Hello there! Carin Holmquist – pioneer in research on women’s entrepreneurship

In the mid-1980s, she and Elisabeth Sundin published the first comprehensive Swedish study on women’s entrepreneurship. Since then, Carin Holmquist, Professor Emerita of Entrepreneurship at the Stockholm School of Economics, has continued to study the field and is amazed at how little has happened to improve the conditions for small business in general and women’s entrepreneurship in particular.

The high-profile study was based on data from 1980 and is called Women as entrepreneurs: Invisibility, diversity, adaptation. Tell us, what do these three concepts tell us about patterns in women’s entrepreneurship 45 years ago?

– Women’s entrepreneurship in the 1980s was invisible on several levels: statistics often did not record women as entrepreneurs, especially if they ran businesses together with their husbands. And when talking about entrepreneurs and business owners in the media and public debate, it was implied that it was about men. And let’s not talk about research, in academia women’s entrepreneurship was a non-issue.

– Forty-five years ago, women ran businesses in a wide variety of sectors, although a large proportion were in trade, services and family businesses. The stereotype of the ‘female entrepreneur’ was stronger in the 1980s, but our study showed that there was a diversity of entrepreneurial women. They started businesses for a variety of reasons – to make a living, to create freedom in their working lives, or to combine work and family – and that the motives differed both between women and from those of men.

– The concept of adaptation refers to how women’s entrepreneurship was often shaped by their personal situation. Many businesses were started as a way to combine work and family life, rather than as a career-driven venture. Adaptation also meant that women often set up in industries where they already had experience or networks, and avoided risky ventures because their financial situation rarely allowed it.

How has it changed from then to now?

– Invisibility has been greatly reduced. Women’s entrepreneurship is now a recognized and natural part of the business world and is visible in both media and research. However, stereotypes about women entrepreneurs still exist and women generally find it more difficult to access funding and support.

– Diversity remains, women’s entrepreneurship is as varied as men’s, although some sectors are dominated by women and some by men.

– Adaptation has changed somewhat – more women are starting businesses on their own terms, but the business structure is still influenced by family situation and gender roles, especially when it comes to sharing responsibilities at home.

In the 1980s, 25% of all entrepreneurs were women, today that figure is around 30%. It feels like a marginal increase, but you have said that there is no intrinsic value in more women running businesses, the important thing is to create equal conditions for women and men to start and run businesses. We’re not quite there yet, according to the research – so what is the most important measure for more equal entrepreneurship?

– The most important measure to support women’s entrepreneurship is to improve conditions for small business owners in general. Many of the obstacles women face – difficulties in obtaining finance and lack of advice and support – are not unique to women but apply to small businesses in general.

– Rather than trying to “get more women to become entrepreneurs”, the focus should be on creating a society where women want to start businesses themselves. This is largely about creating better opportunities and conditions, rather than simply increasing the proportion of women who are entrepreneurs as a gender equality goal in itself.

Contact Carin.Holmquist@hhs.se