Women In Enterprise

I thought you might find the following interesting. I have highlighted a few key issues that arise constantly in my role as a coach for women and mothers.

Characteristics of New Zealand women in enterprise

New Zealand women are less likely to be self-employed than men, however self-employment of women has increased and the gap between male and female rates of self-employment is gradually reducing. In 2006, women made up 36 percent of self-employed people.

The majority of self-employed women and men do not have employees. Women are more likely to be unpaid family workers and less likely to be employers than men. Women’s businesses have slightly fewer employees than men’s on average.

Asian, European and Other women are most likely to be in self-employment, followed by Māori and Pacific women. Overall, self-employed women have similar qualification levels to women who are employees, and men.

A large proportion (41 percent) of self-employed women work part-time, compared with 13 percent of self-employed men, and 33 percent of women who are employees.

Self-employed women have significantly lower annual incomes on average than self-employed men. This will in part reflect the greater proportion of self-employed women who work part-time. Even amongst full-time self-employed people, however, men still have higher incomes on average than women.

Is self-employment a good option for women?

While self-employment can offer unique opportunities, it does not necessarily represent a good option for all women.
Self-employed women have lower incomes on average than women who are employees. Many women are drawn to self-employment because of the flexibility it offers. In reality however, balancing work and family is sometimes more difficult for self-employed women than for other women.

Key issues for women’s businesses
Success factors

Overall, the same kinds of factors (such as having a good business plan and an innovative product) are likely to lead to business success for both men and women. The different career paths taken by women and men may mean, however, that women have more difficulty getting into a position where they can be successful.

Barriers to success for women in enterprise
Women are less likely than men to be self-employed, and self-employed women have lower average incomes than self-employed men, even amongst those who work full-time.

There is likely to be a range of factors that contribute to this situation. Perhaps the most significant are the differences in work history and experience that women and men bring to self-employment. Many women also enter self-employment because it allows them to work flexibly, and therefore do not wish to work long hours on their businesses.
Women on average undertake a greater share of unpaid work, particularly caring work, and therefore accumulate less paid work experience and have more and longer career breaks. This could affect their ability to develop business-related experience and networks, gain confidence, and access debt finance, all of which can affect their success in business.

Source: Ministry of Women's Affairs http://www.mwa.govt.nz

© 2009 90 Degree Coaching Ltd.

Kirstie Gillon-Wood is Director of 90 Degree Coaching Ltd., a company devoted to supporting women wanting to create independence, and achieve personal and professional success. You can learn more about Kirstie’s products and services at http://www.90degreecoaching.co.nz.

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