Women all over the world have made great strides towards equality. But, even after a whole lot of struggle, protests and efforts, they still face significant obstacles in multiple arenas, including starting and growing their own business. Even now, our society doesn’t allow women to achieve their goals and live their dreams. The field of business is not a lot different than that. Whereas moreover, in a world where the society doesn’t trust a women to lead a company, what else do we even dare to expect? Now, let’s look at some of the problems faced by women entrepreneurs in particular.
Low access to capital
Women entrepreneurs face a number of challenges when it comes to securing funding. First, they’re less likely than men to have access to capital in the first place. Second, even if you do get your hands on some cash from an angel investor or bank loan officer who knows how much money will be required for your business plan’s success and can help you find ways around potential roadblocks like regulations or competition from larger companies that might pose barriers for growth potentials beyond what was initially anticipated—your chances remain slim because there aren’t enough people like them out there willing to help other small businesses succeed.
Lack of role models
Another major problem faced by women entrepreneurs is a lack of role models. There are fewer women who have started their own businesses, and those who do often face barriers to success. Women are also underrepresented in the business world, which makes it harder for them to succeed as entrepreneurs.
For example, research shows that men are more likely than women to start businesses with friends or family members while they were still in school—and they’re much more likely than their female peers to take advantage of such opportunities. This means that many new entrepreneurs today aren’t learning how valuable it can be (and isn’t) for them!
Gender stereotypes: One of the major problems faced by female entrepreneurs
Women are often expected to be the primary caretakers of children, which can make it more difficult for them to start businesses. This means that women have a lot of responsibilities and cannot take time off work as easily as men who don’t have children. The extremely high childcare costs and the requirement to spend more time off work to care for children will by itself present as a roadblock in front of you. Furthermore, the less access to flexible working hours can also pose a problem for children.
Underrepresentation in the political and business spheres
From the business world to politics, it’s clear that women are underrepresented. In fact, they make up only 25% of the world’s parliamentarians and 33% of executives at Fortune 500 companies. In science and technology fields (which include engineering), there is also an issue with female participation: only 18% of scientists working in these fields are women—and even fewer hold leadership positions within them.
Social pressure
Social pressure is a major issue for many women entrepreneurs. These pressures include:
- Conforming to gender stereotypes (e.g., stay-at-home moms, corporate executives)
- Marrying and having children (the ideal being that you marry someone of your same race, religion and economic status)
- Conforming to cultural norms about motherhood (being able to raise children well)
- Being a good wife/mother/daughter
Despite progress, women are still disadvantaged in starting their own businesses.
Despite progress, women are still disadvantaged in starting their own businesses. According to the World Bank, 3% more women than men have been entrepreneurs at some point in their lives; however, this number has not changed significantly over time. Women are underrepresented in politics and business compared to their male counterparts; only 17% of Fortune 500 CEOs are female (World Economic Forum). This lack of representation can be attributed to several factors including lower access to capital, gender stereotypes that discourage women from pursuing careers outside the home (e.g., childcare costs), and a lack of role models at all levels who look like them or understand what they’re going through as entrepreneurs.
These are some of the problems women entrepreneurs face on a day to day basis. While there has been significant progress and women are more now entering the business world than ever before, there is still a long way to go before gender equality is achieved. Women still face discrimination in areas such as access to capital, childcare costs and underrepresentation among political leaders.
