Developing the next generation of Female Leaders

Entrepreneurship education is mainly occupied by men in today’s world. But today’s world is not going to be the same in 5, 10 or 20 years if we apply the following principles towards women’s education on entrepreneurship. But let’s start by talking about facts and numbers.

A study by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) found that women are less likely to receive formal education in the field of entrepreneurship than men, with only 14.6% of women entrepreneurs reporting receiving formal education compared to 19.2% for men. Another study conducted by the International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship found that the lack of representation of female role models in entrepreneurship education can make it difficult for women to envision themselves as entrepreneurs. Finally, a study by the Journal of Small Business Management found that the way entrepreneurship education is taught, such as teaching models, examples, and case studies, tends to be more male-oriented, which can make it less attractive or relatable to female students.

To counter that, we must acknowledge and promote the importance of entrepreneurship education for women: showing more women-oriented case studies, highlighting the key elements that have contributed to their success, and being more relatable in general.

Pedagogy as well should be approached as we can explore the key elements of the curriculum, such as business planning, financial management, marketing, networking… It can also explore the teaching methods and strategies that are most effective in engaging and empowering women students.

It’s important to note that some initiatives, programs and projects (like “Promoting Women Environment Entrepreneurship) are working to address these disparities and to increase the representation of women in entrepreneurship education and support systems. However, there’s still a long way to go to achieve gender equality in entrepreneurship education.

What are your ideas? What else should be done to promote women’s education on entrepreneurship?

Hugo Lhomedet

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I think that sharing this article and speak louder on this subject may help to raise awareness!

 

As stated in this article attracting more women into entrepreneurship and leadership roles requires many flexible solutions.

If we take into consideration the field of linguistics for example we can discover an interesting phenomenon of feminitives (feminine gender, denoting profession, job or specialization) that exists in some languages.

Although, masculinitives became gender-neutral the continued use of masculine forms might somewhat discourage women to take certain initiatives. Even if the names of professions that use feminine endings can sound odd sometimes (as we are not used to them), feminitives can play an important role in increasing the visibility of women in society and, in particular, in professional environments.

Breaking the stereotypes about some fields of work and promoting gender equality. There is still a strong division between “man job” and “woman job”. While in some countries that are more developed (and more open-minded toward gender equality in all aspects) this division is slowly disappearing, in some other countries it is still hard to acknowledge the fact that a woman can be a handyman (why not a handywoman?) or a painter. And what if I want to start a business about renovation and restoration? Nowadays, women can do much more than years and years ago and they should be supported and given chances through proper and accessible education on the topic.

I think it will also help if we try to support businesses which are already owned and lead by women in our everyday lives, to help building good examples. When hiring someone next time or buying from a shop we could all pay attention to this 😀 Promoting them on social media can also help them to build their business and inspire others to do the same. I think it is just important to make them feel the support.

Also an important way to increase gender equality both in entrepreneurship and in general is teach children from early age (not only in school) that there is no “men roles” or “woman roles”. When children are raised to respect equality it is way more easier to break old habits regarding entrepreneurship as well.

I think that the question of equal salary between men and women have an important role in entrepreneurship. Even if women arrived to build their own business it sometimes still hard and long to get a good salary. And I agree with Katariina, we should educate everybody since young years about gender equality because today there is still too much stereotypes about women at work, for example the confidence for business or the capacity to take decision etc.

Glad there are some brave young women who are showing the way to those who might be interested in entrepreneuring. By showing an example that a woman can do it too, propably makes it easier to others. Women now make up 40% of entrepreneurs in the world, while men account for about 60%. The difference is smaller than i expected.

I am very thankful for initiatives like this one promoting women’s entrepreneurship. Providing visibility is a significant step in the right direction, though I agree with previous comments. While it is great to support adult women in their career paths, defying gender roles and norms at an early age is a way to ensure that issues will be sustainably solved. This should be the task of the family as well as the educational system the child grows up in, society won’t change by itself, so role models and initiatives supporting those role models hold a major influence on society, politics and family structures.

Education and promotion through both, formal and non formal education, targeting the “right” topics that are more attractive for women in entrepreneurship….

I think, amongst all other, we should educate girls in financial literacy and business nomenclature, even starting at home, as the primary factor for the growth of every child is the family

Great article indeed! I also agree with Иго. let`s share this article and raise awareness.

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