Women entrepreneurs are essential for the Canadian economy, a fact recognized by the government’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy. This strategy was launched in 2018 and has seen nearly $7 billion be put toward supporting women-owned businesses in Canada.

Although women in Canada engage in entrepreneurship more than in other comparable countries, there is still a significant gender gap. Only 15 per cent of women are engaged in startups and seven per cent are owner-managers of established businesses, compared to 24 per cent and nine per cent of men, respectively.

If women participated in entrepreneurship as much as men, global GDP would rise by an estimated three to six per cent, adding $2.5 to $5 trillion to the global economy.

This is not just about economic growth, but is a broader ethical and societal issue. By limiting women’s entrepreneurial participation, we are also limiting women’s opportunities for employment, empowerment and the promotion of gender equality more broadly.

To make entrepreneurship more gender-inclusive, it’s important to confront the underlying biases that create barriers for women. As experts and researchers in entrepreneurship, we’ve identified five common misconceptions about women and entrepreneurship that need to be challenged.

The first misconception is that women are not motivated to become entrepreneurs. This misconception partly arises from the gendered language that is often used to describe entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurial language tends to be masculine,........

© BIV