CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER
The wage gap between women and men extends even into self-employment, an expert says.
“Studies show the wage gap persists in self-employment and it's even worse in the gig economy for many entrepreneurial women. Regardless of parity in education, work experience, number of hours worked or occupation, women earn less than men in self-employment,” says Laurel Anne Stark, an entrepreneur and co-author of a new report on the State of Female Entrepreneur Mental Health.
Key to understanding the reasons for this lies in their motivation to start a business.
For women, many start a business because they have few employment choices. Women tend to be entrepreneurs of necessity, which means they were victims of a system that didn't compensate them appropriately, didn't promote them, their work-life balance was off-balance or they were harassed — to list a few of the reasons for going out on their own.
Women are uniquely suited to entrepreneurship, Stark says. They are adept at understanding the needs of others, which is essential in the development of strong client relationships.
“Their potential is enormous given their ability to succeed and exceed the profitability of many companies created by men, despite the crippling barriers they face.”
One such barrier is access to capital. Stark says, “the harsh reality is, women simply do not have the same access as men do to financing.”
While launching an enterprise ought to provide protective factors for women such as increased control over work schedules and a better work-life balance, it does not alleviate the concerns that motivated women to start a business.
“Our research shows self-employment does not provide relief from gender bias, the gender pay gap, workplace harassment or the other stressors unique to women.”
As a result, female entrepreneurs burn out more frequently and are significantly more likely to encounter mental health challenges than their male counterparts.
Laurel Anne Stark joins a Conversation That Matters about empowering female entrepreneurs with the resources needed to support a vital sector of our economy. See the video at vancouversun.com/tag/ conversations-that-matter.
Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. The production of this program is made possible thanks to the support of viewers like you. Please become a Patreon subscriber and support the production of this program, with a $1 pledge at goo.gl/ ypxyds