Want more growth and jobs? Give women a chance!

“There is an unexploited potential for economic growth and more innovation that can make Europe much stronger. For this, we need to invite and fertilize the foundation for making more women become entrepreneurs and self-employed”, urged Pernille Weiss MEP, author of the first Report in the European Union suggesting a comprehensive toolbox of initiatives that can boost entrepreneurship among women in the EU.

Pernille Weiss has been an entrepreneur and company owner for 12 years herself. “I know from my own experience that there are many women willing to participate in European business development, but we have a challenge at the moment. If we look at the data - with women making up half of the EU population - only 34.4% of the EU self-employed and 30% of start-up entrepreneurs are women.”

However, if women and men participate equally as entrepreneurs, global GDP could rise by approximately 3% to 6%, boosting the global economy by $2.5 trillion to $5 trillion, according to an analysis conducted by the Boston Consulting Group. “We just need to help women acquire the right set of skills and create better opportunities to encourage them to become entrepreneurs, so they can help our businesses and markets grow”, suggested the Rapporteur.

“Did you know that there are far less investments in women entrepreneurs than in men? In 2018, start-ups solely founded by men received 93% of all capital invested in European tech. That doesn’t make sense”, said Weiss.

“Diversity creates innovation. If we can beat the gender gap, we can also create a ‘ketchup effect’ for a diversity strategy to really be taken on board in many sectors currently lagging behind.”

For Pernille Weiss, this is also about European competitiveness. “We are facing so many challenges at the moment, including the war in Ukraine, climate change, migration, trade wars, etc, and there is a big ask for the European economy to get stronger and richer, so we have the finances and the power to manifest EU values on democracy and human rights, freedom of speech. We cannot do it on a global level if the EU loses its innovative and economic powerhouse.”

“More women entrepreneurs is the key to stronger EU economy and competitiveness. We all need that now - and women deserve the economic independence that follows”, concluded the MEP.