.2 53.2 31.1 41.2 37.9 29.912Average:Factor-driven EconomiesAverage: Efficiency-drivenEconomiesAverage:Innovation-driven EconomiesEntrepreneurship as agood career choiceEntrepreneurialintentions **High Status to successfulentrepreneursMedia attention forentrepreneurshipFEMALE MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE MALE75.8 74.8 39.2 46.1 80.6 81.2 66.2 64.673.2 72.5 19.9 27.1 70.2 69.4 63.3 61.658.1 60.1 6.0 10.5 70.5 70.1 54.7 55.9* Denominator: 18- to 64-year-old population perceiving good opportunities to start a business** Denominator: 18- to 64-year-old population that is not involved in entrepreneurial activity

Societal Attitudes About EntrepreneurshipA comparison between sexes reveals that women ineach economy have, on average, lower perceptionsabout opportunities and capabilities, lower intentionsand higher fear of failure than men. This differenceis even greater in the innovation-driven economies.This finding indicates that, although men in thedeveloped world are influenced by fear of failure, theinfluence is stronger for women. Further, while menat this development stage are less likely to perceiveopportunities and believe they have the capabilitiesto start businesses, even fewer women have theseperceptions.On the other hand, women across all economicdevelopment levels are about equally likely as mento perceive entrepreneurship as a good career choice,to believe successful entrepreneurs are afforded highstatus and to state that entrepreneurship receivesattention in the media. They are less likely, however,to know an entrepreneur personally.Figure 1 shows the relationship between perceivedcapabilities and opportunity perceptions. 5 Thisrelationship suggests that societies with women whobelieve they have the capabilities for entrepreneurshipare more likely to have women who see opportunitiesfor starting businesses.Figure 1–Relationship Between Perceived Capabilities and Opportunity Perceptions in the Female AdultPopulation (ages 18-64) in 59 Economies, 201090.080.070.060.0Perceived Opportunities (Female)50.040.030.0R² = 0.5720.010.00.00.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0Perceived Capabilities (Female)Figure 2 shows capabilities, opportunity perceptionsand entrepreneurial intent by economic developmentlevel. Across the factor-driven economies, capabilities,opportunity and intent were lower for women in theMENA economies and higher in the Sub-Saharan Africaregions. In the efficiency-driven group, Eastern Europetends toward lower attitudes, while Latin Americareported higher perceptions on these measures.In the Asia/Pacific economies, Taiwan, Malaysia andChina tend to show lower perceptions of capabilities,opportunities and intent among the efficiency-driveneconomies. Japan and Korea exhibited the lowest5p

Societal Attitudes About EntrepreneurshipWomen EntrepreneurAmbassadors in SwedenBy Ulrika Stuart HamiltonCecilia Bergh, Mando Group…the Swedish Agencyfor Economic andRegional Growthidentified more than 800women entrepreneurs toserve as “ambassadors”to bring greater visibilityto women entrepreneurs.GEM SwedenThe Government Ambassador’s program was initiated in 2008 bythe Swedish government to enable the growth and developmentof women’s entrepreneurship. Recognizing that the majorityof people in Sweden associate entrepreneurship with men andthe fact that only 25% of all businesses are run by women, theSwedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth identifiedmore than 800 women entrepreneurs to serve as “ambassadors” tobring greater visibility to women entrepreneurs.The ambassadors share stories and lessons from their experiencein schools, online, at conferences and with various organizationsand associations. A key emphasis lies in representing a rangeof entrepreneurs (age, background, industry, experience) withinthese corps, to help women better identify themselves withthese ambassadors. The ambassadors also blog about issues ofimportance to them. In addition, they cultivate contacts amongSwedish women entrepreneurs, strengthening bonds andensuring mutual support within this network.For more information on the Swedish GovernmentAmbassador’s program, see: www.ambassadorer.se/wiki/onwebbplatsen.14A multi-year analysis of opportunity perceptionsfor the nine years from 2002 to 2010 shows that, ineach of the six efficiency-driven economies studied,perception of opportunities increased among females,most substantially and consistently in Chile andSouth Africa. The changes for women over time inpositive opportunity perceptions mirrored very closelythe changes reported for men in these economies.Like the efficiency-driven economies, changesin opportunity perceptions among women in theinnovation-driven economies paralleled those of men.The difference between sexes was generally muchgreater in the innovation-driven economies, however.Belgium, the United States, and Norway stand outamong those economies as places where womenexhibited much lower opportunity perceptions thanmen. What’s also notable is that there was a decline,or just a slight increase, in opportunity perceptionsover time in every innovation-driven economyexcept Germany and Norway. This decline was mostnoticeable in Spain. This trend may correspond withthe effects of the global recession.Figure 3 shows the level of fear of failure amongwomen and men across the sample. Among womenin the factor- and efficiency-driven economies, thehighest levels were found in the MENA and EasternEuropean regions. In addition, women tended to showa substantially greater fear of failure compared tomen in these economies. In the Sub-Saharan Africaand Latin America/Caribbean regions, fear of failurewas generally low among women, with less differencebetween the sexes. Among the exceptions wereTurkey, where women showed a low fear of failure(men were even lower) and Brazil, which reflecteda high fear of failure among women (Brazilian menreported an average level on this measure).In the Asia-Pacific region, Chinese women showed alower than average fear of failure and close to the samelevel as men. Taiwan and Malaysia showed a muchhigher level, but the levels were similar for both sexes.Innovation-driven economies displayed a divide betweenthe sexes, however. Men in Japan were below average,while women were above average on this measure.Australian and Korean women displayed some of thehighest levels of fear of failure in this economic group,while men showed about average levels.

Societal Attitudes About EntrepreneurshipFigure 2–Comparison of Perceived Capabilities, Opportunity Perceptions, and Entrepreneurial Intentions in theFemale Adult Population (ages 18-64) in 59 Economies, Ranked within Economic Development Groups byPerceived Capabilities, 2010250.0200.0150.0100.050.00.0PakistanWest Bank & Gaza StripEgyptIranSaudi ArabiaGuatemalaGhanaAngolaBoliviaZambiaJamaicaVanuatuUgandaRussiaTaiwanMalaysiaRomaniaChinaHungaryTurkeySouth AfricaLatviaTunisiaCroatiaMacedoniaBosnia and HerzegovinaBrazilArgentinaColombiaChileMontenegroCosta RicaMexicoUruguayEcuadorPeruTrinidad and TobagoJapanKoreaNorwayFranceDenmarkIsraelGermanyFinlandNetherlandsSwedenSwitzerlandBelgiumIcelandItalyGreeceIrelandPortugalUnited KingdomAustraliaSpainSloveniaUnited StatesFactor-Driven Efficiency-Driven Innovation-Driven**intentions measured for non-entrepreneurs onlyPerceived Capabilities (Female) Perceived Opportunities (Female) Entrepreneurial Intentions ** (Female)Figure 3–Fear of Failure Among Female and Male Adults (ages 18-64) Who Perceive Good Opportunities forEntrepreneurship in 59 Economies, 2010Fear of Failure (Male)Fear of Failure (Female)70.060.050.040.030.020.010.00.0GhanaZambiaUgandaGuatemalaBoliviaEgyptJamaicaAngolaPakistanIranVanuatuWest Bank & Gaza StripSaudi ArabiaTrinidad andArgentinaChileSouth AfricaColombiaTurkeyUruguayBosnia and HerzegovinaChinaTunisiaEcuadorMexicoCosta RicaMacedoniaPeruMontenegroBrazilCroatiaRussiaTaiwanMalaysiaLatviaHungaryRomaniaSwedenNetherlandsNorwaySloveniaPortugalSwitzerlandFinlandUnited StatesDenmarkUnited KingdomIcelandJapanSpainIrelandBelgiumItalyGermanyAustraliaKoreaFranceIsraelGreeceFactor-driven Efficiency-driven Innovation-driven15

Societal Attitudes About EntrepreneurshipGoing for Growth in theRepublic of IrelandBy Paula FitzsimonsGEM IrelandThe Going for Growth initiative in Ireland started in 2008with the aim to inspire women entrepreneurs to pursuegrowth for their businesses and to provide support for theseefforts. It is funded by the European Social Fund, EnterpriseIreland, and the Department of Justice and Equality. It isopen to women who have run a business for at least two years,own 50% or more of their companies, and are focused ongrowth.Nikki Evans, PerfectCardPhoto courtesy of Joanne EvansThe LeadEntrepreneurs sharetheir experiencesand facilitate discussionamong participantsfacing commonchallenges.Women business owners participate in monthly roundtablesled by Lead Entrepreneurs: women who have built andgrown successful businesses. These volunteers meet indifferent locations around Ireland with small groups ofwomen owner-managers to provide advice and support in thedevelopment of their businesses. The roundtables are practiceoriented,providing participants with lessons on what hasworked and what hasn’t worked in real-life situations. TheLead Entrepreneurs share their experiences and facilitatediscussion among participants facing common challenges.Over 150 women entrepreneurs have benefited fromparticipation in previous cycles of Going for Growth. Theyreport that the round table sessions led them to makepractical changes in their businesses, and helped them achievetheir growth goals. Enterprise Ireland is also supporting afollow-on initiative Continuing the Momentum for selectedparticipants who have completed a cycle of Going for Growthand continue to be focused on achieving growth. The programwas included among the 2009 EU Good Practices, and votedinto the Top 10 of those initiatives. It was also selected torepresent Ireland at the 2011 European Enterprise Awards.For more information on Going for Growth, go to: www.goingforgrowth.com.16

Societal Attitudes About EntrepreneurshipFigure 4–Perceptions about Entrepreneurship as a Good Career Choice in terms of Status and Media Attention forEntrepreneurship Among Female Adults (ages 18-64) in 59 Economies, Ranked within Economic DevelopmentGroups by Career Perceptions, 2010300.0Media Attention for Entrepreneurship (Female)High Status to Successful Entrepreneurs (Female)Entrepreneurship as a Good Career Choice (Female)250.0200.0150.0100.050.00.0VanuatuBoliviaIranAngolaZambiaGuatemalaPakistanEgyptUgandaJamaicaSaudi ArabiaWest Bank & Gaza StripGhanaHungaryMalaysiaLatviaUruguayCosta RicaRussiaRomaniaTaiwanChinaCroatiaMexicoMacedoniaTurkeyBosnia and HerzegovinaBrazilArgentinaMontenegroSouth AfricaTrinidad and TobagoPeruEcuadorTunisiaChileColombiaJapanFinlandIcelandIrelandUnited KingdomGermanySloveniaAustraliaNorwaySwedenBelgiumIsraelGreeceUnited StatesSwitzerlandKoreaFranceSpainPortugalItalyNetherlandsFactor-Driven Efficiency-Driven Innovation-DrivenFigure 4 shows beliefs about entrepreneurship asa career choice and perceptions about the statusand positive media attention for entrepreneurs.Rankings within economic development group are inorder of increasing career perceptions. Saudi Arabia,Ghana (both factor-driven) and Tunisia (efficiencydriven)stand out for having high levels of all threeperceptions among women. We might infer thatentrepreneurship is both favored and admired in theseeconomies. In contrast, Croatia (efficiency-driven),Japan and Belgium (both innovation-driven) rate lowon all three of these measures.In some economies, women think entrepreneurshipis a good career choice, despite lower perceptionsabout status and media attention. Chile (efficiencydriven)and Italy (innovation-driven) could be citedas examples. In these countries, entrepreneurship isconsidered a worthy job alternative, but there seemsto be little visibility or glamour attached to it.On the other hand, there are economies whereentrepreneurship is not preferred as a career, butthere is high status and media recognition associatedwith it. Malaysia (efficiency-driven) and Finland(innovation-driven) exemplify this combination offactors. In these economies, other entrepreneurs areadmired and popular, but women are nonetheless notinclined to pursue this path.17

Societal Attitudes About EntrepreneurshipAcademy ofEntrepreneurialDevelopment in SouthAfricaBy Mike HerringtonThis full-time, six-monthprogram teaches basic lifeskills, numeracy, literacy andbusiness skills. Since its start,almost 80% of the graduateseither get full-time employment,go on to further education orstart their own businesses.GEM South AfricaIn 2005, South African businessman and philanthropistRaymond Ackerman provided an endowment to startthe Raymond Ackerman Academy of EntrepreneurialDevelopment in partnership with the City of CapeTown and the University of Cape Town. The academyoffers young aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunityto develop skills needed to start and operate theirown businesses, find employment, or pursue furthereducation. The course is highly subsidised to makeit accessible to capable people from disadvantagedcommunities, attracting high participation amongwomen (60% of the participants are female).This full-time, six month program teaches basic lifeskills,numeracy, literacy and business skills. Sinceits start, almost 80% of the graduates either get fulltime employment, go on to further education or starttheir own businesses. In 2009 the Raymond AckermanAcademy, in partnership with Goldman Sach’s 10,000Women program, expanded the academy to Soweto, justoutside Johannesburg.18

Women’s Entrepreneurship Activity Levels and CharacteristicsGEM identifies, among the individuals it surveys,those that are involved in starting and runningbusinesses. These individuals are classified bybusiness phase: nascent entrepreneurs in the processof starting businesses, new entrepreneurs runningbusinesses less than 3 1/2 years old and owners/managers of established businesses (more than3 1/2 years old). The first two measures of businessactivity—nascent and new—are equated withentrepreneurship and are represented as TotalEntrepreneurial Activity (TEA).Development-Level andGeographic Patterns in TEA RatesWomen’s participation in entrepreneurial activityvaries widely across the globe, ranging from just over1.5% to 45.4% of the adult women in an economy. Inthe factor-driven economies, 19.9% of women betweenthe ages of 18 and 64 say they are starting or runningnew businesses. This figure was 9.7% in the efficiencydriveneconomies and 3.9% in the innovation-driveneconomies.Figure 5 shows the percentages of entrepreneurs inthe female and male population for each economy.There are, on average, more men than womenentrepreneurs at each economic development level.The gap between women and men decreases witheconomic development level, however, and movesfrom 5.2 percentage points lower for women than menentrepreneurs at the factor-driven stage to a 4 pointdifference in the efficiency-driven stage and 3.4 in theinnovation-driven stage.The ratio of female to male entrepreneurs variesconsiderably across the sample: from 1:5 in theRepublic of Korea to 6:5 in Ghana. This means thatfor every five male entrepreneurs there is one femaleentrepreneur in the Republic of Korea but six inGhana.In the factor-driven group, MENA economies havethe fewest women entrepreneurs relative to menentrepreneurs, with none reporting that more than 1/3of their entrepreneurs are female. These economiesalso report low overall TEA rates. In the Sub-SaharanAfrican economies, on the other hand, women makeup close to, or more than, half of entrepreneurs. Theseeconomies also have high TEA rates.In the efficiency-driven group, the lowest proportionof women entrepreneurs is found in Eastern Europe.Russia is an exception, however; women thererepresent 44% of total entrepreneurs. The EasternEuropean economies also tend to exhibit low TEArates. The Latin America/Caribbean region showsboth a high relative number of women entrepreneursand high TEA rates.In the innovation-driven group, Asia Pacific economiesexhibit among the lowest and highest levels ofwomen’s entrepreneurship, showing the most diversespread with regard to participation in this activity.Korea and Japan have among the fewest numbers ofwomen entrepreneurs in the entire sample and alsolow ratios of women to men entrepreneurs. Australia,on the other hand, shows both a high level of womenentrepreneurs and a high ratio of women to menparticipating in entrepreneurship. In the efficiencygroup, Malaysia also has a high percentage of womenentrepreneurs. China, and to a lesser extent Taiwan,show moderately high levels. The U.S./WesternEuropean group ranges from Norway, where onefourth of the entrepreneurs are women, to the UnitedStates, where nearly half are women.706050403020100Figure 5–Proportion of the Adult Female and Male Population (ages 18-64) Participating in Total Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) in 59 Economies, Ranked within Economic Group by Level of FemaleParticipation, 2010PakistanIranEgyptSaudi ArabiaWest Bank and Gaza StripJamaicaGuatemalaZambiaUgandaAngolaBoliviaGhanaVanuatuRomaniaRussiaTurkeyCroatiaMacedoniaTunisiaBosnia and HerzegovinaHungaryMalaysiaTaiwanLatviaSouth AfricaUruguayMexicoMontenegroArgentinaChinaCosta RicaTrinidad and TobagoChileBrazilColombiaEcuadorPeruJapanItalyKoreaDenmarkSloveniaGermanyPortugalSpainBelgiumIsraelSwedenNorwayFinlandIrelandGreeceNetherlandsUnited KingdomSwitzerlandFranceUnited StatesIcelandAustraliaFactor-Driven Economies Efficiency-Driven Economies Innovation-Driven EconomiesTEA MaleTEA Female19

Women’s Entrepreneurship Activity Levels and CharacteristicsThe Disparity in Women VersusMen Entrepreneurs Across theGlobe and Over TimeAcross the 59 economies studied, only one economy hadproportionately more women than men entrepreneurs,and only a handful had equal proportions of womenand men. The vast majority of economies had more menthan women entrepreneurs. Since, for various reasons,there are far fewer women engaging in entrepreneurialactivity, starting and running businesses is apredominantly male occupation. This finding indicatesthat, with very few exceptions, nearly every society—nomatter what its level of entrepreneurship—is not fullybenefiting from the enterprising activities of half theirworking age population.This pattern was also observed in a nine-year analysisof a select group of economies from 2002 to 2010. 6 Inall eighteen economies, new firm ownership for womenstarted and ended at lower levels than men. In China,a gender gap opened up; women started out almostequally likely to participate in entrepreneurship, butdid not keep up with the marked increase in maleentrepreneurship and ended this period with a largegap. Conversely, in Brazil and Argentina, a wide gendergap at the beginning of this period closed markedly bythe end—almost entirely for Brazil. In Europe, threecountries located closely together—Belgium, Germany,and Denmark—showed a narrowed gender gap bythe end of the period of observation. For Denmark,this occurred as male entrepreneurship experienceda significant drop, while female entrepreneurshipremained more or less steady.Training and Mentoring Womenin MalaysiaBy Datin Rehana KassimAishah bin Mat Ali,soft toy cushionsThe women aregiven skills-basedtraining integralto running homebasedbusinessesor small retailbusinesses.GEM MalaysiaThe Federation of Women Entrepreneur Associations Malaysia (FEM)consists of nine different organizations, of which the National Associationof Women Entrepreneurs of Malaysia (NAWEM) is a member. Officiallylaunched in 1994, its mission is to encourage, support, and inspire womenin business, provide them with leadership abilities, and facilitate thetransformation of the role of women in business into a dynamic force inMalaysia.NAWEM’s funding comes from the public sector (the Ministry of Women,Family and Community Development), the private sector (Star Foundation,Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corporation (HSBC) and NAWEM’s own fundraisingactivities (for instance, a Members’ Networking Day and the NAWEMTrust Fund).Among the main initiatives undertaken by NAWEM is training. The HSBC-NAWEM Capacity and Capability Building Program for women entrepreneursis one example. This program is aimed at training and mentoring women fromfinancially challenged low-income groups. Launched in April 2011, NAWEMhas received a grant of RM 150,000 to train 40 women in 2011.The women are given skills-based training integral to running home-basedbusinesses or small retail businesses. This includes floral design, basic sewing,beauty training and pastry preparation. These skills are complemented withancillary training such as basic book-keeping, IT, communications, language,and other skills (for example developing an entrepreneurial mindset andattitude). A tracking system is put in place to gauge the women’s pre-training,post-training as well as monitoring of the women’s performance for two yearsafter completing the program.206These economies were chosen because they had participated in GEM for most of the nine years from 2002 to 2010. The data were aggregated into three threeyearperiods to smooth out year-to-year differences and to allow for the inclusion of some economies that skipped a year of data collection during this period.Included in this analysis were 6 efficiency-driven economies (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Hungary, South Africa) and 12 innovation-driven economies(Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, United Kingdom, United States).

Women’s Entrepreneurship Activity Levels and CharacteristicsNecessity and OpportunityMotivesGEM asked all entrepreneurs about their primarymotivation for starting a business, whether due tonecessity or opportunity. Those with necessity motivesentered entrepreneurship mostly because they hadno other options for work, while entrepreneurs withopportunity motives chose to pursue an opportunity.In general, those with necessity motives can beviewed as having been pushed into entrepreneurship.Opportunity-motivated entrepreneurs, on theother hand, can be seen as having been pulled intoentrepreneurship.Necessity-driven entrepreneurship, particularly inless developed regions or among those experiencingjob losses, can help an economy benefit from selfemploymentinitiatives and the subsequent creationof jobs for others when fewer work options areavailable. More developed economies, on the otherhand, can leverage their wealth and innovationcapacity, yet they also offer more employmentoptions to attract those that might otherwise becomeentrepreneurs. Therefore, fewer individuals ventureinto entrepreneurship, but those that do so are morelikely motivated by opportunity.Necessity motivations are highest in the factor-driveneconomies, where 36.6% of women entrepreneurs citenecessity motives. This proportion declines in theefficiency-driven group (33.8%) and in the innovationdriveneconomies (23.6%). On average, women are4 percentage points more likely to be motivated bynecessity than men; the difference is highest in thefactor-driven group (5.6 percentage points higher)and lowest in the innovation-driven group (2.4percentage points higher). As economies develop,entrepreneurship tends to decline because societyprovides more employment options. Because there aremore jobs, a lower percentage of entrepreneurs arenecessity-driven, while the proportion of opportunitybasedentrepreneurship increases.Figure 6 shows the percentage of necessity-motivatedTEA entrepreneurs that are male and female. Theeconomies are grouped by economic development level.Within each group, the countries are ranked by levelof female necessity motives as a percentage of TEA.Figure 6–Female and Male Necessity Motives as a Percentage of TEA Entrepreneurs in 59 Economies, Rankedwithin Economic Group and Percentage of Female Necessity, 201070.060.050.040.030.020.010.00.0Necessity-Driven (% of TEA) (Male)Necessity-Driven (% of TEA) (Female)Saudi ArabiaGuatemalaBoliviaWest Bank & Gaza StripPakistanZambiaEgyptAngolaIranVanuatuGhanaJamaicaUgandaMalaysiaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaPeruMexicoHungaryEcuadorLatviaRomaniaBrazilCroatiaRussiaCosta RicaChileUruguayArgentinaMontenegroTaiwanSouth AfricaColombiaChinaTurkeyBosnia and HerzegovinaMacedoniaNetherlandsUnited KingdomIcelandItalySwitzerlandSwedenDenmarkSloveniaBelgiumFinlandFranceAustraliaIsraelKoreaPortugalIrelandSpainNorwayGermanyGreeceUnited StatesJapanFactor-Driven Efficiency-Driven Innovation-DrivenIn contrast to necessity motives, which are highestin the factor-driven economies, opportunitymotivations are highest in the innovation-drivengroup; 72.3% of the women entrepreneurs in thisgroup cite opportunity motives. The factor-driveneconomies report far fewer women entrepreneurswith opportunity-based motives (58.5%). Whilewomen were more likely than men to be motivated bynecessity in each economy, opportunity motives weremore prevalent among men. Overall, men were 4.3percentage points more likely to report this motiveacross the entire sample.21

Women’s Entrepreneurship Activity Levels and CharacteristicsSupporting SocialEndeavors in ChileBy Gianni Romani andJose Ernesto AmorosAndrea Carvajal, ARKANI EIRL…in Antofagasta, in thenorthern region of Chile,28 women micro-businessowners participated in aone-year training programto implement aQuality Management Modelin their businesses.This addressed business planningand management, how toobtain and interpret feedbackfrom customers, makingimprovements in production andsales, managing personnel, andunderstanding legislation.GEM ChileThe Solidarity and Social InvestmentFund (FOSIS), under the Chilean PlanningMinistry, has, since 2007, offered a nationallevelinitiative called the Support Programfor Social Endeavours in all regions of Chile.The program’s objective is to improve theentrepreneurial skills of people with serviceenterprises that provide social value for theircommunities. By making their businessesmore sustainable, this program aims toincrease incomes for heads of households.While open to both men and women,participants have been predominantly women.For example, in Antofagasta, in the northernregion of Chile, 28 women micro-businessowners participated in a one-year trainingprogram to implement a Quality ManagementModel in their businesses. This addressedbusiness planning and management, howto obtain and interpret feedback fromcustomers, making improvements inproduction and sales, managing personnel,and understanding legislation.The micro-business owners were thenaudited. In the great majority of cases theyreceived a certification or seal in the QualityManagement Model for micro-businesses.Further efforts are being pursued to providerecognition and benefits for those receivingcertification, such as access to governententrepreneurship programs.For more information on FOSIS, go to:www.fosis.cl.Figure 7 shows the percentage of male and femaleentrepreneurs with opportunity motives.The economies are shown in order of increasingpercentage of female opportunity motives within thethree economic development groups.22

Women’s Entrepreneurship Activity Levels and CharacteristicsFigure 7–Female and Male Opportunity Motives as a Percentage of TEA Entrepreneurs in 59 Economies,Ranked within Economic Group by Percentage of Female Opportunity Motives, 2010100.0%90.0%80.0%70.0%60.0%50.0%40.0%30.0%20.0%10.0%0.0%GuatemalaUgandaJamaicaIranEgyptGhanaAngolaVanuatuPakistanZambiaWest Bank & Gaza StripBoliviaSaudi ArabiaMacedoniaTurkeyTaiwanBosnia and HerzegovinaSouth AfricaColombiaChinaCosta RicaMontenegroArgentinaUruguayChileRussiaCroatiaLatviaBrazilRomaniaEcuadorHungaryMexicoPeruTunisiaTrinidad and TobagoMalaysiaJapanDenmarkGermanyIrelandGreecePortugalNorwaySpainUnited StatesBelgiumKoreaIsraelAustraliaUnited KingdomFranceFinlandSwitzerlandNetherlandsSloveniaIcelandSwedenItalyFactor-Driven Efficiency-Driven Innovation-DrivenMaleFemaleIn the factor-driven group, Egypt stands out asparticularly high on male necessity motivation—highest, in fact, among the entire sample of 59economies. This country also has the lowest maleopportunity-based motivation in its developmentgroup and, along with Pakistan, has a higherproportion of women with opportunity-based motives.Overall, Egypt reports low TEA rates and lowparticipation of women in entrepreneurship. Thus,there are few women entrepreneurs in this country,with only moderate levels of both opportunity andnecessity motives. Hence, low TEA rates in thisregion might be explained by the fact that many ofthe men enter entrepreneurship only when thereare no other options for work. Women, on the otherhand, are generally neither pushed nor pulled intoentrepreneurship. This raises questions aboutwomen’s roles in the workplace: for example, to whatextent do those without jobs simply not participate inthe workforce.Uganda, on the other hand, exhibits the highest levelof female necessity motives in the factor-driven group,but low opportunity motives. Uganda has high TEArates, with women participating at nearly an equallevel as men. Men in this country also have highnecessity motives, as well as high opportunity motives.In this case, we might conclude that high rates ofentrepreneurship here are due to the involvementof women who are pushed into this activity out ofnecessity. On the other hand, it appears that men areboth pushed and pulled into entrepreneurship.In the efficiency-driven group, women entrepreneursin Tunisia have a low level of necessity motives,accompanied by high opportunity motives,proportionately much higher than men. This is similarto Egypt. Like Egypt, Tunisia has both low TEA ratesand few women participating in entrepreneurship.In Malaysia, women also have low necessity motivesand high opportunity motives, yet they engage inentrepreneurship at almost equal levels as men. Menare similarly motivated: rarely by necessity and muchmore by opportunity. Given Malaysia’s low TEA rates,we can infer that Malay women and men are both lesslikely to become entrepreneurs, and when they do, it ismostly to pursue opportunities.In the innovation-driven group, the Republic ofKorea reported the lowest proportion of women TEAentrepreneurs in the entire sample. Although womenentrepreneurs were scarce in that economy, theywere most likely to have opportunity motives, whilemen entrepreneurs were most likely motivated bynecessity. Thus, it is interesting to note that Korea’sabove-average TEA rate appears to be primarilyattributed to a proportionately high number ofmen being pushed into entrepreneurship out of23

Women’s Entrepreneurship Activity Levels and Characteristicsnecessity. Women have notably less effect on Korea’sentrepreneurship rate overall, and for those that doventure into this activity, it is more likely that theyare motivated by the pursuit of opportunities.Korea’s neighbor, Japan, reported the opposite resultfor the motivations of women entrepreneurs, withthe highest proportion of necessity-driven womenentrepreneurs and the lowest level of opportunitymotives among all the innovation-driven economies.Men also exhibited one of the highest necessitymotivation levels in this group, but only a moderateamount of opportunity motivation. Japan’s low overallTEA and women entrepreneurship rates mighttherefore be attributed to a lack of opportunity-drivenmotives on the part of women and not-overly strongopportunity motivations in men. Both women and menare more likely to be pushed into entrepreneurshipwhen there is a lack of other job options. But given thelow TEA rate, motivations for entrepreneurship do notappear to be driven by either a lack of job options orthe pursuit of opportunity.In sum, male entrepreneurs tend to cite opportunitymotives more often than women across the entiresample. Women entrepreneurs, on the other hand,tend more often to be motivated by necessity. Thereis also a higher percentage of both male and femaleentrepreneurs with necessity motives in the earlydevelopment stage economies, but as countriesbecome wealthier, opportunity motivations are moreprevalent. Since women are comparatively morenecessity-motivated than men in the less-developedeconomies, they contribute disproportionately to thetrend toward necessity in less developed economies.Multi-year Analysis ofNecessity MotivationTo examine necessity motivations in women further,we conducted a multi-year analysis of eighteeneconomies that had participated in GEM for most ofthe nine years from 2002 to 2010. 7 In the efficiencydriveneconomies, women were almost always morelikely to have started businesses out of necessitythan men over the entire time period. However, theproportion of women with necessity motivationsdeclined over the time period. With the exception ofChile, this decline outpaced that of men over time,thereby contributing to a narrowing of the gender gap.The decline in necessity motives for women wasgreatest in Brazil and China. In Brazil, necessitymotivations for women started at a higher level thanfor men, but then dropped below men in the mostrecent period; this was the only instance in thiseconomic development group where proportionatelyfewer women than men entrepreneurs were motivatedby necessity. China started out with a large gapbetween the proportion of necessity-motivated menand women entrepreneurs. However, while littlechange occurred among men over the nine years, alarge drop in the percentage of necessity-motivatedwomen narrowed this gender gap by the end of thetime period.For women in the efficiency-driven economies,necessity motives decreased and in many cases closedthe gap with men over time. Many of the innovationdriveneconomies, however, showed increases innecessity motivations among women, with men alsoincreasing or showing little change. It is likely thatthe economic downturn affected the necessity motivesof both men and women in many of these economies.In Ireland, the increase in necessity motivations formen outpaced that for women, leaving proportionatelymore necessity-motivated men entrepreneurs in themost recent period.In Norway, however, a large increase in necessitymotives for women, combined with a slight declinefor men, left a large gender gap at the end of thetime period. On the other hand, necessity motivesfor women declined in Belgium and Greece, closing agender gap with men.Industrial SectorTo gain insights into the types of businesses womenstart, we examined four main industrial sectors:extraction (farming, forestry, fishing, mining),transforming (manufacturing and construction),business services and consumer-oriented.Overall, both men and women are more likely to beentrepreneurs in the consumer sector, comparedto extractive, transforming and business services.Yet women’s participation in the consumer sectoris much greater. While fewer than half of the maleentrepreneurs across the sample participate in theconsumer sector, nearly two thirds of the femaleentrepreneurs are in this sector. Figure 8 shows sectordifferences for male and female entrepreneurs in thethree development groups.Men compete more frequently in the transformingand business services sector. In the innovationdriveneconomies, more male entrepreneurs247These 18 economies were selected for this study because they have been involved in the GEM survey since 2002 and could therefore providesufficient data for the longitudinal analysis. Included in this analysis were 6 efficiency-driven economies (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China,Hungary, South Africa) and 12 innovation-driven economies (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands,Norway, Spain, United Kingdom, United States).

Women’s Entrepreneurship Activity Levels and CharacteristicsBusiness Networks forWomen in Bosnia andHerzogovinaBy Mirela ArifovicZada Micivoda, school canteenThe goal is to open 24 clubsin 24 towns withinBosnia and Herzegovina,targeting about 2,000women business owners.Expected results for thesewomen include: expansion oftheir businesses, strengthenedmarket positions, better access tofinancial resources and enhancedmanagement capabilities.GEM Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe “Women’s Business Network” project isconducted by the Microcredit Foundation MI-BOSPO, which operates in the northeastern regionof Bosnia and Herzegovina. Supported by the U.S.Agency for International Development (USAID), thisinitiative is aimed at a key development challengein this region: the need for employment and incomegeneration for women.Activities include: (1) women’s clubs in the townswhere MCF MI-BOSPO’s offices are located, in orderto provide networking and support in their regions,(2) training centers to provide business managementtraining, (3) assistance in providing marketconnections to increase sales, and (4) cooperationwith local authorities and non-governmentorganizations to represent the interests of womenentrepreneurs.This project was initiated in January 2011. The goalis to open 24 clubs in 24 towns within Bosnia andHerzegovina, targeting about 2,000 women businessowners. Expected results for these women include:expansion of their businesses, strengthened marketpositions, better access to financial resources andenhanced management capabilities.For more information on the Women’s BusinessNetwork, go to: http://mi-bospo.org/index.php/mzb.compete in business services than in the consumersector. In contrast, women in the innovation-driveneconomies are more than twice as likely to competein the consumer sector than in business services.Yet compared to the other development levels, theinnovation-driven economies report fewer womenentrepreneurs in the consumer sector and many morein business services.Geographically, women dominate the consumer sectorin Latin America/Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa;nearly three fourths of the women entrepreneursrun consumer businesses. Women pursue thesebusinesses, in fact, at the expense of the otherthree sectors; women are nearly absent from thetransforming sector. This is likely due to the fact thatconsumer businesses typically have low entry barriersand require less capital investment at startup.25

Women’s Entrepreneurship Activity Levels and CharacteristicsFigure 8–Industrial Sector Participation for Female and Male Entrepreneurs by Economic Groupin 59 Economies, 201080%70%60%50%40%30%ExtractiveTransformingBusiness ServicesConsumer-Oriented20%10%0%MENWOMENMENWOMENMENWOMENFactor-Driven Economies Efficiency-Driven Economies Innovation-Driven Economies26Age Distribution of WomenEntrepreneursGEM divides the adult population it surveys intofive age groups. Overall, the most prevalent agegroup for entrepreneurs is 25 to 34 years old. Thenext largest age group is the 35 to 44 year olds. Thefactor-driven group tends to have comparatively moreentrepreneurs in the youngest age group (18 to 24).In the innovation-driven economies, entrepreneurs areas a whole older; there are fewer entrepreneurs in thetwo youngest age groups and more entrepreneurs inthe older ages, age 35 and up. This tendency is morepronounced for women, as Figure 9 shows. Whilethere are nearly the same number of 25 to 34 yearold male entrepreneurs as 35 to 44 year old ones,the percentage of women in the younger age groupdeclines, with the gap taken up by more 35 to 44 and45 to 54 year olds.The tendency for older women to be involved inentrepreneurship is evident in many geographicregions: Latin America/Caribbean, MENA, EasternEuropean, and the United States/Western Europe. Inthese areas there are fewer women than men in the 25to 34 year age range and more women than men in the35 to 44 year old age group. Sub-Saharan Africa showsa different pattern. While there are comparativelyfewer women entrepreneurs among 25 to 34 year olds,there are more women than men entrepreneurs in theyoungest age group (18 to 24).Education LevelsThe popular media often celebrates the idea ofsuccessful entrepreneurs that have less rather thanmore education. While high school or college dropoutsmake for good new stories, GEM shows that this is notthe reality. As Table 3 illustrates, overall when womenentrepreneurs are compared with non-entrepreneurs,they are more likely to have a secondary education(completed high school) or higher (some college, collegegraduate or graduate education).

Women’s Entrepreneurship Activity Levels and CharacteristicsFigure 9–Age Distribution of Female and Male Entrepreneurs by Economic Group in 59 Economies, 201040.0%35.0%30.0%25.0%18-24 YRS20.0%15.0%25-34 YRS35-44 YRS45-54 YRS10.0%55-64 YRS5.0%0.0%MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALE MALE FEMALEFactor-Driven Efficiency-Driven Innovation-DrivenFor factor-driven economies, however, the differencein education levels between entrepreneurs and nonentrepreneursis slight. It is the established businessowner group that reflects the lowest level of womenwith a secondary or higher education. However, thegap between non-entrepreneurs and entrepreneurswidens with economic development level; establishedbusiness owners fall somewhere in between.Education levels among entrepreneurs increasewith economic development stage; 46% of womenentrepreneurs in factor-driven economies have atleast a secondary-level education, and 81.7% do in theinnovation-driven economies. Men show somewhatsimilar patterns, both in the differences amongentrepreneurs, non-entrepreneurs and establishedbusiness owners at each stage of development,and in the changes in education level with greaterdevelopment level.Interestingly, although non-entrepreneur malesare more likely to have at least a secondaryeducation compared with women across all economicdevelopment stages, this is not the case forentrepreneurs in the innovation-driven economies,where there are more women educated at thislevel than men. The same pattern can be seenwith established business owners, where men aremore likely to have a secondary or higher level ofeducation than women in the factor- and efficiencydriveneconomies, but women seem to catch up andnarrowly outpace men in the innovation-driven stageof economic development. When this analysis isconducted for only those that have had some, or havecompleted, tertiary-level (college) education, the samerelative results were observed.27

Women’s Entrepreneurship Activity Levels and CharacteristicsTable 3–Average Percentage of Female and Male Entrepreneurs, Established Business Owners andNon-Entrepreneurs with at Least a Post-Secondary Education, by Economic Development Level in59 Economies, 2010EntrepreneursWomenEstablishedBusiness OwnersWomenNon-EntrepreneursWomenEntrepreneursMenEstablishedBusiness OwnersMenNon-EntrepreneursMenAVERAGE:Factor-DrivenAVERAGE:Efficiency-DrivenAVERAGE:Innovation-Driven46.01% 35.76% 45.37% 54.62% 47.50% 52.91%73.09% 67.42% 65.64% 76.64% 72.58% 70.52%81.67% 75.91% 72.95% 79.65% 74.76% 74.89%28

The Role of Networks in Women’s Entrepreneurship and Business Ownership 8Networks play a multifaceted role for womenentrepreneurs and business owners, helping themto gain advice, form partnerships, secure financing,access qualified management and employees, andbuild value chain relationships. To examine thesenetworks, the GEM survey asked prospective, nascentand new entrepreneurs, as well as establishedbusiness owners, in 37 GEM economies 9 whetherthey received advice from people in their personal,work, entrepreneurial, professional and marketenvironments.The analysis showed that, in many economies, womenentrepreneurs and business owners tended to havesmaller networks than their male counterparts.Further, only in Israel did women exhibit more diversenetworks than men; women in other economiesreported the same or lower network diversity.As Figure 10 shows, both women and menentrepreneurs and business owners tended to seekadvice most often from those with whom they hadpersonal relationships—their private environment.Women were more inclined to seek guidance fromfamily, and spouses in particular. On the other hand,men tended to draw more heavily on the adviceof friends. Men were also more likely to use othernetwork sources, such as their work environment orprofessional advisors.Figure 10–Sources of Advice for Female and Male Entrepreneurs and Business Owners in 37 Economies,2009-201060FemaleMale50403020100SpouseParentsOther FamilyFriendsBossWork ColleaguesStarterMentorCounselorInvestorResearcherOne AbroadOne from AbroadBankLawyerAccountantCollaboratorCompetitorSupplierCustomerPrivate Work Entrepreneurial Professional MarketOverall, the men and women entrepreneurs whohad larger and more diverse networks, and thosewho emphasized non-private advisors (business,professional, etc.), also tended to report greaterlevels of innovation, internationalization and growthexpectations.Yet compared to men, women may be ata disadvantage because their networks were overallsmaller and less diverse, and they emphasized privatesources of advice—conditions that were associatedwith lower innovation, internationalization andgrowth expectations.8Contributed by Thomas Schøtt, GEM Denmark. For more information, see: Schott, Thomas, 2011, “Training and Network Organization inEntrepreneurship in Denmark 2010: Studied via Global Entrepreneurship Monitor,” (Kolding: University of Southern Denmark). Available at:http://www.gemconsortium.org/region_new.aspx?region=14.9The 37 economies studied were: Algeria, Angola, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador,Egypt, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Jordan, Republic of Korea, Latvia, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru,Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Syria, Taiwan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, United States, Uruguay and Yemen. Theanalysis is based on GEM 2009 and 2010 data.29

The Role of Networks in Women’s Entrepreneurship and Business OwnershipEstablished Business RatesJust as consistently fewer women are entrepreneurs(i.e., running nascent and new businesses), so fewerwomen than men manage established businesses.Exceptions are Guatemala and Zambia in the factordriveneconomies and Romania and Russia in theefficiency-driven economies; in those economies, morethan half of established business owners are women.It should be noted that these economies have only lowor moderate rates of established business ownership.This suggests that, although women contribute atleast equally to the mature business environment,those economies have comparatively low levels ofestablished firm owners overall.Figure 11 shows a comparison of established businessownership rates for men and women. It also includesa comparison of TEA and established businessowners for both sexes. In each of the factor-driveneconomies, more women are starting and running newbusinesses than running established ones. Most of theefficiency-driven economies also have more womenentrepreneurs than established business owners.(Only four economies have more women establishedbusiness owners, and the difference is slight.) Inthe innovation-driven group, more than half theeconomies show more women established businessowners than entrepreneurs. Men show similarpatterns across the economies.Goldman Sachs10,000 Women InitiativeBy Noa MeyerAnagha Kulkarni, Nirmala Pet A Pack Pvt Ltd.The 10,000 Women programoperates through a network ofmore than 75 academic andnonprofit institutions.These partnerships helpdevelop locally relevantcoursework and improve thequality and capacity of businesseducation worldwide.Goldman Sachs Corporation10,000 Women is a five-year investment to provideunderserved female entrepreneurs around theworld with a business and management education.Research conducted by Goldman Sachs and the WorldBank over several years has shown that investingin education for women has a significant multipliereffect, leading to more productive workers, healthierand better-educated families, and ultimately to moreprosperous communities.The 10,000 Women program operates through anetwork of more than 75 academic and nonprofitinstitutions. These partnerships help develop locallyrelevant coursework and improve the quality andcapacity of business education worldwide. Thewomen selected for the program enroll in customizedcertificate programs ranging from five weeks to sixmonths. Topics covered include marketing, accounting,writing business plans and accessing capital.Students are offered mentoring and post-graduatesupport by partner institutions, local businesses andthe people of Goldman Sachs. Funding for 10,000Women is provided by Goldman Sachs and TheGoldman Sachs Foundation.For more information on the Goldman Sachs 10,000Women project, go to: http://www2.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000women/index.html.30

The Role of Networks in Women’s Entrepreneurship and Business OwnershipIn comparing men and women across economicdevelopment levels, it is interesting to note that theratio of entrepreneurs to established business ownersis much higher for women than for men, specificallyin the factor-driven economies. At that stage ofeconomic development, the ratio of entrepreneurs toestablished business owners for males is a little morethan 2:1, while it is 3:1 for females. This suggeststhat, even though there are fewer female than maleentrepreneurs in early development stage economies,even fewer run mature businesses. This gap declineswith higher levels of economic development.In the factor-driven group, the MENA countriesreported the lowest rate of established womenownedbusinesses. In Pakistan, for example, theratio of female-to-male established business ownersis 1:10. On the other hand, the Sub-Saharan Africaneconomies generally have higher established businessrates for women. At the same time, in all factor-driveneconomies except Uganda and Ghana, the rate ofestablished business owners is not nearly as high asthe TEA rate for women; in those economies, the twowere fairly close.For the efficiency-driven economies, South Africaand several Latin American/Caribbean economies(Costa Rica, Chile, Peru) had relatively more womenentrepreneurs than established business owners.This tendency was even more apparent in Mexico,which had a moderate TEA rate, but a negligiblemature firm ownership rate. Turkey showed thegreatest difference in gender for established businessownership, with a rate of one woman to five menowning mature firms.In the innovation-driven group, France, whichreported a jump in overall TEA rates in 2010, had amuch higher entrepreneurship rate among women—two and a half times the rate of female establishedbusiness owners. Conversely, Japan had more thanthree and a half times as many established womenbusiness owners as women entrepreneurs. Sloveniaexhibited the largest gender gap in the innovationgroup; it had about one female for every four maleestablished business owners.Figure 11–Female and Male Entrepreneurship and Established Business Ownership Rates in 59 Economies,Ranked within Economic Group by Female Established Business Ownership Rates, 201070A: FACTOR-DRIVEN6050403020TEA MaleEB MaleTEA FemaleEB Female100PakistanWest Bankand Gaza StripEgyptSaudi ArabiaIranJamaicaGuatemalaAngolaZambiaBoliviaVanuatuUgandaGhana35B: EFFICIENCY-DRIVEN30253120

20MexicoFrance10The Role of Networks 0 in Women’s Entrepreneurship and Business OwnershipPakistanWest Bankand Gaza StripEgyptSaudi ArabiaIranJamaicaGuatemalaAngolaZambiaBoliviaVanuatuUgandaGhana35B: EFFICIENCY-DRIVEN30252015105TEA MaleEB MaleTEA FemaleEB Female0CroatiaSouth AfricaRomaniaRussiaCosta RicaHungaryTurkeyChileLatviaTaiwanBosnia and HerzegovinaUruguayTunisiaMacedoniaMontenegroTrinidad and TobagoPeruMalaysiaArgentinaColombiaChinaEcuadorBrazil25C: INNOVATION-DRIVEN2015105TEA MaleEB MaleTEA FemaleEB Female0SloveniaBelgiumIsraelItalyPortugalSwedenDenmarkUnited KingdomGermanyKoreaSpainNorwayIrelandAustraliaIcelandJapanNetherlandsUnited StatesFinlandGreeceSwitzerland32Discontinued BusinessWhile women are slightly less likely to discontinuetheir businesses compared to men, they are also lesslikely to start and run businesses. It would thereforemake sense that if fewer women started and ranbusinesses in an economy, fewer women would thenclose businesses. For this reason, GEM analyzed theratio of discontinuance to total business ownership(nascent, new and established). This ratio is shown inFigure 12.For women, the average ratio of discontinuanceto total business ownership was highest in thefactor-driven economies. This ratio decreased in theefficiency-driven group, and then declined again inthe innovation-driven group. A high ratio means thatmore individuals stopped businesses (the numerator)relative to the base of individuals starting andrunning businesses (the denominator). Because thefactor-driven group has more entrepreneurs andbusiness owners on average, one would expect morebusinesses overall to be closed. But the evidenceshows that women in these less-developed economies

The Role of Networks in Women’s Entrepreneurship and Business Ownershipare closing businesses at a proportionately higher ratethan in the developed ones.In the factor-driven economies, men are slightlyless likely to discontinue businesses relative totheir startup and ownership rates. For example,Zambia has a high number of women entrepreneursand business owners, as well as high rates ofdiscontinuance for this sex; this ratio is much lowerfor men in this country. Conversely, Bolivia also hasa high total business ownership rate but revealed alow discontinuance ratio for women. However, thisratio is even lower for Bolivian men—in fact, it isthe lowest in the factor-driven economies. Therefore,it appears that women show a greater ratio of exitsthan men at the factor-driven stage. This gender gapgradually disappears with greater levels of economicdevelopment.Women in Croatia and Russia, which are inthe efficiency-driven group, have low rates ofdiscontinuance relative to other economies at thisstage of development. These two countries also havelow total business ownership rates, suggesting thatthere is not a lot of business activity here, in eitherstarts or closures, especially for women. For Russia,the relative rate of discontinuance for men is muchhigher, more than twice that for females. Taiwanshows the opposite effect: women have a high relativeincidence of exits that is well more than twice thatof men.In the innovation-driven group, women in Ireland aremuch less likely to discontinue businesses comparedwith their entrepreneurship and business ownershiprates. In this country, men are almost four timesas likely to discontinue relative to business startsand ownership. Portugal showed the opposite effect;women have a high discontinuance rate relative tostarting and owning businesses, almost twice the ratioof men.Figure 12–Ratio of Discontinuance to Total Business Ownership (Nascent, New, Established) for Women and Menin 59 Economies, Ranked within Economic Group by Female Ratio, 2010120%100%Disc/Total MALEDisc/Total FEMALERatio of Discontinuance to Total Business Ownership80%60%40%20%0%GuatemalaBoliviaIranPakistanEgyptVanuatuWest Bank & Gaza StripSaudi ArabiaGhanaAngolaUgandaJamaicaZambiaCroatiaRussiaCosta RicaTrinidad and TobagoArgentinaColombiaBrazilUruguayMalaysiaRomaniaChinaEcuadorHungaryLatviaChilePeruMacedoniaTurkeyMontenegroTaiwanTunisiaBosnia and HerzegovinaSouth AfricaMexicoIrelandFinlandDenmarkNetherlandsJapanSwitzerlandKoreaIcelandUnited KingdomSpainAustraliaNorwaySloveniaGermanySwedenGreeceFranceUnited StatesItalyBelgiumIsraelPortugalFactor-Driven Efficiency-Driven Innovation-Driven33

The Role of Networks in Women’s Entrepreneurship and Business OwnershipPeople discontinue their businesses for a varietyof personal or business reasons. Business reasonsinclude unprofitability, inability to acquire financing,costs associated with hiring employees, stiffcompetition, a merger or a business transformation.Personal reasons include retirement, family reasons,selling the business, getting another job or followingother pursuits. It is important to recognize thatbusiness discontinuance can occur for either positiveor negative reasons. A dynamic entrepreneurialeconomy, in fact, contains both businesses thatopen and those that close. Businesses may shutdown and the entrepreneurs may restart with areconfigured market, business model, product or team.“Discontinuance” does not therefore always equate to“failure.”Figure 13 shows a comparison by sex of the reasons fordiscontinuing a business. A few interesting contrastsare evident. Women are less likely than men to exitbecause their businesses are not profitable, but theyare slightly more likely to exit because they cannot getfinancing. In addition, women are less likely than mento exit because of another job or business opportunity,but more likely to exit for personal reasons.Figure 13–Reasons for Discontinuing Businesses by Gender, 2010120.00%Incident100.00%Personal reasons80.00%Retirement60.00%Exit was Planned inAdvanceAnother Job or BusinessOpportunity40.00%Problems Getting Finance20.00%Business Not Profitable0.00%Opportunity to SellMaleFemale34

Women Entrepreneurs’ Aspirations for Growth, Innovation, and InternationalizationGrowth ExpectationsThe GEM survey asks individuals how manyemployees they have at the time of the survey andhow many they expect to employ in five years. Thedifference represents growth expectations. Werecognize that expectations about the number ofemployees one expects to employ in five years may notmatch exactly how many one actually does employ atthat future point in time. Therefore, this measure isnot entirely a measure of growth potential, but oneof expectations or intentions, which over time can beinfluenced by a variety of factors.Figure 14 displays the number of entrepreneurs in54 economies that expect to employ an additional fiveor more (5+) employees and those that expect to addtwenty or more (20+) over the next five years. Veryfew entrepreneurs expected to grow their businesses,particularly at the 20+ level. Because of these smallpercentages, we combined three years of data (2008to 2010), and we included only those economies thatparticipated in GEM over that period, leaving us 54economies that had sufficient data for this analysis.For women who expect to add more than fiveemployees, the highest level of growth expectationsexists in the efficiency-driven economies. For thosewho expect to employ an additional twenty or moreemployees, a larger proportion of high growth womenentrepreneurs were observed in some economies withlow entrepreneurship rates. This is apparent in SaudiArabia and Iran in the factor-driven group, as wellas in three Eastern European economies—Turkey,Latvia, and Macedonia—in the efficiency-drivengroup. Those economies have few entrepreneursoverall and even fewer women entrepreneurs. But thewomen that started businesses are likely to have highexpectations for growth.Growth expectations for women entrepreneurstend to be lower than for men at all three economicdevelopment levels. In the innovation-driveneconomies, twice as many men as women have growthexpectations of 20+ employees. Israel has one of thehighest levels of male growth expectations at the 20+level, but women in Israel are only one-third as likelyto have these same expectations.On the other hand, Iceland had the highest percentageof women’s growth expectations at the 20+ levelin the innovation-driven group; yet men were wellover one-third more likely to have these ambitions.Additionally, Iceland reported the highest overall TEArate, yet women participated in entrepreneurshipat little more than half the rate of men. The UnitedStates appears to be an exception; it has a high levelof growth-oriented women entrepreneurs and bothhigh TEA rates and high participation by women inentrepreneurship overall.A similar observation can be made in China and SouthAfrica. China had more than three times as manymales as females with 20+ growth expectations. SouthAfrica had over two and a half times as many males asfemales with this level of growth projections.Figure 14– Job Growth Expectations for Women Early-Stage Entrepreneurs in 54 Economies, 2008 to 201080%Percentage of Early-Stage Entrepreneurs70%60%50%40%30%20%Job Expectations: 5-19 JobsJob Expectation: 20 or More Jobs10%0%VanuatuIndiaJamaicaGuatemalaBoliviaBrazilCosta RicaZambiaGhanaUgandaBosnia and HerzegovinaWest Bank & Gaza StripVenezuelaAngolaAlgeriaLebanonIranEgyptSaudi ArabiaEcuadorTunisiaTrinidad & TobagoMexicoChinaPeruCroatiaDominican RepublicArgentinaHungarySouth AfricaUruguayMontenegroMacedoniaColombiaChileLatviaTurkeyGreeceFinlandFranceNetherlandsGermanyNorwaySpainBelgiumUnited KingdomItalyDenmarkInnovation-DrivenSloveniaKoreaIrelandUnited StatesIceland35Factor-DrivenEfficiency-Driven

Women Entrepreneurs’ Aspirations for Growth, Innovation, and InternationalizationA multi-year analysis of 5+ growth aspirations formen and women in 18 economies 10 shows that womenhad consistently lower growth aspirations than menover time. In the efficiency-driven economies, this gapwidened with time in South Africa and Chile, and inArgentina and Brazil to a lesser extent. Hungary, onthe other hand, showed a narrowing of this gap duringthe period.In the innovation-driven economies, the gender gapnarrowed over time in every economy except Spainand Greece, where it widened slightly. In Italy, womenheld their ground while growth ambitions in mendropped below that of women. In the United States,women’s growth ambitions increased, while menstayed relatively the same.InnovationGEM’s approach to innovation focuses on the extentto which entrepreneurs offer products that are newto some or all customers. GEM also explores the levelof industry newness by asking whether there are fewor no other businesses offering the same product. Itis important to acknowledge that these questionsare answered within the context of very diverseeconomies.Figure 15 shows the percentage of entrepreneurs thatare (1) both offering products that are new for someor all customers, and (2) have products with either ofthese aspects. The first can be considered the strongermeasure of innovation because both conditions arepresent. This measure, on average, increases witheconomic development level: lowest at the factordrivenstage and highest at the innovation-drivenstage.A comparison between sexes shows that overall,women are about as likely to have innovative productsor services as men, particularly in the innovationdriveneconomies. There is a slight negative differencefor the efficiency-driven entrepreneurs, particularlywith the weaker measure. In other words, fewerwomen entrepreneurs have products that are eithernew to customers or for which few or no businessesoffer the same product. In contrast, more women thanmen entrepreneurs in the factor-driven group meetthis measure of innovation, even though more menmeet the strong measure of innovation (both customernewness and few/no competitors).Interestingly, there are no discernible patternsbetween innovation levels and entrepreneurialactivity. Some of the factor-driven economieswith the highest proportions of innovative womenentrepreneurs, like Saudi Arabia and West Bankand Gaza, report low TEA rates and low femaleparticipation in entrepreneurship. On the other hand,Chile and Peru, in the efficiency-driven group, alsoreport many women with innovative businesses,yet these economies have high TEA rates andhigh proportions of women entrepreneurs. For theinnovation-driven economies, Norway, Denmark andIceland report a high percentage of innovative womenentrepreneurs. Norway and Iceland report high levelsof TEA, but low proportions of women entrepreneursrelative to men. Denmark is low on both of these othermeasures.The innovation-driven group shows at least onenoteworthy result in a comparison by sex. While theeconomies in the efficiency group with the highestlevels of innovative women entrepreneurs also havethe highest levels of innovative men entrepreneurs,Norway and Ireland present an anomaly in theinnovation-driven group. Norway reports the highestproportion of innovative female entrepreneurs in thegroup, but only an average level of male innovativeentrepreneurs. Conversely, Ireland exhibits theopposite condition: high levels of innovation for malesand just above average for females. Both of theseeconomies have relatively high TEA but lower womenparticipation in entrepreneurship.InternationalizationEntrepreneurs seek international markets for avariety of reasons. They may have products orservices that are more suitable for internationalmarkets. Their internal markets may be too small orimmature. They may face intense local competitionthat motivates them to pursue customers outsidetheir borders. Alternatively, internationalizationmay be motivated by a desire to more broadlyleverage substantial investments in their businesses.Geographic factors, like country size or location, aswell as connections with strategic partners in newlocales, can also affect their cross-border activities.In assessing internationalization, GEM asksentrepreneurs what percentage of their customerscome from outside their economy. Figure 16 showsresults for women entrepreneurs with at least someinternational customers and for those with more than25% international customers. Overall, for women, thedegree of internationalization increases with economicdevelopment level. Less than one quarter of the factor-3610These 18 economies were selected for this study because they have been involved in the GEM survey since 2002 and could therefore providesufficient data for the longitudinal analysis. Included in this analysis were 6 efficiency-driven economies (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China,Hungary, South Africa) and 12 innovation-driven economies (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands,Norway, Spain, United Kingdom, United States).

Women Entrepreneurs’ Aspirations for Growth, Innovation, and InternationalizationFigure 15– Level of Innovativeness for Women Entrepreneurs in 59 Economies, 2008 to 2010100%Percentage of Early-Stage Entrepreneurs90%80%70%60%50%40%30%Product is new to all/some customers or few/no businesses offer same productProduct is new to all/some customers and few/no businesses offer same product20%10%0%UgandaGhanaZambiaBosnia and HerzegovinaVenezuelaIndiaEgyptJamaicaAngolaGuatemalaLebanonIranBoliviaVanuatuWest Bank & Gaza StripAlgeriaSaudi ArabiaBrazilTrinidad & TobagoTunisiaHungaryCroatiaMacedoniaEcuadorColombiaMontenegroLatviaCosta RicaDominican RepublicMexicoChinaSouth AfricaUruguayArgentinaTurkeyPeruChileItalyKoreaGermanyNetherlandsUnited StatesSloveniaSpainFinlandUnited KingdomBelgiumFranceGreeceIsraelIcelandDenmarkNorwayFactor-Driven Efficiency-Driven Innovation-Drivendriven women entrepreneurs on average have at leastsome international customers, while this average isover half in the innovation-driven economies. Men atall development levels are more likely than women tosell internationally.In the factor-driven group, Lebanon stands out forhaving a very high number of women entrepreneurswho sell internationally. This country had a relativelymoderate TEA rate and about one woman for everytwo men entrepreneurs. Interestingly, Lebanesewomen entrepreneurs are proportionately morelikely to internationalize than men. In other MENAcountries, like Saudi Arabia and Egypt, womenshowed moderate levels of internationalization butwere substantially outpaced by men in these efforts.Lebanon is a relatively small country, especiallycompared with Brazil and China, which havelarge and growing internal markets and, perhapsconsequently, a low level of internationalization forwomen. In the efficiency-driven group, the highestlevels of internationalization can be found in SouthAfrica and several Eastern European economies.Eastern Europe’s high levels of internationalizationmay be affected by a history of trade and movementof people across the region, along with some countries’historical experience as part of other nation-states. InSouth Africa, women entrepreneurs additionally showhigher internationalization levels than men.Iceland and the United States were among the mosthighly internationalized innovation-driven economies.Iceland’s population of little more than 300,000 people,its island geography and the high-growth expectationsof its entrepreneurs may explain its internationalreach. The United States also contains many highgrowthentrepreneurs, but it has a large and diversepopulation. High internal competition may account forthe number of entrepreneurs seeking markets outsidethe U.S. border. Gender differences could be seen inIsrael, where male entrepreneurs are far more likelyto internationalize than females. The opposite is thecase in Greece and Italy, where women are more likelyto venture to markets outside their national borders.37

Women Entrepreneurs’ Aspirations for Growth, Innovation, and InternationalizationAwarding Women’sBusinesses in BrazilBy Romeu Friedlaender Jr.GEM BrazilThe Sebrae Business Women’s Award was initiatedin Brazil to identify and reward the accomplishmentsof women entrepreneurs. Participation is open to allwoman entrepreneurs in Brazil. Two winners areselected in each of Brazil’s 27 states. These winnersreceive awards, publicity, advice, and training. Theythen progress to the regional level. The overall winnerreceives recognition at the national event and travelsinternationally to receive global exposure.Patricia Paz Silva, Moura & Paz ReciclagemThe overall winner receivesrecognition at the national eventand travels internationally toreceive global exposure.Sebrae, a non-profit organization that supportssmall and micro enterprises, partnered with severalnon-profit organizations and government officials tolaunch this program in 2004. In 2006 there were 1,700women participating, growing to more than 3,000 in2009. To showcase examples of women entrepreneursin Brazil, and to inspire other women around thecountry, the sponsoring organizations produce videosof participants, posting these on their websites anddistributing them on YouTube.For more information, go to:http://www.mulherdenegocios.sebrae.com.br/.Figure 16– Internationalization Levels for Female Entrepreneurs in 59 Economies, 2008 to 2010140%Customers Outside Country: More Than 25%Customers Outside Country: At Least Some120%100%80%60%40%20%0%38GhanaGuatemalaIndiaIranUgandaBoliviaZambiaWest Bank & Gaza StripSaudi ArabiaAlgeriaVanuatuEgyptAngolaJamaicaLebanonBrazilTunisiaChinaCosta RicaVenezuelaArgentinaTrinidad & TobagoEcuadorPeruMexicoColombiaChileHungaryUruguayBosnia and HerzegovinaTurkeySouth AfricaLatviaMacedoniaCroatiaMontenegroDominican RepublicFinlandSpainNetherlandsUnited KingdomItalyKoreaFranceGermanyIsraelIrelandDenmarkNorwayGreeceSloveniaUnited StatesIcelandBelgiumFactor-Driven Efficiency-Driven Innovation-Driven

Impact of the Global Economic Slowdown on Women EntrepreneursThe GEM 2010 survey was conducted during themonths of June and July, at a time when the worldwas still struggling to emerge from the 2008 recessionand when the future economic stability of manynations was still in question. The prolonged effect ofthe recession could be seen in the continued negativeor sluggish GDP growth in the developed world, whilenew growth was apparent in developing countries,particularly in Asia and Africa. By the summer of2010, the slowdown had eased in some economies,while other economies experienced continued volatilityor remained stuck in a morass of high unemployment,weak consumer spending and out-of-control debtloads.The Diana ProjectBy Candida Brush andPatricia GreeneSanaa Hyder, ZH Collection BagsThe Diana Project has expandedinto Diana Internationalwhich is focused more broadlyon scholarship regarding alltypes and forms of women’sentrepreneurship and growth.Diana International servesas a convener for researchersinterested in this topic, holdingbi-annual conferences in locationsaround the world.Babson CollegeThe Diana Project (http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=3382502&trk=hb_side_g) is a researchcollaborative focused upon the study of femalebusiness owners and their business growthactivities. The original purpose of the DianaProject was to investigate the apparent disconnectbetween the high growth potential of women-ownedbusinesses and the resources needed, particularlyequity funding, to finance this growth. There weretwo primary objectives: (1) to raise the awarenessand expectations of women business owners aroundpursuing growth for their firms, and to educatethese women about the characteristics of equityfundedbusinesses and how the equity fundingprocess works; (2) to increase recognition amongequity capital providers about the advantages ofinvesting in women-owned businesses.The Diana Project has expanded into DianaInternational which is focused more broadlyon scholarship regarding all types and forms ofwomen’s entrepreneurship and growth. DianaInternational serves as a convener for researchersinterested in this topic, holding bi-annualconferences in locations around the world. DianaInternational highlights high-growth, women-ledventures around the world. Currently, more than250 researchers from 37 countries and more than45 universities are involved in this consortiumDiana International has produced 7 InternationalConferences, 3 books, and 7 special issues ofacademic journals. This research is used as animpetus and foundation for the implementation ofpolicy, training, and resources that help advancethe state of practice of women entrepreneurs. Thenext conference of the Diana Project will be heldon January 31 – Feb. 3 in Fremantle, WesternAustralia. www.aceredianaconference.com.auFor more information on the Diana Project, go to:http://www.dianaproject.org/.39

Impact of the Global Economic Slowdown on Women EntrepreneursEase of Starting a BusinessTable 4 shows the percentage of men and womenentrepreneurs who believed it was more difficult tostart a business at the time of the survey. As thistable shows, women in efficiency-driven economieswere most pessimistic about starting businesses.Women entrepreneurs in innovation-driven economieswere the least pessimistic, despite the fact that theeconomic slowdown had its roots in the developedworld. Many efficiency-driven economies that relyon exports to wealthier economies may have felt theeffect of the downturn as spending contracted in thesemarkets. By comparison, entrepreneurs in the factordriveneconomies may have been less affected due totheir reliance on local markets, which could createsome immunity to the financial crisis in the rest ofthe world.At the same time, developed economies rank higheron the ease of starting businesses, as shown in theWorld Bank Index. 11 The challenges that accompanystarting a business in the efficiency and factor-driveneconomies may thus weigh heavily regardless of theeffect of economic conditions. In examining the resultsfrom 2009 and 2010, it appears that the slowdown hadless effect on the factor-driven economies. For women,however, impressions about starting a businessimproved little in these economies. Perceptions aboutthe ease of starting a business improved slightlyfor women in the efficiency-driven economies andsubstantially in the innovation-driven ones. Whilethere was a somewhat similar level of pessimismacross all three groups in 2009, the gap betweenthe innovation-driven economies and the other twowidened substantially in 2010 for both men andwomen.These results suggest that an easing—or anticipationof an easing—of the global economic slowdownmay have improved perceptions in some wealthiereconomies, with some spillover effect for efficiencydrivenones. The change for men in efficiency-driveneconomies was greater than for women, however; menentrepreneurs were more optimistic than women in2010.Table 4–Percentage of Early-Stage Female and Male Entrepreneurs Who Find Starting Businesses More Difficultin 38 Economies, 2009 and 20102009 Male 2010 Male 2009 Female 2010 FemaleAVERAGE: Factor-Driven 60.5% 57.2% 60.5% 58.5%AVERAGE: Efficiency-Driven 63.9% 48.4% 63.2% 57.7%AVERAGE: Innovation-Driven 56.0% 45.9% 58.7% 44.2%Change in Growth ExpectationsWhile the economic slowdown may have affectedperceptions among entrepreneurs, it could also affectthose with established businesses. Table 5 shows thepercentage of men and women business owners whoreported lowered growth expectations at the time ofthe 2009 and 2010 surveys. In both years, womenbusiness owners in factor-driven economies reportedthe highest level of diminished growth expectations.Hence, women were more pessimistic than men,particularly in 2009.The oval shapes in Table 5 show the change inthese percentages from 2009 to 2010; they all showthat fewer men and women business owners haddiminished growth expectations in 2010. Whileestablished women business owners in the innovationdriveneconomies were the least pessimistic (or themost optimistic) in 2009, the efficiency-driven groupseemed to experience a jump in optimism during the2010 survey to show a nearly identical level of growthexpectations as women in the innovation-driven group.The shift was more dramatic among efficiency-drivenmen business owners, where they went from the mostpessimistic to the most optimistic group.4011The World Bank (2011), Doing Business 2011, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank: Washington, DC.

Impact of the Global Economic Slowdown on Women EntrepreneursTable 5–Percentage of Established Female and Male Business Owners with Lower Growth Expectations in38 Economies, 2009 and 20102009 Male 2010 Male 2009 Female 2010 FemaleAVERAGE: Factor-Driven1.4%6.8%AVERAGE: Efficiency-DrivenAVERAGE: Innovation-Driven48.6% 47.2% 55.2% 48.4%15.6%11%54.5% 38.9% 53.7% 42.7%10.3%4.6%51.7% 41.4% 47.2% 42.6%Effect of the Global EconomicSlowdown on OpportunityPerceptionsAs Figure 17 illustrates, more women entrepreneursand business owners thought there were fewerbusiness opportunities during 2010. In all threeeconomic development groups, women establishedbusiness owners were more pessimistic than men withregard to the presence of business opportunities.In the factor-driven group, new business owners weremost optimistic, while nascent entrepreneurs weremost optimistic in the efficiency and innovation-driveneconomies. This could point to earlier movementtoward starting businesses in the efficiency andinnovation-driven economies, while some challenges,perhaps more longer-term ones, remained for nascententrepreneurs in the factor-driven group.Figure 17– Perceptions About the Presence of Opportunities Among Female Nascent and New Entrepreneurs,and Women Business Owners in 59 Economies, 2010Factor-Driven EconomiesInnovation-Driven EconomiesEfficiency-Driven Economies70%60%50%40%30%20%10%%Fewer Business OpportunitiesAbout the SameMore Business OpportunitiesFewer Business OpportunitiesAbout the SameMore Business OpportunitiesFewer Business OpportunitiesAbout the SameMore Business OpportunitiesNascent Entrepreneurs Owner-Managers of New Businesses Owner-Managers of Established Businesses41

Key Conclusions42This report examines key aspects of entrepreneurshipamong women worldwide, measuring their attitudes,activities, and aspirations in different geographiesand economic development levels, and makingcomparisons to men on these measures. This researchcontributes to the emerging knowledge about womenentrepreneurs around the world. The findings alsoprovide governments with a foundation for reviewingcurrent and prospective policies in order to enhanceand highlight the vital role of women in theireconomies. We conclude this report by highlightingnine key findings and a discussion of policyimplications.Women contribute significantlyto entrepreneurship in alleconomies of the world.In 59 economies across the globe, representing over52% of the world’s population and 84% of the world’sGDP, 104 million women between 18 and 64 years oldwere actively engaged in starting and running newbusiness ventures in 2010. Another 83 million wererunning established businesses that they started over3 1/2 years earlier. Taken together, 187 million womenwere involved in creating and operating enterprises,ranging from just over 1.5% to 45.4% of the adultfemale population in these 59 economies. Theseindividuals exemplify the contribution women make toentrepreneurship worldwide.In societies where women perceive that theyhave the capabilities for entrepreneurship,there is a greater likelihood women will alsoperceive entrepreneurial opportunities.The relationship between perceptions of capabilitiesand opportunity suggests that, in societies wherewomen believe they have the capabilities forentrepreneurship, they are more likely to seeopportunities for starting businesses. To the extentthat this is true, it calls to attention the importance ofdeveloping women’s capabilities and their confidencein their abilities.While, compared with men, women are equallylikely to see entrepreneurship as attractive,they lack positive attitudes about their ownpersonal capabilities or inclinations for startingbusinesses. They also have less personal contactwith entrepreneurs.Women are nearly as likely as men to perceiveentrepreneurship as a good career choice and tobelieve that entrepreneurs have high status andreceive media attention, but they score lowerthan men on nearly every other attitude measure.In addition, women are less likely to know anentrepreneur. The latter suggests that, althoughentrepreneurs have equal visibility and respect amongboth sexes, women are less likely to have personalrole models and affiliations with them, along withless positive attitudes about their own capabilities,opportunity perception, and fear of failure.Women, overall, are less likely to venture intoentrepreneurship than men, and this happenswith greater magnitude in particular economies.Women’s participation in entrepreneurship is lowerthan that of men, as low as less than one-sixth ofall entrepreneurs (in the Republic of Korea). It isonly in Ghana that women represent more half ofentrepreneurs. A multi-year analysis of 18 economiesfrom 2002 to 2010 suggests that this has long beenthe case. While the reasons for these variations arenot clear, it is likely that the true potential andcontributions of women to all economies may not befully realized.Women entrepreneurs in less-developedeconomies are more likely than men to bemotivated by necessity, but the gap may bestarting to close.The results show that the proportion of necessitymotivatedentrepreneurs tends to be highest in earlydevelopment-stage economies, and this motivation iseven more prevalent for women. This indicates thatwomen contribute more notably to the high levelsof necessity motivations in the less developed areasof the world. However, the multi-year analysis ofnecessity motives in the efficiency-driven economiesshows a decline in the proportion of necessity motivesamong women entrepreneurs from 2002 to 2010, arate that outpaces the decline observed in men overtime. Further, more women cited opportunity ratherthan necessity motives in 2010. This may indicate atrend away from necessity motives and more towardopportunity motives for women.In developed economies inparticular, necessity-basedentrepreneurship may fillin employment gaps duringeconomic downturns.The multi-year analysis of necessity-motivationin women entrepreneurs showed that this motivestayed the same or increased in the innovationdriveneconomies. A similar pattern was reportedfor men. Given that these patterns coincided withthe global economic downturn, it might be reasoned

Key Conclusionsthat necessity entrepreneurship may fill in gaps inemployment at times of economic instability. It ispossible that entrepreneurship can thus be viewedas, not only a job creator, but a job stabilizer in aneconomy.The ability to start a sustainable business, or tosustain businesses that have been started, maybe a key challenge for women entrepreneurs inearly development-stage economies.Overall, there are a significant number of peoplestarting and running businesses in the factor- andefficiency-driven economies, but relative to this base,a high number of entrepreneurs are discontinuingtheir businesses compared to wealthier economies.In addition, there are proportionately more womenentrepreneurs than established women businessowners, particularly in the factor-driven economies.When there are many startups, but few maturephasebusinesses, and high levels of discontinuance,this may reinforce an assumption about the lackof sustainability of entrepreneurial efforts inearly development-stage economies. Given thatthere are more women necessity entrepreneurs inthese economies, and more women with consumerbusinesses, it is possible that these businesses areless sustainable, or that women are less likely orable to maintain them into their mature phase. Inaddition, women and men cite different reasons fordiscontinuance, women citing personal reasons and,lack of financing. Therefore, it may thus be importantto pay attention to why women are not sustainingtheir businesses.The networks of women entrepreneurs andbusinesses owners are generally smaller and lessdiverse than those of their male counterparts,and they tend to draw more on their personalrelationships, particularly family, over othersources.Men’s networks tended to be as large or larger thanthat of women, and extend beyond personal sources toencompass more people in one’s work, entrepreneurial,professional, and market environment. Given thatthese non-private advisors were more likely associatedwith expansive ambitions (growth, innovation, andinternationalization), this draws attention to the typeand value of guidance women can receive from thosethey typically rely on in their networks. Academicresearch suggests that entrepreneurs having broadand diverse networks are more likely to have betteraccess to the information and knowledge that isassociated with high growth potential and ventureperformance.Women entrepreneurs in wealthier economiestend to be older than, as equally educated as andas likely to create equally innovative productsas their male peers; yet they have half thegrowth expectations of men.Women entrepreneurs are older in the innovationdriveneconomies, and they are slightly more likelythan their male counterparts to have a secondary orhigher education. In addition, the level of innovationof their products is reported to be about equal. Yettwice as many men compared to women had growthexpectations of 20+ employees in these wealthiereconomies. This research showed that women havegreater fear of failure then men across all economicdevelopment levels, and the gap is greater at theinnovation-driven stage. Other reasons for thisdisparity may include choice, whereby womenare choosing to maintain smaller ventures, andlow perceptions about their chances for acquiringresources, especially growth capital. Then again, theymay face family and role expectation pressures tomaintain smaller firms.43

Policy ImplicationsPolicies for entrepreneurial economic developmentmust promote the creation of environments in whichwomen are enlightened about entrepreneurshipand can envision how this can be a viable andattractive path for them. Their enthusiasm forstarting and growing businesses needs to be furthersupported by the availability of appropriate andrelevant opportunities and resources (Greene,2008). Additionally, their efforts will be shaped bymacro influences that include economic and politicalinstitutions, government philosophy, religion, cultureand so forth. A unified global approach to policiesthat promote women’s business ownership may notbe entirely feasible. We offer some general guidelines,however, that may help resolve some challenges facingmany women entrepreneurs today.Promote positive societal attitudes towardentrepreneurship, and in particular, women’sengagement in entrepreneurship. Whilesocietal attitudes can be deeply entrenched andoften difficult to change, policymakers can begin toshape perceptions about women’s capabilities andopportunities for entrepreneurship. Programs canraise awareness about entrepreneurship amongwomen and help them build their capabilities forbusiness ownership. Role models and mentors can setexamples and provide valuable lessons for aspiringentrepreneurs. Peer networks promote the sharingof ideas, advice and mutual support among women.Professional networks can lead to financing and otherbenefits for these women.Policies need to recognize the diversity of startingpoints, motivations, educational levels and roleexpectations that influence women entrepreneurs’practices and approaches. In addition, educationsystems need to present entrepreneurship as aviable choice for women, not only through teachingmaterials, cases and speakers, but also in cocurricularactivities and other forms of support.Finally, since men and women differ with respect totheir reasons for business discontinuance and theirfear of failure, these topics need to be addressed in away that recognizes and prepares women to managethese differences.Assist women-run start-ups through theavailability of opportunities and resources.Women need both opportunities to participate in theireconomies and training in identifying and evaluatingopportunities as a foundation for starting businesses.They need to be cognizant of different pathwaysto business ownership. This can include buying abusiness, franchising, family business successionand technology commercialization. Policymakerscan evaluate and address ways to help women movetoward entrepreneurship, but they also need toaddress conditions that present barriers to theseefforts, such as child care benefits that are onlyavailable to women who work in large, establishedfirms. Policies that focus on access to capital shouldbe reviewed to ascertain the actual fit between thesources of financing and the needs of the womenentrepreneurs. Innovative sources of funding for startupsare a global need.Support women’s business growth withtechnical assistance and education. Educationalprograms need to be available not only for womenbusiness owners, but also for those participatingin the support infrastructure for entrepreneurship;this includes attorneys, accountants, bankers,policymakers and so forth. Business growth policiesshould recognize that there are many approachesto growing a business and a variety of definitionsof success. Large companies might be encouragedto offer venture financing and technical assistanceand to consider strategic partnerships with womenledfirms. In addition, growing—and sustaining—abusiness requires a different skill set than startingone; educational and technical assistance programstherefore need to adjust accordingly.Most economic policies around the world are madeby individuals who are educated primarily about theworld of big business and who function in their rolesto support such businesses. At the same time, mostof the businesses in the world are small to mediumsizedfirms and the majority of the world’s workforceis employed in these businesses. Therefore, blanketpolicies that take the perspective of large companies,or that fail to consider differences between womenand men, or even among groups of women, will likelyfall short in facilitating the growth of economiesaround the world. Policies will need to consider thisdiversity and its relationship to motivations, attitudesand approaches to start-up and growth. As womenemerge as key participants in the entrepreneurialphenomenon, they will contribute increasingly toeconomic development, innovation and societal valueof their communities and the world.44

Appendix 1: Background on GEM and the GEM ModelThe main guiding purpose of GEM is to measureindividual involvement in venture creation. Thisdifferentiates GEM from other data sets, most ofwhich record firm-level data. A second aim of thisresearch is to promote entrepreneurship as a processcomprising different phases, from intending tostart, to just starting, to running new or establishedenterprises and even discontinuing them.Figure A1 summarizes the entrepreneurship processand GEM’s operational definitions.For more information on the GEM methodology, visitthe website at www.gemconsortium.org.Figure A1– The Entrepreneurship Process and GEM Operational DefinitionsDiscontinuation of BusinessTotal Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA)PotentialEntrepreneur:Opportunities,Knowledge and SkillsNascentEntrepreneur:Involved in SettingUp a BusinessOwner-Managerof a New Business(up to 3.5 years old)Owner-Managerof an EstablishedBusiness (morethan 3.5 years old)Conception Firm Birth PersistenceThrough the wealth of measures it tracks, GEMresearch can uncover which types of people are (andare not) participating in entrepreneurship. Theresearch captures both those who formally registertheir businesses and those who run informal ones.These unregistered businesses, in fact, can composeas much as 80% of economic activity in developingcountries. ivPeople launch businesses for a variety of reasons.They may be led into entrepreneurship out ofnecessity: the pursuit of self-employment when thereare no better options for work. In contrast, theirefforts may be powered by the pursuit of opportunity.GEM therefore assesses the motivations thatindividuals have for starting businesses.GEM additionally measures aspirations. Theseaspirations may be evident in innovative productsor services or the pursuit of customers beyondnational borders. They may also include high-growthambitions, thereby contributing more markedly to newemployment in their economies.Recognizing that entrepreneurs are driven not onlyby their own perceptions about starting a business,but also by the attitudes of those around them, GEMconsiders the attitudes that represent the climatefor entrepreneurship in a society. Entrepreneursneed to have positive beliefs about the availabilityof opportunities around them, their ability to startbusinesses and the value of doing so, and they can’tallow fear of failure to deter their efforts. At the sametime, they need customers who are willing to buy fromthem, vendors willing to supply them and families andinvestors ready to support their efforts. Even positivesocietal perceptions about entrepreneurship mayindirectly stimulate this activity.Economic Development Level and theGEM ModelAs an economy develops, productivity increases and,consequently, so does per capita income. This is oftenaccompanied by the migration of labor across differentindustrial sectors. For example, labor may move fromagricultural and extractive sectors to manufacturing,and then eventually to services. v In their early stagesof development, economies typically have a higherproportion of necessity-driven activities. Here, thedemand for jobs in high-productivity sectors outpacessupply. As a result, many people must create theirown source of income.With further development comes the growth ofproductive sectors. This increases employmentcapacity but leads to gradual declines in the level ofnecessity-driven entrepreneurship. At the same time,improvements in wealth and infrastructure stimulateopportunity-based businesses, shifting the nature ofentrepreneurship activity. These ventures are morelikely associated with greater aspirations for growth,45

Appendix 1: Background on GEM and the GEM Modelinnovation and internationalization. They rely,however, on the economic and financial institutionscreated during the developing phases. To the extentthat these institutions are able to accommodateand support opportunity-seeking entrepreneurshipactivity, innovative entrepreneurial firms may emergeas significant drivers of economic growth and wealthcreation. viThe GEM ModelFigure A2 illustrates the GEM model, which shows,first, the relationship between the social, culturaland political context and three sets of frameworkconditions: basic requirements, efficiency enhancers,and innovation and entrepreneurship boosters. Theseframework conditions are modeled as affecting theattitudes of a population toward entrepreneurship,and the activity and aspirations of entrepreneurs. Inturn, entrepreneurship activity, as well as the growthof established firms, influences economic growth.As Figure A2 shows, the key imperative in factordriveneconomies lies in building basic requirementssuch as primary education, healthcare, infrastructureand so forth. Later-stage factors like entrepreneurialfinance and government entrepreneurship programsare unlikely to have substantial effects if, for instance,entrepreneurs don’t have good roads to transportgoods or a sufficiently educated labor force fromwhich they can recruit employees. In other words,investments in entrepreneurship-specific frameworkconditions may be less effective in enabling businesscreation if they are made at the expense of basicrequirements.Entrepreneurs with high aspirations fare betterin countries with stable economic and politicalclimates and well-developed institutions. This, infact, may account for the activities of certain groupsof immigrants into wealthier economies. At the sametime, economic progress begets scale economies.Large firms are more efficient from a nationalperspective and, for many individuals, a moreattractive employment alternative to necessity-basedentrepreneurship.To replace the migration of necessity entrepreneurstoward employment in large companies, efficiencydriveneconomies must attract more opportunitybasedentrepreneurship. The second set of frameworkconditions represents efficiency enhancers. Theseare directed toward ensuring that markets functionproperly. The nurturing of economies of scale can, infact, be complemented by the emergence of growthandtechnology-oriented entrepreneurs, expanding thescope of employment in a society.Advanced economies have a relatively sophisticatedfoundation of basic requirements and efficiencyenhancers. While these factors are essential tosustaining necessity-based entrepreneurship, theymay be insufficient drivers of opportunity-basedbehavior. Here, knowledge is prevalent but laboris expensive. Entrepreneurship-specific frameworkconditions become the levers that drive dynamic,innovation-oriented behavior, while the foundation ofbasic requirements and efficiency enhancers needs tobe maintained.46

Appendix 1: Background on GEM and the GEM ModelFigure A2– The GEM ModelSocial,Cultural,PoliticalContextFrom OtherAvailableSourcesFrom GEMNationalExpert Surveys(NES)Basic Requirements- Institutions- Infrastructure- Macroeconomic Stability- Health and PrimaryEducationEfficiency Enhancers- Higher Education andTraining- Goods Market Efficiency- Labor Market Efficiency- Financial MarketSophistication- TechnologicalReadiness- Market SizeInnovation andEntrepreneurship- Entrepreneurial Finance- Government Policies- GovernmentEntrepreneurshipPrograms- EntrepreneurshipEducation- R&D Transfer- Internal MarketOpenness- Physical Infrastructurefor Entrepreneurship- Commercial, LegalInfrastructure forEntrepreneurship- Cultural, Social NormsEstablished Firms(Primary Economy)EntrepreneurshipAttitudes:Perceived OpportunitiesPerceived CapacityActivity:Early-StagePersistenceExitsAspirations:GrowthInnovationSocial Value CreationFrom GEMAdult PopulationSurveys (APS)New Plants,Firm GrowthNationalEconomicGrowth(Jobs andTechnicalInnovation)47

Appendix 2: Glossary of Main Measures and TerminologyMEASUREDESCRIPTIONEntrepreneurial Attitudes and PerceptionsPerceived OpportunitiesPerceived CapabilitiesEntrepreneurial IntentionFear of Failure RateEntrepreneurship as Desirable Career ChoiceHigh Status Successful EntrepreneurshipMedia Attention for EntrepreneurshipPercentage of 18 to 64 age group who see good opportunities to start a firm in the area where they livePercentage of 18 to 64 age group who believe they have the required skills and knowledge to start abusinessPercentage of 18 to 64 age group (individuals involved in any stage of entrepreneurial activityexcluded) who intend to start a business within three yearsPercentage of 18 to 64 age group with positive perceived opportunities who indicate that fear offailure would prevent them from setting up a businessPercentage of 18 to 64 age group who agree with the statement that, in their country, most peopleconsider starting a business to be a desirable career choicePercentage of 18 to 64 age group who agree with the statement that, in their country, successfulentrepreneurs receive high statusPercentage of 18 to 64 age group who agree with the statement that, in their country, they will oftensee stories in the public media about successful new businessesEntrepreneurial ActivityNascent Entrepreneurship RateNew Business Ownership RateTotal Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA)Established Business Ownership RateBusiness Discontinuation RateNecessity-Driven Entrepreneurial Activity: RelativePrevalenceImprovement-Driven Opportunity EntrepreneurialActivity: Relative PrevalencePercentage of 18 to 64 age group who are currently a nascent entrepreneur, i.e., actively involvedin setting up a business they will own or co-own; this business has not paid salaries, wages or anyother payments to the owners for more than three monthsPercentage of 18 to 64 age group who are currently an owner-manager of a new business, i.e.,owning and managing a running business that has paid salaries, wages or any other payments to theowners for more than three months, but not more than 42 monthsPercentage of 18 to 64 age group who are either a nascent entrepreneur or owner-manager of a newbusiness (as defined above)Percentage of 18 to 64 age group who are currently owner-manager of an established business, i.e.,owning and managing a running business that has paid salaries, wages or any other payments to theowners for more than 42 monthsPercentage of 18 to 64 age group who have, in the past 12 months, discontinued a business, eitherby selling, shutting down or otherwise discontinuing an owner/management relationship with thebusiness (Note: This is not a measure of business failure rates)Percentage of those involved in total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (as defined above) who areinvolved in entrepreneurship because they had no other option for workPercentage of those involved in total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (as defined above) who (i)claim to be driven by opportunity, as opposed to finding no other option for work; and (ii) indicate themain driver for being involved in this opportunity is being independent or increasing their income,rather than just maintaining their income48Entrepreneurial AspirationsHigh-Growth Expectation Early-Stage EntrepreneurialActivity: Relative PrevalenceNew Product-Market Oriented Early-StageEntrepreneurial Activity: Relative PrevalenceInternational Orientation Entrepreneurial Activity withInternational OrientationPercentage of total early-stage entrepreneurs (as defined above) who expect to employ at least 20employees five years from nowWeak measure: expects at least five employees five years from nowPercentage of total early-stage entrepreneurs (as defined above) who indicate that their product orservice is new to at least some customers and indicate that not many businesses offer the sameproduct or serviceWeak measure: product is new or not many businesses offer the same product or servicePercentage of total early-stage entrepreneurs (as defined above) with more than 25% of thecustomers coming from other countriesWeak measure: more than 1% customers coming from other countries

About the AuthorsDonna J. KelleyDonna Kelley is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Babson College and holds the Frederic C.Hamilton Chair of Free Enterprise. She holds a doctorate in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.Her entrepreneurship experience includes businesses in the health/fitness, computer hardware and educationfields. Donna has published research in top entrepreneurship and innovation management journals on thetopics of innovation in startups and established corporations in the U.S. and Korea, and on entrepreneurshipeducation in China. She is a board member of the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association, the oversightboard of the GEM project. She co-authored the 2010 GEM Global Report, the 2008 GEM Korea Report, and a2008 GEM special topic report on education and training.Candida G. BrushCandida Brush is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Chair of the Entrepreneurship Division at Babson College.She holds the Franklin W. Olin Chair in Entrepreneurship and serves as Director of the Arthur M. BlankCenter at Babson College. She holds a doctorate in management from Boston University, an honorary doctoratefrom Jonkoping University in Sweden, and she has an appointment to the Norwegian School of Engineering andTechnology in Trondheim, Norway, as a Visiting Professor. Dr. Brush has more than 100 publications aboutwomen entrepreneurs and new venture strategies, is a founding member of The Diana Project Internationaland winner of the 2007 Global Award for Outstanding Research in Entrepreneurship. She serves as an Editorfor Entrepreneurship: Theory & Practice and is an angel investor and board member for several companies andorganizations.Patricia G. GreenePatricia Greene holds the Paul T. Babson Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies at Babson College where sheformerly served as Provost (2006-2008) and Dean of the Undergraduate School (2003-2006). She earned aPh.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. Her current assignment at Babson is as the national academicdirector for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative and advisor to the 10,000 Women program.Dr. Greene feeds her passion for supporting women entrepreneurs and their businesses through her service asChair of the Board of the Center for Women’s Business Research, a co-founder of the Diana Project, a memberof the SBA’s advisory board for the SBDC program, and as special academic advisor to the Guardian Life SmallBusiness Research Institute. Most recently she was named as a Small Business Influencer by Small BusinessTechnology. She is a business owner as well as an angel investor and advisor to several small businesses.Yana LitovskyYana Litovsky is the GEM Data Manager. Before she joined GEM in 2008, she worked as a Research Associatefor Professor Teresa Amabile in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at the Harvard Business School. Shereceived Bachelors Degrees in Psychology and Philosophy from Brandeis University and is currently pursuinga Masters Degree in Psychology at Hunter College. She has co-authored a Harvard Business School case andcontributed to the 2010 GEM Global Report, among other publications.49

GEM SponsorsGERA and GEMThe Global Entrepreneurship Research Association (GERA) is, for formalconstitutional and regulatory purposes, the umbrella organization that hoststhe GEM project. GERA is an association formed of Babson College, LondonBusiness School, and representatives of the Association of GEM nationalteams.The GEM program is a major initiative aimed at describing and analyzingentrepreneurial processes within a wide range of countries. The program hasthree main objectives:• To measure differences in the level of entrepreneurial activitybetween countries• To uncover factors leading to appropriate levels of entrepreneurship• To suggest policies that may enhance the national level ofentrepreneurial activity.New developments, and all global, national and special topic reports, can befound at www.gemconsortium.org.BABSON COLLEGEBabson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA, is recognizedinternationally as a leader in entrepreneurial management education.Babson College is the Leading Sponsoring Institution and a FoundingInstitution. Babson grants BS degrees through its innovative undergraduateprogram, and it grants MBA and custom MS and MBA degrees through theF.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. Babson ExecutiveEducation offers executive development programs to experienced managersworldwide. For information, visit www.babson.edu.UNIVERSIDAD DEL DESARROLLOUniversidad Del Desarrollo, UDD, Educational project was driven byoutstanding leaders of the Chilean public and business scene and is todayone of the top three prestigious private universities in Chile. Success camequickly; after just twenty years, its rapid growth has become an expressionof the University’s main facet: Entrepreneurship. UDD’s MBA is rated oneof the best in Latin America and also one of the best in Entrepreneurshipeducation, according to AméricaEconomîa magazine, an achievement thatonce again represents the “entrepreneurial” seal that is embedded in thespirit of the University. For more information visit www.udd.cl.UNIVERSITY TUN ABDUL RAZAK50University Tun Abdul Razak was established on 18 December 1997 as oneof the first private universities in Malaysia. The University was namedafter Malaysia’s second Prime Minister, the late YAB Tun Abdul Razak binDato’ Hussein, and was officially launched on 21 December 1998 by TunAbdul Razak’s eldest son, YAB Dato’ Seri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak,current Prime Minister of Malaysia and then Minister of Education. On 1March 2007, the Tun Abdul Razak Education Foundation (Yayasan PINTAR)acquired Universiti Tun Abdul Razak Sdn. Bhd. (owner of Universiti TunAbdul Razak) from KUB Malaysia Berhad.

Report Sponsorsthe center for women’s leadershipThe Center for Women’s Leadership (CWL) investigates, educates andcelebrates women entrepreneurial leaders everywhere. Today CWL provideshigh-impact programs, creates powerful collaborations, and funds anddisseminates action research, which impacts lives, enhances careers andevolves organizations. This enables women to provide innovative leadershipto their organizations and communities.the center for women’s business researchThe Center for Women’s Business Research provides data-driven knowledgethat advances the economic, social, and political impact of women businessowners and their enterprises. We do this by setting the national agenda;creating insight on the status and achievements of women business owners;altering perceptions about the economic viability and progress of womenownedenterprises; and driving awareness of the economic and social impactof this vital business sector.ContactsThe complete version of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2010 Report: Women Entrepreneurs Worldwidecan be downloaded at www.gemconsortium.orgFor more information on this report, contact Donna J. Kelley at dkelley@babson.edu; Candida Brush atcbrush@babson.edu; or Patricia Greene at greene@babson.edu.To download copies of the GEM Global Report(s) or GEM National Team Reports, and to access select data sets,please visit the GEM Web site at www.gemconsortium.org.Nations not currently represented in the GEM Consortium may express interest in joining and requestadditional information by e-mailing the Executive Director, Mike Herrington at Mike.Herrington@gsb.uct.ac.za.iThese percentages are based on IMF´s World Economic Outlook Database, October 2010 and USA Bureau of Census.iiSchwab, Klaus, ed. The Global Competitiveness Report 2010–2011. Geneva: World Economic Forum, 2010.iiiGreene, P.G. The Diana Project: Past, Present, and Future. Diana International Conference. Belfast, Nov. 4, 2008.ivThe World Bank. Doing Business 2010. Washington, D.C.: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, 2010.vGries, T. and W. Naude (2010), “Entrepreneurship and Structural Economic Transformation,” in Small Business Economics, 34(1): 13–29.viHenrekson, M. (2005), “Entrepreneurship: A weak link in the welfare state,” in Industrial and Corporate Change, 14(3): 437–467.51

Cultivating WomenEntrepreneurs inTaiwanBy Ru-Mei HsiehLin and Zhan, Lavender CottageTen years ago, two young girls(Lin and Zhan) quit their jobsand created a Lavender Cottageto fulfill their simple andsmall dream. Now, they havefive new product brands (coffeeshop, restaurant, B &B, on-lineshop, wedding service) and 12locations in Taiwanand Japan. In 2011, theirbusinesses turned over morethan 16 million US dollars.GEM TaiwanThe Female Entrepreneur Cultivation NetworkPlan is one of the programs initiated under theFemale Entrepreneurship Guidance Plan by theTaiwan government’s Small and Medium EnterpriseAdministration. This program, launched in 2007,is specifically designed to provide a comprehensiverange of resources and business connections for femaleentrepreneurs in cultural and creative industries,the high technology sector, health and beauty,and software. By promoting the dissemination ofentrepreneurship experience and knowledge, thisinitiative aims to encourage female entrepreneurs tofocus on innovative, knowledge-intensive fields.Activities include training courses and consultingservices specifically designed for women, grantsfor research on women entrepreneurship, andnetworking opportunities for sharing experiences,providing business advice, and offering support andencouragement across multiple cities in Taiwan. Inaddition, women entrepreneurs with high-growthpotential businesses can participate in awardprograms and apply for government subsidies. Womenbusiness owners also receive sponsorship to attendinternational entrepreneurship events, to help themkeep pace with international trends.During the first three years of this program, over7,000 women startup managers have been cultivatedand 611 female-owned businesses have beensuccessfully established.For more information on Taiwan’s Small and MediumEnterprise Association programs, go to:www.moeasmea.gov.tw/lp.asp?ctNode=307&CtUnit=36&BaseDSD=7&mp=2.52

Anagha Kulkarni (India) is a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women program graduate fromHyderabad, India. She runs Nirmala Pet A Pack Pvt Ltd, a manufacturer of specializedpackaging materials for the pharmaceutical, electronic and food industries. Sincegraduating from 10,000 Women, Anagha has doubled the number of people she employsand has increased her revenues by 63%.Sanaa Hyder (United States) founded ZH Collection Bags, a producer of unique,original hand-drawn proprietary textile prints and functional, affordable travel bagsthat depict a bold and evocative artistic style. Inspired by a colorful and internationalchildhood, Sanaa’s prints bolster her mission to spread a bit of joy with functional travelbags and meaningful art.Asja Kamberovic (Bosnia) operates a milk production business with thirteen dairycows and an investment in all the necessary machinery, including a milk cooling tank.Asja’s entire family is engaged in the business, and they have even managed to invest inits expansion.Zada Micivoda (Bosnia) is the owner of a school canteen. Starting with sales ofpremade sandwiches and pies, Zada bravely borrowed money to invest in the business,buying an oven, renovating the business premises, and recruiting an expert in piemaking. She now has a cuisine centered on variety, health and freshness.Chien-yi Wei (Taiwan) created a new clothing brand, Anewei, which combines Chineseculture and design creativity. The clothes are hand-made, using Chinese traditionalblue-dyeing techniques.Lin and Zhan (Taiwan) founded Lavender Cottage, which includes coffee shops, bedand-breakfasts,an on-line shop, and wedding services. The business creates a newlifestyle in Taiwan by embracing the core value of being close to nature. As of 2011, theyhave twelve locations in Taiwan and Japan with turnover exceeding $16 million USD.Cecilia Bergh, M.D. (Sweden) is founder and CEO of Mando Group, a privately ownedhealthcare company with five Mandometer ® Clinics in three countries. These clinicstreat anorexia and bulimia, along with all other eating disorders, using the patentedMandometer ® Method.Painting by Emily Bee, Artist. United States