This talk-debate session, sponsored by the Valore D association, Aspen Institute Italia and Women for Expo, explored the approaches and trends that characterize female entrepreneurship, the distinguishing features of this segment of the business community, as well as existing weaknesses that could undermine its development and growth. The event was organized as part of Aspen Italia’s Women in Business project, which aims to create a transnational network of debate and reflection in support of female leadership.
The participants highlighted that being a woman and choosing life at the helm of a business, especially where operating in a field of technological and digital innovation, continues to be something of a “feat”. Yet despite burdensome bureaucratic obstacles, difficulties in accessing credit, and still widespread prejudices and skepticism, more and more women are managing to fulfill their dream of doing so. Over the past five years, the proportion of female entrepreneurs in Italy has increased, albeit slightly, reaching 30%. Yet a significant gap persists between female and male entrepreneurship. At a global level, businesses started by women number 40% less than those set up by men. Not only do women start less businesses than men, but the longevity (or staying power) of women-owned businesses is less than that of commercial ventures established by their male counterparts.
During the debate, a sneak preview was given of a research paper on “Bridging the Entrepreneurship Gender Gap”, which underlines the urgent need for some radical reflection on the measures needed to encourage and bolster female entrepreneurship, particularly with a view to enabling the creation of a relationship network that supports, sustains and provides guidance for new women entrepreneurs. Cited as emerging from the research was the novel and surprising finding that world GDP would grow by 1.5 trillion dollars if the percentage of female entrepreneurs were on par with that for males, and that global jobs would also rise by 3% if the 40% gender gap between men and women setting up businesses were bridged.
Finally, the debate also saw a fascinating comparative discussion of different role models in female entrepreneurship, especially in science- and technology-related fields, which highlighted enabling and limiting factors that characterize the development of businesses in Israel – a country often referred to as the “start-up nation”.