6 Countries Where Women Entrepreneurs Exceeded Men In 2020

Gender disparity remains an enduring reality in global entrepreneurial activity.

Gender disparity remains an enduring reality in global entrepreneurial activity.

Before the pandemic, there were more than 252 million women globally engaged in setting up or running a business, according to a 2019 study by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) on female entrepreneurship. However, at the height of the global health crisis, research by Facebook in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank shows that closures of women-led small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) are 7% more likely than those founded by men. Businesses run by women are highly concentrated in sectors that are susceptible to the impacts of lockdown measures.

GEM measured the percentage of adult men and women involved in starting or running a new business— the total early-stage entrepreneurial activity (TEA). GEM's findings show that in six countries a higher percentage of women were involved in entrepreneurship than men in 2020.