Women’s Entrepreneurship Day: how are we doing?

On Wednesday, November 19th Women’s Entrepreneurship Day was celebrated and there are a lot of things that need to be said. According to the National Association of Women Business Owners, there are more than 11.6 million women that own a business today in the U.S., which is great. 

These data, as read on CNBC, also revealed that since 2007 the number of businesses owned by women has grown above the national average, which means that, at the moment, there are 1072 new firms, owned by women, starting every day. 

The results of the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) 2018 study show that in North and Latin America, Asia Pacific, Russia, Europe and Scandinavia, women are are “making positive inroads as business leaders and professionals underpinned by supportive underlying entrepreneurial conditions”, according to the results. 

However, the study also showed that gender bias against women is still very pronounced when it comes for opportunities for them to be professionals and technical workers: there is a lack of business resources such as capital, training, finances, capital, and development for women, which usually leads to business discontinuity. 

Actually, as read on CNBC, generally around 20% of small businesses fail in the first year, and 50% do not survive beyond five years. 

The findings of the MIWE 2018 also showed that women's progress as entrepreneurs is not aligned to their wealth and advancement of their respective economies. 

“In fact, some of the highest rates of Women Business Ownership are observed in the less wealthy, factor-driven markets where women are driven to businesses out of necessity/need to survive”, said the authors. 

There are a lot of things that women can do as entrepreneurs to avoid failing. The most important one would be building a powerful network in order to talk about your business and learn about other entrepreneurs that have to succeed. 

Also, it is very important to hire people that understand and share your passion for what you are doing and are motivated to keep going even. 

There are also organizations as Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO), created by Wendy Diamond, a social entrepreneur and humanitarian, which empowers, supports and celebrated women in business worldwide. 

“Launched in 2013, WED works globally to empower women and girls to become active participants in the economy by igniting a network of women leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs to initiate startups, drive economic expansion and advance communities around the world”, says their website. 

To do this, WED educates the world on the importance of why it’s pivotal to empower women in business globally and builds a network of like-minded individuals and organizations that “women business leaders need in order to realize their full potential and change the world”.