Today, a little over 28 percent of Swedish women are entrepreneurs, which should be given more attention than it actually does. The women will have more opportunities in the next five years.

One out of four small business owners are planning to retire and new entrepreneurs will certainly be needed in order to sustain prosperity and employment.

It is not possible to create a legislation for gender equality in businesses, however, there is room for improvement. Key measures would have a positive impact on the sectors which women are active in.
In other countries women's entrepreneurship has not received sufficient attention. With jobs disappearing, women are affected to a greater extent. The jobs created in developing countries are often found within the industry and production.

The financial crisis resulted in that the demand for textiles, shoes, electronics and other jobs mostly performed by women decreased.
This means that women's employment in developing countries may disappear. What employs the majority of the world's poor women is the informal economy.

Women around the world must be respected within companies and get the chance to become entrepreneurs. Women have good opportunities in Sweden, but what about the rest of the world? Equal economic opportunities are needed for women in order to become successful entrepreneurs.

                                                                                     Cecilia Helland