Why Women Don’t Start Business?

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report, only seven women start businesses for every ten men. There is a big “confidence gap” between male and female entrepreneurs.

Here are the main reasons why women hesitate to start their own businesses:

• Women are less confident - About three-quarters of both male and female entrepreneurs start businesses to pursue an opportunity, but men show more positive perceptions about opportunities and their own capabilities, as well as lower fear of failure. Women are inclined to take fewer risks.
• Women use their savings, men get loans – On an average, women start their businesses with a median amount of $8,000; men had $30,000. Women were also more likely to use their own cash or borrow from family members, while men got bank loans. With fewer funds to start a business, women have little or no scope for taking necessary steps.
• Men are more likely to know other entrepreneurs - It seems contrary to the general norm of women as social connectors and men as isolated individualists, but men are more likely to have robust professional networks when starting their businesses. They were also more likely to already know someone who had branched out on his own, providing them with a valuable source of information.
• Content with life – Women are content to live their lives peacefully, calmly without any stress brought about by starting a business.  For most of the women, money is not a motivator. And if it is, they feel that they can get it from their jobs working within an organization, instead of starting a new venture.
• Responsibility of managing family – Women always have to struggle to balance career and families. Starting a business involves a lot of dedication. Women feel they cannot devote that much time while handling household responsibilities.