Study highlights challenges faced by female entrepreneurs

A study by business insurance company AXA has highlighted the challenges that female entrepreneurs face when working from home.

Irregular hours, caring for children and unpaid work were found to be the main challenges for female entrepreneurs.

Currently, just 18 per cent of small businesses in the UK are owned by females. However, the number of females in self-employment has increased by 38 per cent since the recession, with the majority of women choosing to work from home.

Challenges

The study showed that 75 per cent of female business owners spend three to five days a week working at home.

Challenges such as housework and childcare mean that only a third of women are able to complete a full working day at home as opposed to the 65 per cent of male business owners who work from 9:00am to 5:30pm from their office at home.

The study also found that one in ten women end up having to spread their working day over 12 hours as a result of having to carry out tasks such as the school run, whilst just two per cent of men who are self-employed have to do the same.

However, the survey did highlight a few benefits for female business owners. Women were found to become much less lonely than men when working from home and are much less likely to miss working in an office and being around colleagues.

Tougher

Commenting on the research, AXA Business Insurance Managing Director, Darrell Sansom, said: “Let’s face it, the UK economy can only suffer if talented entrepreneurs are discouraged because life is becoming impossible.

“Our study shows that a day in business looks a lot different – in many ways a lot tougher – for a woman than for a man.”