The glass half full: more female entrepreneurs
Admittedly, men are still over-represented in entrepreneurial circles. Only 28.9% of entrepreneurs in Brussels are women. However, there has been a marked increase in the number of women, up by 12.6% between 2018 and 2021, compared to 9.8% for men.
In Brussels, women are mainly choosing to be self-employed as their main occupation (73.11%). However, women are statistically more likely than men to choose to launch their business on a secondary basis: just over one in four self-employed women choose this status, compared to almost one in seven self-employed men. In fact, growth in the number of women who are self-employed on a secondary basis is twice as high as that of women registering to be self-employed as their main occupation (+19.0% versus +10.7% between 2018 and 2021).
Barbara Trachte, Brussels Secretary of State for Economic Transition, stresses the importance of supporting female entrepreneurs: “Entrepreneurship is a powerful tool for emancipation and personal fulfilment. At present, the entrepreneurial landscape doesn’t reflect the diversity of Brussels’ population. All the actions we’ve implemented, in terms of support, funding and showcasing entrepreneurial role models, are aimed at changing the game.“
The glass half empty: still too much financial insecurity
Self-employed women in Brussels are more vulnerable to financial insecurity than their male counterparts, with 52% of them having an annual income of less than 20,000 euros (compared to 40.3% of self-employed men). What’s more, the lack of financial guarantees hinders access to funding, putting them at even more of a disadvantage.
Furthermore, female entrepreneurs in Brussels are facing more difficulties than men in the start-up phase, particularly in developing a business plan and producing products. When it comes to funding, too, they are less equipped in terms of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills, and therefore express a need for support in this area. More than twice as many self-employed women than men say they receive no advice at all in their search for funding.
Isabelle Grippa, CEO of hub.brussels, says: “While we welcome the steady increase in the number of self-employed women, we cannot ignore the fact that more than half of them are facing job insecurity. We’ll make sure they have better access to information on grants and funding opportunities, and are directed to the support services available where necessary.“
Commitment to inclusiveness
Since 2014, hub.brussels has been actively supporting female entrepreneurship in the Brussels region through “Women in Business”. Over 45 partners are involved in this dynamic ecosystem to encourage and promote women’s share of Brussels’ entrepreneurial landscape.
