Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Women Entrepreneurship in Europe:
A Challenge and a Commitment. Policies and
Best Practices
Workshop on Gender Equality:
Support to Women Entrepreneurship in
Turkey
Organised by the European Union in co-operation with the Union
of Chambers and CommodityExchanges of Turkey – TOBB
Presentation of Ruxandra Boros
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Summary
Women Entrepreneurship in Europe:
 A challenge
 A commitment by Governments
 Gender stereotypes and their impact on
female entrepreneurship
 Policies and Best practices
 On-line resources
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
A challenge
Women entrepreneurship in Europe
• Women’s employment rates are getting close to
those of men (58% vs 65% in 2007)
• Yet only a third of the entrepreneurs are women, a
proportion maintained over the last years that
seems unlikely to change in the near future
• « What are the factors that preclude women from
becoming more entrepreneurial »?
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
A challenge
Women entrepreneurship in Europe
Women still face discriminatory laws, policies and
cultural practices. Notably, research shows that
female entrepreneurs find accessing capital,
contracts and markets more difficult than their male
counterparts.
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
A challenge
Women entrepreneurship in Europe
In every country, the employment rate of women
is lower than that of men, without any significant
differences between the East and the West of
Europe
What consequence for women entrepreneurship?
low human and social capital for women
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
A challenge
How are Women entrepreneurs different from Men?
Women seem to have less « capital », which affects
negatively their entrepreneurial propensity and
performance
1
Financial capital
2
Human capital (education; work experience)
3
Social capital: business contacts,
networks, family social capital (GEM Turkey research , 2007)
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
A challenge
• Several factors predict a lesser entrepreneurial involvement
of women as compared to men: for instance women’s more
limited access to various forms of capital and resources
• These factors are determined by women’s position in society
– which of course may differ more or less widely from country
to country – and imply the existence of gender segregation:
e.g. in the labour market
• The EU as well as member countries have programs to
combat gender stereotypes, will this impact women
entrepreneurship development?
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
A commitment in Europe
• Supporting women entrepreneurship is on the
agenda of the EU and its member states (ex France,
2008)
• EU aims to foster the entrepreneurial mindset (Oslo
Report 2006) through education and learning
– Lisbon strategy proposes to reinforce entrepreneurial
education
– EU Parliament and Council suggest that entrepreneurship
is a competence for all
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Women entrepreneurship: characteristics
Type of entrepreneurial activity (early stage vs established
businesses)
• Entrepreneurial activity varies widely across
countries both by level and type
• Regardless of gender, entrepreneurial activity is
higher in low/middle income countries than in high
income level countries
• A gender gap exists for early-stage/established
entrepreneurs – greatest in the high income
countries where men are 2 times more likely than
women to start a business. Cultural values impact
mostly early stage entrepreneurship
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Women entrepreneurship: characteristics
Sectoral distribution and growth potential
• Women entrepreneurs are active mostly in
consumer-oriented activities
Demographic and economic factors
• Age: 25-54 younger in low income level countries
• Work status: employment matters regardless of
gender and country group: it provides access to
resources, social capital, ideas
• Education: impacts access to employment
• Income: employment seems to matter most
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Women entrepreneurship: FRANCE
Comparison between 2002-2006
• 92,000 enterprises by women : 28.6% (+10.3% women head
of business); up 50% vs 2002
• Company profile: 45,000 services (49%); 36,000 retail
trade (39%)
• Motivation:: self-employment vs business development; less
employees than men
• Start-up: Up-front investment: 1/3 of women less than 2,000
E vs 1/5 of men; women ask for more support than men;
were less helped by suppliers/clients/employers; had less
problems than men to access credit!
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Gender stereotypes
How do gender stereotypes impact women
entrepreneurship?
Gender Stereotypes are generalisations on what is
expected of men and women in a specific social context
They are over-simplified ideas of the differences between
women and men, their skills, psychological attitudes,
ambitions and behaviour
Judgments based on this generalizations may initially
appear to save time and energy…
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Gender stereotypes
Gender and graduates
• Men represent only 20 to 27 % of graduates in occupations
concerned with the social services, health and education
sectors
• Women represent between 60 and 70% of graduates in
occupations related to the training of teachers, and the
behavioral and social sciences
• Women are between 15 and 30% of the graduates in
occupations concerned with commerce and administration,
the manufacture and treatment of materials, mathematics,
statistics, and transport
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Gender stereotypes
Gender and sectors of employment
• 77% of those employed in education and social services are
women, including between 82 and 84% in Eastern Europe,
and between 67 and 75 % in Western Europe
• 62% of those employed in agriculture, hunting, forestry and
fishing are men, 58% in Eastern Europe and 66% in Western
Europe
• 34% of those employed in manufacturing industry are
women: 40% in Eastern Europe, 28% in Western Europe
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Gender stereotypes
Gender and sectors of employment: Conclusion
Women’s work is highly concentrated in the
education and social services sectors
Men dominate in sectors such as construction,
the production and distribution of electricity, gas
and water, and in manufacturing industry
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Gender stereotypes
…In reality gender stereotypes fail to capture
individuals’ traits and abilities
The Eu has identified the persistence of
stereotypes as a root cause of gender
imbalances and of labour market
inefficiencies
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Gender segregation
Gender stereotypes lead to the division of work by gender, based on two
major factors, as it has been confirmed after analyzing data concerning
women and men at work
Pillar One: Horizontal segregation:
There is a concentration of women’s
employment in the same professional
occupations, whatever the country or
culture concerned
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Gender segregation
It has been verified that the horizontal segmentation of
women’s employment is connected with scholastic
and university orientation
It is difficult to know whether this is cause or effect:
the choice of orientation determines professional
choices and gender divisions in work certainly
influence the choice of orientation
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Gender segregation
Pillar Two: Vertical segregation:
Women are concentrated in the lower or
intermediate levels of hierarchies and
professions, and are represented
significantly less than men at a senior level
This vertical segregation of work, often illustrated by
the metaphor of the glass ceiling, is the second pillar
of the division of work by gender
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Gender segregation
Differences in the remuneration between men and
women are often a result of the conjunction of this
double segregation
Whatever the specific historical, political and cultural
realities of the member countries of the European
Union, horizontal and vertical segregations
constitute the two mechanisms of the system of the
division of work between women and men
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Room for change?
Recent Statistics in Europe
• 59% of new universty graduates are women
• 80% of students in business administration are
women
What consequences for women
entrepreneurship?
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Women Entrepreneurship: Conclusions
It appears that women who are employed and have built a
social network of entrepreneurs are more likely to
become entrepreneurs and to succeed in their business
The social and economic benefits of working are driving
women’s entrepreneurship more than increased
education or household income
Women’s level of optimism and self-confidence in starting
a business is highly influenced by the culture and social
norms of their native countries
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Policies and Best Practices
1. “The Guarantee Fund for Women”, a French
government initiative to support women
entrepreneurs
1. “Women and Entrepreneurs”, a program of
Advancia, the entrepreneurship school of the
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris
1. The European Women Lobby, group on
“women entrepreneurship”
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Best practice in France: FGIF
The Guarantee Fund
For Women (FGIF)
of the French Government, SDFE
to support:
• Start-ups
• Take-overs of existing businesses
• Enterprise development
« A loan for women, a
guarantee for the bank »
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
France: The Guarantee Fund for Women
Why this fund?
A partnership between the Government and female
entrepreneurs
• to support businesses by providing up-front capital
• Implicitly to help the creation of wealth and jobs
Women ask for less funding when creating their
enterprises
but
Investing sufficiently at start-up level
= ensures business sustainability
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
France: The Guarantee Fund for Women
Fund’s aim
Give women entrepreneurs
access to bank financing without
engaging their personal funds
« Your project is very interesting,Mrs Dupont, if only Mr Dupont were
here… »
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
France: The Guarantee Fund for Women
Credits can be used to finance:
• Up-front capital
• Working capital
Duration of credit guarantee 2 to 7 years
Credit amount > 5 000€
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
France: The Guarantee Fund for Women
•
•
•
•
•
•
Characteristics of the guarantee: take away the
bank risk
Maximum amount guaranteed: 70%
Guarantee amount limited to 27 000 €
The cost of the guarantee to the company = 2,5 %
of guaranteed amount
In case of failure, 25% of the capital loss is paid to
the bank
France Active Garantie – FGIF agent since 2002 –
pays the remainder
The Social Cohesion Fund provides the funds
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
France: The Guarantee Fund for Women
Organisation of FGIF
3 major actors are involved:
– SDEF (service for Women Rights and Equality)
as leader
– France Active and its network of territorial Funds
(association and financial institution) as manager
– France Initiative and its network of
« Platesformes » under the lead of SDFE
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
France: The Guarantee Fund for Women
The three actors work together in general
to foster women entrepreneurship
=> two framework agreements have been signed,
covering three axes:
1. Promote enterprises created by women vis-à-vis
financial institutions
2. Provide business support services to women
entrepreneurs
3. Develop the entrepreneurial spirit in women
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
France: The Guarantee Fund for Women
FGIF: a growing financial mechanism
• Constant increase in the number of gurarantees
issues over the last 4 years :
- 195 en 2004
- 363 en 2005
- 543 en 2006
- 745 en 2007
• In 2006, 90% of the beneficiaries have used
business support services
• 884 emplois créés/consolidés en 2007
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
France: The Guarantee Fund for Women
Future strategy
Expand the pool of women entrepreneurs wishing to
obtain the guarantee
=> Continue to increase decentralisation (currently
130 subdelegates)
=> Continue the work in tandem with the business
support network
=> Develop closer relationships with the banks
Improve the Fund by enacting recommendations
made as part of a beneficiary survey; advertise
better the Fund to the public
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Women and Entrepreneurs, Best Practice
“Women and Entrepreneurs”, is a training
program launched by Advancia, the
entrepreneurship school of the Chamber
of Commerce and Industry of Paris (CCIP)
Created in Jan 2008, the program is a practical
training aiming to help prospective women
entrepreneurs validate their desire to start a
business or to take over an existing one
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Women and Entrepreneurs, Best Practice
• In addition, Advancia operates a Business
incubator; Advancia/Negocia offers several
education programs (Bachelor, Master, for
international students) in entrepreneurship and trade
• Entrepreneurship courses are also made available
throughout other disciplines at the school, such as
the executive assistants, event managers programs
• The CCIP has launched in 2008 « The
Entrepreneurship Mentoring Institute »
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
The European Women Lobby
The European Women Lobby (EWL) has adopted
in 2007 women entrepreneurship as one of its
five themes for lobbying
The European Women’s Lobby (EWL) is the largest umbrella organisation of
women’s associations in the European Union (EU). The EWL
Secretariat is based in Brussels, but EWL has member organisations in
25 Member States of the EU and in 3 candidate countries
The European Women’s Lobby aims at promoting women’s rights and
equality between women and men in the European Union. EWL is
active in different areas such as women’s economic and social position,
women in decision-making, violence against women, women’s diversity
etc. EWL works mainly with the institutions of the European Union: the
European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU Council of
Ministers
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
The European Women Lobby
EWL’s Annual Report 2007 lists the recommendations
that were put forward by the group on women
entrepreneurship. They refer to:
1) Making Women Entrepreneurship possible
2) Making Women Entrepreneurship visible
3) Making Policies Sensitive to Women
Entrepreneurship
… a good way to conclude this presentation
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
The European Women Lobby
1) Make Women Entrepreneurship
possible
• Facilitate the access to financing (guarantee funds,
credit, equity)
• Support equality between business partners and
update directive 1986/613 regarding the status of
helping spouses (take women out of the shadows »
• Stress the importance of gender dimension for
institutions that promote women entrepreneurship
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
The European Women Lobby
2) Make Women Entrepreneurship
possible
• Ask equal number of candidates women/men
for entrepreneurship awards and ensure
women entrepreneurs’ participation at trade
fairs to make known their existence
• Strengthen linkages with media to combat
gender stereotypes
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
The European Women Lobby
3) Make Policies Sensitive to Women
Entrepreneurship
•
Ensure women’s presence at strategic places (where
business is developed and innovation is made) with the
help of women entrepreneurs’ networks = key factor
helping women entrepreneurs access knowledge and
information
•
Ask the future Gender Institute for Equality between
Men and Women (based in Lithuania) to compile sex
disaggregated statistics and specific indicators and to
benchmark good practices concerning legislation and
fiscal policies
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
On-line Ressources: The European Union
Women Entrepreneurship Portal:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/su
pport_measures/women/wes.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/su
pport_measures/women/womenentr_portal.htm
Gender equality:
http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/gender_equality/ind
ex_en.html
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
On-line Ressources: The European Union
• « Break Gender Stereotypes, Give Talent a
Chance »
Toolkit for Human Resource Managers and
Facilitators, 2008 (EU funded project to combat
gender stereotypes)
www.businessandgender.eu
• A Road map for Equality between Women and Men
2006-2010 COM (2006)92.
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
On-line Ressources
SDFE
http://www.travail-solidarite.gouv.fr
amandine.berton-schmitt@sante.gouv.fr
France Active
• http://www.franceactive.org/
France Initiative
• http://www.France-initiative.fr/
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
On-line Ressources
• Advancia, the entrepreneurship school of the
CCIP:
http://www.advancia.fr/advancia.nsf/id/FR_Accueil
• The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)
2007 Report on Women and
Entrepreneurship: http://www.gemconsortium.org/ab
out.aspx?page=special_topic_women
• European Women Lobby:
http://www.womenlobby.eu
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
Additional On-line Ressources:
• Women's Entrepreneurship Development
and Gender Equality is part of ILO SEED
Programme:
http://www.ilo.org/dyn/empent/empent.portal?p_prog=
S&p_subprog=WE
• OECD LEED: Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs
and local development:
http://www.oecd.org/department/0,3355,en_2649_3
4457_1_1_1_1_1,00.html
Workshop on Gender Equality: Support to Women Entrepreneurship in Turkey
By way of ending
Hoping that this presentation has provided food
for thought for the rest of the seminar
THANK YOU!