Some Facts about Women Entrepreneurs: Moving Front and Center

Women entrepreneurs are carving a niche for themselves in a domain that was dominated by men. When it comes to the number of women entrepreneurs in developed countries, women are now giving competition to the men. In United States of America, as many as 50 percent of the entrepreneurial ventures are run by women.

The picture is not so perfect in all countries but a considerable progress has certainly been made. Here”s a detailed look at the current entrepreneurial scenario for women.

1. Technology brings in flexibility and convenience

Advancements in technology in the form of better communication facilities over the web and avenues for carrying out work from home have enabled women to maintain a work-life balance. Traditionally, this factor served as an obstacle to women”s career growth. Women can now build a flexible work schedule for themselves while managing their work from a home based office.

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2. A gradual shift towards traditionally male-oriented business domains

Financial services and architecture are two instances of business domains that were firmly dominated by male entrepreneurs. Numbers tell a different story now. Women are not only climbing up the corporate ladder and breaking the glass ceiling to occupy important positions in organizations functional in these domains but are also achieving success in their own entrepreneurial domains by competing well and moving ahead against tough competition from their male peers. Technology has made it easier but people”s mindset has also changed. Women in architectural or financial services domain are now considered on par with their male counterparts when it comes to competence.

3. Small businesses constitute a significant percentage of the total

The number of businesses owned by female professionals has seen a marked improvement but the same cannot be said of the size of businesses. This is true also because small web-oriented businesses allow women to supplement the family income through smaller pursuits but these are certainly not the ones that can count themselves among billion dollar businesses employing thousands of people. Numbers are not always reflective of the actual picture.

4. Pursuit of safer business methodologies

Small size of business when it comes to women entrepreneurs can be attributed to multiple factors. Lack of conviction in larger capital investment, risk aversion and pursuit of business only to supplement family income rather than a passion for business are some of those. The scenario is seeing a change though. Higher emotional quotient and ability to keep the communication channels open in the worst of situations are proving to be significant business assets for women.
Technology has emerged as a game-changer for women in the entrepreneurial world. The kind of flexibility that women demanded in the workplace is now available to them. This has given a fillip to the growth in the total number of women entrepreneurs. What remains to be seen now is whether women can grow their businesses in terms of size as well to mark their dominance in the entrepreneurial world.