Entrepreneurship & Small Business Development

 From Nature:

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For female would-be entrepreneurs, these challenges make it difficult to pursue a potentially rewarding career path. In the United Kingdom, for example, 15% of businesses are led by women, yet women account for only 7% of entrepreneurs in science, engineering or technology fields.

“Women don't ask for opportunities and they undersell their abilities and expertise,” says Sharon Vosmek, chief executive of Astia, a non-profit organization in San Francisco, California, that supports women-led, high-growth companies in technology and the life sciences around the world. Often, she adds, women miss opportunities because they don't know how to take advantage of their scientific credentials.

When it comes to pitching business ideas, women are often less aggressive and more cautious than men — which can be interpreted as a lack of confidence, undermining the pitch. Women are also “more open to a discussion about the cons as well as the pros of a potential business — which can make an idea look less attractive to an investor”, says Joanna Horobin, president and chief executive of Syndax Pharmaceuticals in Waltham, Massachusetts.

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 From TechCrunch:

RockHealth surveyed 100 women about why women were underrepresented amongst the executive ranks. They explore the role factors such as the ability to connect with senior leadership.

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Rock Report III: Women in Healthcare

From the press release:

In an effort to better understand the needs of its driver-members, the Women In Trucking (WIT) Association recently used a research class to conduct a member survey. Dr. Jeanette Kersten’s University of Wisconsin-Stout graduate students assist nonprofit associations in conducting research that they might not have access to due to financial considerations.

“The results from the students’ study will allow us to learn how we can attract new members and give our current driver members better value for their dues,” said Ellen Voie, WIT’s President. “The findings have been shared with the board of directors and will be a topic of discussion at our upcoming strategic planning session in January.” Voie added.

There were 139 drivers who responded to the online questions. Most of them (65 percent) had joined in the past two years. As expected, the majority (88 percent) was female, but eleven male drivers who are members of the association completed the survey. The average age of the respondent was between 50 and 59 years old.

The economic condition of the driver population was evident in the responses, as the most commonly cited reason for non-renewal was financial. “Have not had the extra month to renew, even though the dues are very low,” wrote one driver. Nearly one fifth of the drivers stated they were no longer driving as the reason for non-renewal.

When asked what they would like to see as benefits for joining, drivers asked for insurance plans, discounts on products and services and more merchandise from the association. Drivers also asked for more opportunities for networking and communication with other members.

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From the blog post:

Researchers surveyed 90,000 women in 59 countries and regions on how they feel about the prospect of starting and running a business. The percent of entrepreneurs that were female varied from 16 percent in South Korea to 55 percent in Ghana — the only economy with more female than male entrepreneurs. In the United States, nearly half of entrepreneurs are women.

The report split the world’s economies into three types: factors-driven, which are in the early stages of development, efficiency-driven, where industrialization has taken hold, and innovation-driven, which move toward knowledge based and service businesses.

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Out of the innovation-driven economies (which are mostly in Europe, North America or Asia), women in the United States felt the most capable of starting a business, but those in Sweden had the most entrepreneurial intentions. Those in Japan and Korea had the least entrepreneurial attitudes.

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From the article:

Fifteen other states have organized child care provider unions, and each has different rules. Some include only workers who participate in taxpayer funded programs that assist low-income parents. Others encompass all providers, and those who would rather not participate must still pay a fee.

Union officials say their primary goal is to work with the state to professionalize a disparate industry that doesn't benefit from a strong presence among lawmakers.

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From the article:

It’s no secret that San Francisco and Silicon Valley’s tech demographics skew heavily on the side of men. Rather than continue quietly observing this cultural inequity, over the past few years, more voices have brought attention to the issue. Through increased publicity, thanks to speeches by leaders like Sheryl Sandberg and articles like this month’s feature in San Francisco magazine, the conversation around women entrepreneurs is beginning to change. Still, some of the discussion is going in the wrong direction – focusing only at those at the very top and at the biggest companies – founders, board members, CxO’s. When you look much closer, there are numerous women making waves as entrepreneurs, executives and investors. It’s just that they seem to be ignored because they’re not at Apple or Zynga.

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