EXPERT PANEL | Women’s entrepreneurship – Magdalena Markowska

Twice as many men as women run businesses in Sweden. What are the reasons for this? And what are the bright spots for more equal entrepreneurship, according to the researchers? This week we ask an expert panel of three professors and one associate professor. Today it is the turn of Magdalena Markowska, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Umeå University. According to her, the key to equal entrepreneurship is an equal society in general.

What is equal entrepreneurship?

– When men and women are given the same conditions and opportunities to start and run businesses.

– Entrepreneurship reflects the social norms of the rest of society. So it should come as no surprise that twice as many men as women run businesses. Our social structures and the different expectations that women and men face mean that we are not on an equal footing. As long as women have more responsibility for the children in the family, and do more unpaid domestic work than men, the statistics on entrepreneurship will not change. It is not the women who have to change, we need to change structures and norms to make entrepreneurship gender equal.

– It also means that more diversity is needed in the entrepreneurship discourse. For example, what goals entrepreneurs pursue, what paths they take, what funding opportunities are available and so on.

What are the bright spots and concerns you see in the sky when it comes to gender equality in entrepreneurship and small business?

– One concern is that we are throwing the baby out with the bathwater by focusing solely on increasing the number of women entrepreneurs. Research and statistics show that in today’s unequal Sweden, entrepreneurship is less economically attractive for women, especially for mothers with young children. Yet, we see that the number of women choosing to start a business is slowly increasing.

– This may be a reflection of the slowly changing conditions for women’s entrepreneurship. Women in our studies seem to actively strive to live in equal relationships and equal society. They look to role models who challenge the current gender norms in entrepreneurship.

What needs to be done to make entrepreneurship more gender equal?

– We need to change structures and norms in society. As individuals, we need to create more equal relationships and question the norms around us. Parents have a responsibility to be role models in gender equality for their children. Both practically and in terms of self-realization of various kinds.

– We as researchers and teachers have a responsibility to discuss with our students why it is important to have a gender equal world. And when we talk about business and entrepreneurship, we need to avoid gender stereotypes and show-case diversity. Politicians and other decision-makers need to create same conditions for all – the design of the welfare system matters for people’s behavior. We all have a role to play in the process of making entrepreneurship more equal.

Contact magdalena.markowska@umu.se

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