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having regard to Articles 2 and 3(3) of the Treaty on European Union and Article 8 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

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having regard to Articles 21(1), 23 and 33(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,

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having regard to the Commission communication of 5 March 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025’ (COM(2020)0152),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 10 March 2020 entitled ‘An SME Strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe’ (COM(2020)0103),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 1 July 2020 entitled ‘European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience’ (COM(2020)0274),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 3 March 2021 entitled ‘Union of Equality: Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030’ (COM(2021)0101),

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having regard to the study by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology of 2020 entitled ‘Women in the Digital Age’,

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having regard to its resolution of 19 January 2016 on external factors that represent hurdles to European female entrepreneurship (1),

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having regard to its resolution of 28 April 2016 on gender equality and empowering women in the digital age (2),

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having regard to its resolution of 3 October 2017 on women’s economic empowerment in the private and public sectors in the EU (3),

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having regard to its resolution of 17 April 2018 on empowering women and girls through the digital sector (4),

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having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 entitled ‘Closing the digital gender gap — women’s participation in the digital economy’ (5),

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having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 on the gender perspective in the COVID-19 crisis and post-crisis period (6),

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having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 on the EU Strategy for Gender Equality (7),

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having regard to its resolution of 10 June 2021 on promoting gender equality in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and careers (8),

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having regard to the study entitled ‘The Professional Status of Rural Women in the EU’ published by the Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs in its Directorate-General for Internal Policies in May 2019,

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having regard to the study entitled ‘Enhancing Women’s Economic Empowerment through Entrepreneurship and Business Leadership in OECD Countries’ published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs in 2014,

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having regard to the study entitled ‘International Survey of Adult Financial Literacy’ published by the OECD in 2020,

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having regard to Chapter 2 of the study entitled ‘The Missing Entrepreneurs 2019: Policies for Inclusive Entrepreneurship’ published by the OECD in December 2019,

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having regard to the European Institute for Gender Equality’s (EIGE) Gender Equality Index,

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having regard to Article 6 of the United Nations Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities,

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having regard to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),

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having regard to the Women in Digital scoreboard,

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having regard to the study entitled ‘Women’s entrepreneurship and self-employment, including aspects of gendered Corporate Social Responsibility’ published by the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs in its Directorate-General for Internal Policies in May 2020,

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having regard to the study entitled ‘Funding women entrepreneurs — How to empower growth’ published by the European Investment Bank’s Innovation Finance Advisory in June 2020,

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having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

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having regard to the report of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (A9-0096/2022),

A.

whereas gender equality is a fundamental value and key objective of the EU and a basic precondition for the full enjoyment of human rights by women and girls, and is essential for their empowerment, the development of their full potential and the achievement of a sustainable and inclusive society; whereas gender-based discrimination based on stereotypes and inequalities, combined with intersectional discrimination due, among others, to their sex, race, ethnic or social origin or disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression has negative social and economic consequences and impacts the way women experience challenges, including in pursuing entrepreneurship and becoming self-employed;

B.

whereas female entrepreneurship boosts women’s emancipation and empowerment; whereas in the 2014-2018 period the median annual income for full-time entrepreneurs was equal for men and women (9); whereas women’s economic independence and empowerment is central to realising women’s rights and gender equality and includes the ability to participate equally in labour markets, access to and control over productive resources, control over their own time, lives and bodies, self-fulfilment and meaningful participation in economic decision-making at all levels; whereas the promotion of economic independence requires boosting women’s entrepreneurship and self-employment and be accompanied by appropriate measures to ensure women’s equal participation in labour markets, equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, access to decent work and sharing and recognition of domestic and care responsibilities;

C.

whereas women are the most valuable and largest untapped source of entrepreneurial and leadership potential in Europe; whereas from 2014-2018 women across the OECD were twice as likely to start their own businesses as those in the EU (10); whereas women entrepreneurs and self-employed women are an under-utilised source of sustainable economic growth, job creation and innovation potential, whereas the promotion of this source of growth is an important tool for fostering women’s economic empowerment and independence; whereas women’s economic empowerment boosts productivity and increases economic diversification and income equality; whereas self-employment needs to be recognised as a form of work which helps to create jobs and reduce unemployment; whereas studies show that women often have a different management and leadership style than men and that gender diversity in teams is beneficial for society and the economy (11); whereas supporting women entrepreneurs and women self-employed would also strengthen EU competitiveness and, therefore, all entrepreneurial activity that creates jobs and incomes, and thus added value for business and society should be promoted by the EU and its Member States;

D.

whereas women in rural and disadvantaged regions are more likely to engage in entrepreneurship and self-employment than those in urban and economically prosperous regions (12); whereas the employment opportunities for women in rural areas in the EU are worse than those for men in rural areas and women in urban areas; whereas the share of self-employed women in rural areas is slightly higher than that in total areas; whereas 30 % of farms in the EU are run by women, as self-employed (13);

E.

whereas the relative scarcity of women entrepreneurs should be considered an untapped source for innovation and development, especially in the context of Europe’s green and digital transformations and its economic recovery following the COVID-19 crisis: whereas the COVID-19 crisis has disproportionately affected women, particularly those working in precarious employment, feminised sectors and the informal economy, having significant economic and employment impacts on them because of an increase in care and domestic responsibilities, restricted access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) as well as in gender-based violence and harassment; whereas the European economy has the potential to benefit from GDP growth of EUR 16 billion by encouraging more women to enter the digital jobs market; whereas improving gender equality and empowering female entrepreneurship are key to accelerating and fortifying European recovery;

F.

whereas the European Union is lagging behind the US and China on the development of technologies in, for example, artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies; whereas in April 2021 the highest-valued start-ups in the world were mainly Chinese and US companies; whereas the European Union should recognise and support European women’s innovation capabilities for developing technologies;

G.

whereas women only account for 34,4 % of the self-employed in the EU and 30 % of its start-up entrepreneurs, confirming that the largest gender gaps in entrepreneurial activity are found in Europe and North America (14); whereas only 34 % of managerial positions in the EU are held by women (15); whereas previous experience in management positions provides individuals with the necessary skills and confidence to own businesses themselves (16); whereas the lack of social protection such as paid sick, maternity, paternity and parental leave can be problematic for self-employed women in several Member States; whereas self-employed women are more likely to fall into poverty;

H.

whereas starting and running a business is complex in the EU because of the different bureaucratic and administrative requirements and procedures, which is an obstacle to encouraging more women to become entrepreneurs; whereas women face different barriers, particularly of an economic, legislative and social nature, to pursuing entrepreneurship than men; whereas these barriers are constructed around gender stereotypes which contribute to gender segregation in education, a lack of specific training, a lower level of entrepreneurial confidence, less access to information, financial and government support and less tools for social and business networks, gender biases and difficulties in reconciling work and family life, due to the lack of care infrastructures, specially childcare and because of the stereotype that women carry out most care and domestic work; whereas women are more likely than men to report flexible working hours as their motivation to engage in entrepreneurship and self-employment (17); whereas female entrepreneurship and self-employment can also be a valuable instrument for reconciling work and personal life; whereas from 2014 to 2018 only 34.5 % of women in the EU and 37.7 % of women in the OECD felt they had the necessary skills and knowledge to start their own business; whereas women are nearly 10 % more likely to report a fear of failure than men (18); whereas there is a financial literacy gap between men and women; whereas this gap acts as a barrier for women when accessing funding, and overall impedes them from participating confidently in economic and financial activities (19);

I.

whereas harmful structures and stereotypes perpetuate inequality; whereas traditional gender roles and stereotypes still influence the division of labour at home, in education, at the workplace and in society; whereas unpaid care and domestic work is mostly carried out by women, impacting employment and career progression and contributing to the gender pay and pension gap; whereas work-life balance measures, such as the Work-Life Balance Directive, need to be urgently and properly transposed by the Member States and complemented by further measures in order to involve more men in unpaid work;

J.

whereas access to networks, mentoring and promoting women entrepreneurs as role models are important in encouraging women to consider entrepreneurship as a career and in increasing women’s economic empowerment; whereas the diversity of role models can appeal to women from diverse backgrounds;

K.

whereas some private companies have included actions such as mentoring, networking and support to increase women's access to finance and technology to support women's entrepreneurship as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies;

L.

whereas statistics show that women entrepreneurs face more difficulties than men in raising finance and capital; whereas women-led companies still account for a very small proportion of investment recipients; whereas all-men founding teams received 93 % of all capital invested in European technology companies in 2018 (20); whereas only 32 % of venture capital funding was allocated to companies with at least one female executive (21); whereas women’s innovations are less often identified and acknowledged as innovations and promising ideas; whereas despite receiving lower financial backing women-led businesses in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Region outperform male-founded companies in capital productivity by 96 % (22);

M.

whereas data shows that women entrepreneurs generate more revenue despite receiving lower financial backing;

N.

whereas only 10 % of business angels in Europe are women (23), and women are especially under-represented among private equity investors in digitalisation; whereas only 10 % of all senior positions in private equity and venture capital firms globally (24) are occupied by women; whereas several studies show that investment managers tend to provide capital and to hire those who are similar to themselves, leaving women and especially those from diverse backgrounds and facing intersectional discrimination, among other reasons due to their racial, ethnic or socio economic backgrounds, at a clear disadvantage; whereas venture capital firms with women partners are two to three times more likely to invest in female-led businesses (25); whereas the lack of women in decision-making roles at venture capital firms is one of the primary sources of the persistent funding gap for women-driven enterprises in the EU (26); whereas another major cause for the persistent funding gap for women-driven enterprises in the EU is that women are less likely than men to seek external funding such as bank loans, venture capital or funding from state programmes, and instead resort to self-funding through personal savings or funding from family members (27); whereas implementing measures to achieve a fair representation of women and develop a gender-balanced financial ecosystem, creating a more favourable environment at the EU level and providing sufficient budgetary resources is fundamental to creating both the necessary funding conditions and the essential network of women investors for women-led companies to thrive;

O.

whereas six Member States have created 11 private funds to fill the gap in funding for women entrepreneurs, and these funds use gender considerations that support diversity in their investment criteria; whereas some of these funds have received national or EU support, which shows the important role of public policies in promoting entrepreneurship (28);

P.

whereas there are challenges in effectively measuring entrepreneurship in the EU;

Q.

whereas less than 8 % of top companies’ CEOs are women;

R.

whereas 59 % of scientists and engineers in the EU in 2018 were men and only 41 % were women, representing a gap of 18 % (29); whereas social norms, stereotypes, cultural discouragement and gendered expectations about career choices, which are often reinforced through educational content and curricula, are two of the main drivers of gender segregation in higher education and in the labour market;

S.

whereas it is crucial for Europe to have an equal number of women and men as entrepreneurs to ensure diversification of content and products; whereas between 2014 and 2018 female-led start-ups were as likely to offer new products and services as those led by men in the EU (30), showing that women and men must been seen as performing equally well in innovation; whereas encouraging more women to become entrepreneurs can improve the quality and diversity of innovations, products and services;

T.

whereas the European Network of Female Entrepreneurship Ambassadors has so far organised more than 650 national meetings and reached over 61 000 would-be women entrepreneurs; whereas its ambassadors have supported the creation of more than 250 new women-led enterprises as well as several more networking and business support clubs for women (31);

U.

whereas in 2020, there were more people who knew someone who had stopped a business than knew someone who had started one (32), which recalls the importance of nurturing fertile ground for every kind of entrepreneurship, and of staying connected to other economies, to remain alert to new opportunities, and to safeguard the jobs of the future;

V.

Whereas the gender pay gap in the EU stands at 14,1 % and has only changed minimally over the last decade; whereas 24 % of the gender pay gap is related to the overrepresentation of women in relatively low-paying sectors, such as care, health and education;

W.

whereas entrepreneurship requires knowledge and skills; whereas increasing women’s and girls’ educational attainment contributes to their economic empowerment and more inclusive economic growth; whereas lifelong education, upskilling and reskilling, especially to keep pace with rapid technological and digital transformations increases their professional opportunities and is important for women and girls’ health, well-being and quality of life;

X.

whereas entrepreneurship should be accessible for all women including women with disabilities, older women and those with a minoritised racial or ethnic background; whereas women with disabilities can find it more difficult to start their own businesses; whereas entrepreneurship among older women is not being promoted although they should be seen as a valuable and unused potential for economic growth; whereas the promotion of entrepreneurship among migrant women can offer great opportunities for their integration in the labour market and foster their economic independence and empowerment;

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