The gender gap in entrepreneurship, challenges facing women in high-tech start-ups, and the role of education and supportive efforts

In many occupations and sectors men and women are becoming more equally represented both globally, and especially in Europe. However, women’s participation in entrepreneurship is still underrepresentative compared to men, and there has been little improvement despite of existing gender-aware supporting initiatives. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor finds that as many women as men recognize business opportunities, and that men and women are more equal in terms of entrepreneurial intentions than in actual entrepreneurial activities. Particularly, the female entrepreneurship rate is clearly lagging behind in the context of high-tech start-ups. Taking into account the current challenges of high-tech start-ups and the limited participation of women in high-tech professions, the FEMENTRE project aims at better support for future and existing female entrepreneurs in Europe and Canada, by investigating the gender-specific gaps across early-stage start-up ecosystems in four different countries, and by designing and validating our findings in the educational and start-up context. Based on qualitative and quantitative research methods, the research will provide a knowledge base concerning internal and external factors that affect the extent to which women realize their entrepreneurial potential, including gender-specific challenges and best practices. The robust network of research partners will help to transform the research outcomes into actionable improvements in existing entrepreneurial education, training and support programs.