Women are still underrepresented among the self-employed in Germany as well as in other European countries.
Dr Rosemarie Kay pointed out at the third network meeting on the "More women for SMEs" action plan in Berlin in mid-January that one reason for this is that women are less likely than men to develop an interest in starting a business. "However, if there is an interest in setting up a business, women and men are equally likely to implement their start-up plans – and remain on the market with their businesses for almost the same length of time," said the Deputy Managing Director of the IfM.
However, women and men continue to be active in different sectors: female entrepreneurs are often active in the service sector, whereas they are underrepresented in the manufacturing industry.
