As the world moves to a model of inclusivity, pushing the archaic barriers on gender parity, women in trade and business are on the rise. From occupying top C-Suite positions in major conglomerates and fortune 500 companies, to being listed on Forbes Billionaires list, women are reshaping the global landscape in business and society.
However, women still face significant challenges as entrepreneurs, especially in high-growth, knowledge-intensive sectors.
This two-part article looks at some of the barriers they face and identifies opportunities for women-owned and women-led businesses to successfully expand into the international marketplace. In addition, it highlights the role of the government and business organisations in empowering women to undertake initiatives to create jobs, foster economic growth and sustainable development through their business ventures.
According to the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey on what businesses experience, in 2011, TT reported that 20.8 per cent of firms were women-led. In the absence of updated data, given world trends, we assume that this number would have increased barring the effects of the covid19 pandemic by 2021.
What remains interesting is that the sectors in which women have the greatest participation have been reported as retail, food, and other “cottage industries.” This refers to businesses where production activities are conducted in the residence of the owner, driven by informal and manual family labour, and the customer base is limited to the business location or close network of those involved in the business.
Although we have seen substantive growth in these sectors over the years, they are low-technology and less knowledge-intensive sectors which experience the lowest levels of economic growth, compared to energy, construction, engineering, fintech and agribusiness. It leaves us to wonder why women are concentrated in these sectors and what have been some of the barriers which have excluded them from being bigger stakeholders in high-growth sectors as entrepreneurs,
According to Lashley (2009), constraints faced by women in enterprise development can be considered both internal and external.
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“Internal issues relate to self-image and an understanding that they have a limited role to play in the productive sector, both informed from the socialisation they receive in the home, the community, and in education.”
Women are also considered more risk-averse than their male counterparts in the pursuit of high-growth investment and business opportunities. Further, other socio-cultural factors affect a woman’s participation in enterprise such as their role as main caretaker of the home and children. These intrinsic factors are significant, as they sometimes dissuade women from establishing, operating and growing businesses, especially in small island developing states.
Women entrepreneurs in developing countries also face several external barriers to trade. They are underrepres
